Comparative health and environmental risks for various energy sources

by S. Haddad I he first attempts to compare the environmenand tal and health impacts of different electricity R. Dones production systems were made in the 1970s. At that time, fundamental decisions had to be taken on the best way of satisfying the rapid growth in electricity demand. Promoters of this generation of comparative studies were basically inspired by a willingness to rank on a unidimensional scale of risk the different options available at the time with regard to their negative impacts on the public at large. Initial studies dealt with isolated or singleinstallations, because the main concern of the population was anxiety about living close to power stations. The scope of comparative studies has since been enlarged with the development of related methodologies. It soon became evident that a fair comparison of different electricity generating options should consider the whole spectrum of the entire cycle of the energy systems. The next step in the development of comparative studies was to include the construction and dismantling phases of the installations. In fact, analysis revealed that, for many installations, these were the most important parts of risk. This shift towards including the construction phase opened the way for even broader comparisons, such as the effects associated with production of the materials used to manufacture the necessary equipment. Within such a large perspective, comparison of health and environ-