HackerTube
HomeLongsLikedHistoryWatch laterCategoriesPlaylistsSettings

Worst Nuclear Accidents in History

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell7 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2021-2023
YouTube
10.9M views · 5 years ago · explainer · evergreen

Kurzgesagt compares how many people nuclear accidents have killed against other energy sources. It walks through the worst nuclear accidents and puts their death tolls in context per unit of energy.

HN uses it as a short, well-sourced overview showing that fossil fuels kill far more people than nuclear power.

Nuclear power & fusionAnimals & nature#nuclearaccidents#energydeaths#chernobyl#fossilfuels#kurzgesagt

12 comments from Hacker News

@chasil2023 · in “Why does nuclear power plant construction cost so much?”

>they still kill fewer people per installed GW and produced GW-h compared to coal, gas and even solar. By orders of magnitude. The worst hydroelectic catastrophe killed over 200,000. link Coal has killed magnitudes above that. ▶ this video

CitesView on HN
@Wowfunhappy2022 · in “NY energy grid: Real-time dashboard”

Will you be factoring in the healthcare costs associated with burning more diesel and natural gas? (Not even getting into the externalities of climate change.) --- I thought Kurzgesagt did a pretty good job of breaking this down: ▶ this video . Basically, no matter how you look at it, nuclear is among the safest forms of energy we have, behind only solar, wind, and hydropower. Admittedly, deaths ≠ costs, but I imagine the numbers would be similar.

RecommendsView on HN
@jaggirs2021 · in “Chernobyl’s Blown Up Reactor 4 Just Woke Up”

Nuclear is one of the least deadly energy sources (taking all deaths, including by nuclear disaster, into account). ▶ this video

CitesView on HN
@dtech2021 · in “EU Is Warned Green Label for Gas Would Be ‘Disastrous’ Mistake”

> The potential for loss is much higher with nuclear power. This isn't true. Fossil fuels kill much, much more people per Kwh than nuclear [1]. But much like airplanes vs car accidents, fossil fuels kill constantly and widespread in small amounts, while nuclear kills very rarely in high amounts. [1] ▶ this video

CitesView on HN
@orangejuice1012021 · in “2022 Ford F-150 Lightning”

Here are some stats on fossil fuel deaths in general ▶ this video On average in the US, the CO2 output required to power an electric vehicle is 1/3 of an ICE vehicle. So theoretically this would translate to less deaths as bb123 suggests, but hard to compare to direct pedestrian deaths. (Yes there are some logical gaps as ICE C02 output is a very low percentage of total fossil fuel output).

CitesView on HN
@0xTJ2021 · in “Japan decides to release water from Fukushima plant into sea”

I really find it gross the extent to which fear mongering over nuclear happens. Countries decommissioning nuclear plants to switch to coal, which kill far more people, even scaling by use. Instead of using a source of power that's overall incredibly safe, and which produces relatively small amounts of highly manageable waste, people have pushed to switch to these incredibly environmentally harmful power sources. This is especially surprising from countries like Germany that, as someone who doesn't live anywhere near them, see them as technically adept. My province in Canada got 60% of our power in 2018 from nuclear (plus 1/4 from hydro), and a different province got 95% of theirs from hydro, but then that's offset by other provinces that get 90% of theirs from natural gas and coal. Sure not every place is ideally suited for a lot of nuclear (though hopefully SMRs will help), but 90% is too high. We need less fossil fuels and more nuclear to bridge the gap to more renewables. For an interesting comparison of the deaths from nuclear energy, compared to other sources, I highly recommend "How Many People Did Nuclear Energy Kill? Nuclear Death Toll" [1]. [1] ▶ this video

Strongly recommendsView on HN
@wlpu2021 · in “Nuclear technology’s role in the world’s energy supply is shrinking”

So much anti nuclear absolutism I recommend watching this ▶ this video for a pragmatic lense Fossil fuels, even temporary, kills several magnitudes more people than nuclear

RecommendsView on HN
@Mrdarknezz2021 · in “Nuclear power must be well regulated, not ditched”

Mining and shipping is required for all forms of energy. Of course it's gonna be per twh because that is the only way to measure that makes any sense. Kurzgesagt has a great video explaining everything here: ▶ this video

RecommendsView on HN
@michaelbarton2021 · in “Nuclear power must be well regulated, not ditched”

Did a control-F for "kurzgesagt" and saw that it had not been mentioned yet. I really recommend watching this short video which gives a really excellent overview of the dangers of nuclear power in the context of the alternatives. The TLDW is even if a very pessimistic estimate of the dangers of nuclear power is still much better than a very optimistic take on the dangers of fossil fuels once you combine the effects of air pollution and climate change. That includes both Chernobyl and Fukushima. ▶ this video

RecommendsView on HN
@piplikoc2021 · in “Why Nuclear Must Be Part Of The Energy Solution (2018)”

Yes, there were a lot of deaths from these nuclear disasters, they were horrible, we should have avoided them. But nuclear energy is still much less deadly than fossil fuels. Air pollution-caused diseases are lung cancer and stroke for example. I think nuclear plants have become much safer and there is more international regulation to maintain their safety. I recommend this excellent video on this topic from Kurzgesagt: ▶ this video

RecommendsView on HN
@Wowfunhappy2021 · in “Activists who embrace nuclear power”

It's worth noting that, even taking second-order effects into account, the total number of deaths from nuclear accidents is actually quite low compared to other methods of generating electricity. ▶ this video Nuclear seems more dangerous for the same reason planes seem more dangerous than cars—when something goes wrong, it's a big news event.

CitesView on HN
@dijit2021 · in “The World’s Aging Dams”

This reminds me of a video I watched, just 6 days ago[0]. The video goes into detail about how deadly each of our energy gathering methods are. It also goes into detail about how many are killed per kWh. I had no idea hydro was as deadly as it is before this video, I highly recommend anyone with 10 minutes to spare give it a watch. The channel is incredibly great in general. [0]: ▶ this video

Strongly recommendsView on HN
chernobyl 2013: radioactive ant bites & 115 mSv/h of pure gamma radiation12:32

chernobyl 2013: radioactive ant bites & 115 mSv/h of pure gamma radiation

bionerd23
604K views • 12 years ago
The Most Radioactive Places on Earth11:17

The Most Radioactive Places on Earth

Veritasium
24.9M views • 11 years ago
Your Body Killed Cancer 5 Minutes Ago9:14

Your Body Killed Cancer 5 Minutes Ago

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
10.3M views • 3 years ago
The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage7:09

The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
35.3M views • 8 years ago
Dispelling the Myths of Nuclear Energy (Live Lecture)35:50

Dispelling the Myths of Nuclear Energy (Live Lecture)

Illinois EnergyProf
342K views • 5 years ago
26. Chernobyl — How It Happened54:24

26. Chernobyl — How It Happened

MIT OpenCourseWare
3.6M views • 7 years ago
Is Meat Really that Bad?10:14

Is Meat Really that Bad?

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
9.2M views • 4 years ago
Something's Rotten with French Nuclear1:11:06

Something's Rotten with French Nuclear

Decouple Media
12K views • 4 years ago
The Economics of Nuclear Energy16:11

The Economics of Nuclear Energy

Real Engineering
2M views • 6 years ago
Why I changed my mind about nuclear power | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxBerlin20:29

Why I changed my mind about nuclear power | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxBerlin

TEDx Talks
2.3M views • 8 years ago
Chernobyl 382826:57

Chernobyl 3828

TeleconStudio
10.2M views • 14 years ago
If You Eat Meat You Should Know This15:30

If You Eat Meat You Should Know This

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
6.3M views • 1 year ago
Why renewables can’t save the planet | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxDanubia17:33

Why renewables can’t save the planet | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxDanubia

TEDx Talks
5.7M views • 7 years ago
Former fusion scientist on why we won't have fusion power by 204015:42

Former fusion scientist on why we won't have fusion power by 2040

Improbable Matter
2M views • 5 years ago
Schaliegas: USSR Gas Well Blow Out = Nuclear Bomb Puts Out Fire3:49

Schaliegas: USSR Gas Well Blow Out = Nuclear Bomb Puts Out Fire

Stop Schaliegas
252K views • 12 years ago
Why Meat is the Best Worst Thing in the World 🍔7:45

Why Meat is the Best Worst Thing in the World 🍔

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
13.6M views • 8 years ago
Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained6:40

Overpopulation – The Human Explosion Explained

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
14M views • 9 years ago
Is Nuclear Waste Really Waste?40:40

Is Nuclear Waste Really Waste?

Google TechTalks
75K views • 15 years ago
4.5 Billion Years in 1 Hour1:03:31

4.5 Billion Years in 1 Hour

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
17.9M views • 2 years ago
End of Space – Creating a Prison for Humanity7:35

End of Space – Creating a Prison for Humanity

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
14.6M views • 7 years ago