Problems of uranium mining

!±8± Problems of uranium mining

Sterile waste

Even the highest grade uranium deposits less than 1%. Sun to process large amounts of minerals useful to obtain quantities of uranium. The remaining rock "waste" tailings is unknown. In the course of treatment is to provide a good powder, which is crushed, almost like the same radioactive uranium. It is dangerous to more than 250,000 years, which could be forever. These are separate from the sterile, to prevent an epidemic of cancer,and there are already more than 50 million tons of uranium tailings on Australian soil.

Radon Gas

Because uranium emits radiation, it becomes a new element, which in turn emits radiation and decays, and so on up to 14 steps to the end - after hundreds of thousands of years - will bring a more stable non-radioactive type. One of the elements on the path is radon, a radioactive gas that can travel hundreds of miles before they expire. MineWorkers and others who breathe in this gas installation risk of lung cancer and other lung diseases

Environmental pollution

Uranium mining is polluting the water, air and land with radioactive chemicals and heavy metals, which can never be cleaned well. Besides the risk of radiation, the extraction process is also associated with toxic chemicals, heavy metals and use large amounts of water. In the short term, uranium mine sites ruined the ecology of the region in whichIn the long term, pose a risk to a much larger area.

Health risks

The health risks of uranium mining are now fairly well known, though still challenged by aggressive mining. Together, the uranium miners suffer the maximum radiation dose for all workers in the nuclear fuel chain. The main problems are the inhalation of dust and radon gas, the alpha emitters released into the body where it can not hurt to leave the majority. Since the spread of pollution from minesfrom the mine site, the local population is on the outside to avoid contamination. While uranium mining in general, most allied with cancer, low doses of radiation is mixed in birth defects, infant mortality and chronic lung, eye, skin and reproductive illnesses.

Nuclear waste

There is a large amount of high activity radioactive waste from reactors is still vomited all over the world and there is no safe place for preparation. Pangea Resources was actually a plan to bring many of these wasteAustralia. Nuclear power plants generate this waste as a fraction of normal operation, but there are also risks of reactor accidents, the Chernobyl explosion in 1986 killed many people, spread radioactive contamination across the globe and forced the evacuation of the area permanently.

Nuclear Weapons

While mining companies do not like to admit it, which is developing a military nuclear technology in order to make plutonium for nuclear weapons. Thousands of theseThe weapons are still on the trigger alert ten more than 10 years after the Cold War, and are also gradually to new countries.