Coal power plants release significantly more radiation into the environment than nuclear power plants.

A landmark study published in the journal Science in 1978 by researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory first highlighted this phenomenon. They found that the fly ash emitted by coal-burning plants carries uranium and thorium directly into the atmosphere. In contrast, nuclear power plants are legally required to use massive shielding and containment structures to prevent the release of radioactive isotopes.According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), coal contains uranium concentrations ranging from 1 to 4 parts per million. While this seems small, the sheer volume of coal burned globally—over 8 billion tons annually—results in a massive cumulative release of radioactive waste. Because coal combustion reduces the bulk volume of the fuel, the radioactive elements become concentrated in the leftover ash by a factor of 10.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that people living near coal plants may actually receive higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear facilities. Nuclear plants primarily release small amounts of radioactive noble gases like xenon and krypton, which dissipate quickly. Coal plants, however, release solid particulate matter that can settle into the soil and enter the food chain.Modern scrubbers and baghouses in coal plants can capture up to 99 percent of fly ash, but many older plants worldwide still lack these technologies. This disparity makes coal power a surprisingly large contributor to environmental radiation levels compared to the highly regulated nuclear industry. The 1978 study concluded that the radiation dose to the public from coal plants was often 10 to 100 times higher than from nuclear plants of the same capacity.