Sovacool has reported that worldwide there have been 99 accidents at nuclear power plants from 1952 to 2009 (defined as incidents that either resulted in the loss of human life or more than US$50,000 of property damage, the amount the US federal government uses to define major energy accidents that must be reported), totaling US$20.5 billion in property damages. Approximately 350,000 people were forcibly resettled away from these areas soon after the accident. Radioactive fallout from the accident was concentrated in areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. A study published in 2005 estimates that there will eventually be up to 4,000 additional cancer deaths related to the accident among those exposed to significant radiation levels. The accident killed 31 people directly and damaged approximately $7 billion of property. One of the worst nuclear accidents to date was the Chernobyl disaster which occurred in 1986 in Ukraine.
See also: Nuclear reactor accidents in the United States, List of nuclear power accidents by country, and List of nuclear and radiation fatalities by country The IAEA maintains a website reporting recent accidents. Serious radiation accidents include the Kyshtym disaster, Windscale fire, radiotherapy accident in Costa Rica, radiotherapy accident in Zaragoza, radiation accident in Morocco, Goiania accident, radiation accident in Mexico City, radiotherapy unit accident in Thailand, and the Mayapuri radiological accident in India. Nuclear power accidents can involve loss of life and very large monetary costs for remediation work. Serious nuclear power plant accidents include the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), Chernobyl disaster (1986), Three Mile Island accident (1979), and the SL-1 accident (1961). Fifty-seven accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, and about 60% of all nuclear-related accidents have occurred in the USA. As of 2014, there have been more than 100 serious nuclear accidents and incidents from the use of nuclear power. Despite the use of such measures, human error remains, and "there have been many accidents with varying impacts as well near misses and incidents". Some technical measures to reduce the risk of accidents or to minimize the amount of radioactivity released to the environment have been adopted. It has also been a key factor in public concern about nuclear facilities. The impact of nuclear accidents has been a topic of debate practically since the first nuclear reactors were constructed in 1954. Ī nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, large radioactivity release to the environment, or reactor core melt." The prime example of a "major nuclear accident" is one in which a reactor core is damaged and significant amounts of radioactivity are released, such as in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, a Japanese nuclear plant with seven units, the largest single nuclear power station in the world, was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007.