The need for electricity generation to be clean and safe has never been more obvious. Nor have those attributes ever been as popularly supported. Environmental and health consequences of electricity generation are important issues, alongside the affordability of the power which is produced.Environmental and health consequences are usually seen as external costs – those which are quantifiable but do not appear in the utility’s accounts. Hence they are not passed on to the consumer, but are borne by society at large. They include particularly the effects of air pollution on human health, crop yields and buildings, as well as occupational disease and accidents. Though they are even harder to quantify and evaluate than the others, external costs include effects on ecosystems and the impact of global warming.Production of electricity from any form of primary energy has some environmental effect, and some risk. A balanced assessment of nuclear power requires comparison of its environmental effects with those of the principal alternative, coal-fired electricity generation, as well as with other options. That comparison needs to recognise that waste and decommissioning costs are internalised in nuclear power economics much more fully than, for example, with coal-fired power generation.Environmental effects of electricity generation Disposal and dispersal of wastes from power generation Health effects of power generation Environmental effects of mining Radiation Greenhouse gas emissions

The estimated CO 2 emission from the world’s electrical power industry is 10 billion tonnes yearly. This results in an increase in the Earth’s levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which enhances the greenhouse effect and contributes to global warming.

The environmental problems directly related to energy production and consumption include air pollution, climate change, water pollution, thermal pollution, and solid waste disposal