• If a family of four people uses electricity from nuclear power for 25 years, it would generate 12 cm³ of high-level, long-lived waste (a cube measuring 2.3 cm on each side).
  • If nuclear were taken out of the current energy mix and the shortfall taken up by fossil fuels, the result would be an extra 500 million tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere every year, equivalent to that emitted by all private cars in Europe
  • "Analysis by the European Commission on the potential for nuclear events suggests that in the UK the probability of major accidents – the meltdown of the reactor's core along with failure of the containment structure – is one in 2.4 billion per reactor year. By comparison, it is thought that the risks of a meteorite of roughly two kilometres in diameter hitting the earth could be one in 0.5 million years. But obviously any accident could have severe consequences, so we have considered this risk very carefully." Source: The Express on Sunday
  • One fuel pellet the size of a finger tip (for nuclear power) generates almost the same amount of power as 809kg of coal or 148 litres of oil
  • In the past 40 years, about 30 000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel have been transported safely around the world, across distances totalling more than 25 million kilometres – by road, rail and sea. (May 2008)
  • Approximately 85% of all radiation exposure to the general public can be attributed to natural sources of radiation. The nuclear industry accounts for less than 1% of radiation exposure to the general public.
  • New discoveries and re-evaluations of known conventional uranium resources will be adequate to supply nuclear energy needs for at least 100 years at present consumption levels. Source: Red book 2007
  • In the OECD some 300 million tonnes of toxic wastes are produced each year, but the amount of radioactive high level waste worldwide is currently increasing by about 12,000 tonnes every year, which is the equivalent to a two-storey structure built on top of a basketball court. In countries with nuclear power, radioactive wastes comprise less than 1% of total industrial toxic wastes (the balance of which remains hazardous indefinitely).
  • 1 Kilo uranium contains as much energy as almost 3 million kilos of coal
  • The fission of an atom of uranium produces 10 million times the energy produced by the combustion of an atom of carbon from coal
  • A 1188 MW reactor (like Sizewell B in the UK) produces as much electricity as 2000 wind turbines, taking into account the load factor of the respective energy sources (measure of the output of the plant compared to the maximum output it could produce: 80% for nuclear, 30% for wind)
    Source: Cambridge University physicist, David Mackay
  • A 50% increase in uranium, coal and gas prices would make nuclear generating costs increase by 3%, coal generating costs by 20% and CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) generating costs by 38%. (IAEA)
  • Fly ash emitted by (coal-fired) power plants "carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy" "When coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels." source: Scientific American magazine
  • Nuclear generates around 30% of the EU's electricity but produces only about 0.05% of the amount of the EU's power production waste.
  • Wind and solar require 30 times as much land as nuclear to generate the same amount of power (source: The outlook for nuclear energy in the US, J Brodman).
  • There are 144 working nuclear reactors in the EU, producing around one third of its total power and about two-thirds of its low carbon power.