Radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant could cause as many as 1,300 cancer deaths around the globe.

The claim was made by Stanford University researchers who studied the health effects of the Fukushima accident. In addition to the predicted deaths, they also found the nuclear disaster could cause as many as 2,500 cases of cancer.

The researchers used a 3-D global atmospheric model to predict the effects and transport of radiation and estimated human exposure to the radioactivity.

The research dismisses the head of the UN Science Committee’s claim there would be no serious public health consequences resulting from the radiation and it would be limited to workers at the plant.

John Ten Hoeve, one of the scientists who conducted the study said the findings should “serve to manage the fear in other countries that the disaster had an extensive global reach.”

Mark Jacobson, a professor the university and one of the researchers told a news outlet: “There was a lot of luck involved… The effects vary significantly with the meteorological conditions and the only reason this wasn’t a lot worse was because 81% of all the emissions were deposited over the ocean.”