uranium mining debate

In 2022 Kazakhstan produced the largest share of uranium from mines (43% of world supply), followed by Canada (15%) and Namibia (11%).{{Cite web |title=World Uranium Mining - World Nuclear Association |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/world-uranium-mining-production.aspx |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=world-nuclear.org}} Australia has 23% of the world's uranium ore reserves{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html |title=Supply of Uranium |access-date=2010-04-11 |archive-date=2013-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212223705/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf75.html |url-status=dead }} and the world's largest single uranium deposit, located at the Olympic Dam Mine in South Australia.{{cite web|title=Uranium Mining and Processing in South Australia|url=http://www.uraniumsa.org/processing/processing.htm|access-date=2007-01-14|publisher=South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy|year=2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106005859/http://www.uraniumsa.org/processing/processing.htm|archive-date=2012-01-06|url-status=usurped}}

The years 1976 and 1977 saw uranium mining become a major political issue in Australia, with the Ranger Inquiry (Fox) report opening up a public debate about uranium mining.Bauer, Martin (ed) (1995). Resistance to New Technology, Cambridge University Press, p. 173. The Movement Against Uranium Mining group was formed in 1976, and many protests and demonstrations against uranium mining were held.Drew Hutton and Libby Connors, (1999). A History of the Australian Environmental Movement, Cambridge University Press. Concerns relate to the health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining.

In 1977, the National Conference of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) passed a motion in favour of an indefinite moratorium on uranium mining, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia acted to support the Labor Party and help it regain office. However, after the ALP won power in 1983, the 1984 ALP conference voted in favour of a "Three mine policy".{{Cite book|last=Burgmann|first=Verity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atpiAdA9IEMC&dq=%2522Campaign+Against+Nuclear+Energy%2522+australia&pg=PA172|title=Power, Profit and Protest: Australian social movements and globalisation|date=2003-04-01|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-1-74114-016-3|language=en|pages=174–175}}

Australia has three operating uranium mines at Olympic Dam (Roxby) and Beverley - both in South Australia's north - and at Ranger in the Northern Territory. As of April 2009, construction has begun on South Australia's fourth uranium mine—the Honeymoon Uranium Mine.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090427075819/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/24/2552242.htm?section=justin Work begins on Honeymoon uranium mine] ABC News, April 24, 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2010.{{dead link|date=July 2023}}

The Rössing Uranium Mine located in Namibia is the world's longest-operating open-pit uranium mine. The uranium mill tailings dam has been leaking for a number of years, and on January 17, 2014, a catastrophic structural failure of a leach tank caused a major spill.{{cite web|last=WISE Uranium Project|title=Issues at Rössing Uranium Mine, Namibia|url=http://www.wise-uranium.org/umoproe.html|publisher=World Information Service on Energy, Uranium Project|access-date=7 April 2014}} The France-based laboratory, Commission de Recherche et d'Information Independentantes sur la Radioactivite (CRIIAD) reported elevated levels of radioactive materials in the area surrounding the mine.{{cite web|last=Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité|title=Preliminary results of CRIIRAD radiation monitoring near uranium mines in Namibia|url=http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2012/namibie/CRIIRAD-namibia-press.pdf|work=April 11, 2012|publisher=CRIIAD|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-date=18 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118022608/http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2012/namibie/CRIIRAD-namibia-press.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité|title=CRIIRAD Preliminary Report No. 12-32b Preliminary results of radiation monitoring near uranium mines in Namibia|url=http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2012/namibie/CRIIRAD-namibia-prelim.pdf|work=April 5, 2012|publisher=CRIIRAD EJOLT Project|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430024632/http://www.criirad.org/actualites/dossier2012/namibie/CRIIRAD-namibia-prelim.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Notable anti-uranium activists include Golden Misabiko (Democratic Republic of the Congo),{{cite web |last1=Gunter |first1=Linda Pentz |title=Imprisoned, poisoned, tortured |url=https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2018/07/09/arrested-imprisoned-tortured-congos-human-rights-advocate/ |website=Beyon Nuclear International |publisher=beyondnuclearinternational |access-date=31 August 2018|date=2018-07-09 }}{{cite web |title=Uranium Mining in the DR Congo |url=http://www.nuclear-risks.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Uranium_Mining_in_the_DRC_OENZ_June_2011.pdf |website=nuclear-risks.org |publisher=Ecumenical Network Central Africa |access-date=31 August 2018}} Kevin Buzzacott (Australia), Jacqui Katona (Australia), Yvonne Margarula (Australia), Jillian Marsh (Australia), Manuel Pino (US), JoAnn Tall (US), and Sun Xiaodi (China).{{Cite news|title=Aborigines count cost of mine|author=Phil Mercer|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3743027.stm|date=25 May 2004|access-date=2023-03-16|publisher=BBC News}}{{Cite news|title=Anti-uranium demos in Australia|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/74196.stm|date=5 April 1998|access-date=2023-03-16|website=BBC World Service}}Jennifer Thompson. [http://www.greenleft.org.au/1997/281/16546 Anti-nuke protests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128165749/https://www.greenleft.org.au/1997/281/16546 |date=2016-01-28 }} Green Left Weekly, 16 July 1997. There have been many reports about working conditions at the mine, and the effects on the mine laborers.{{cite web|last=SOMO|title=Uranium workers Namibia unaware of severe health risks|url=http://somo.nl/news-en/uranium-workers-namibia-unaware-of-severe-health-risks|work=May 12, 2009|publisher=SOMO, Netherlands|access-date=7 April 2014|date=2009-05-12}}

{{See also|Health effects of radon|Uranium in the environment|Uranium mining and the Navajo people}}

Because uranium ore emits radon gas, uranium mining can be more dangerous than other underground mining, unless adequate ventilation systems are installed. During the 1950s, many Navajos in the U.S. became uranium miners, as many uranium deposits were discovered on Navajo reservations. A statistically significant subset of these early miners later developed small cell carcinoma after exposure to uranium ore.{{Cite journal| volume = 81| issue = 4| pages = 449–452| last = Gottlieb| first = LS| author2 = LA Husen| title = Lung cancer among Navajo uranium miners| journal = Chest| access-date = 2007-08-09| date = 1982-04-01| url = http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/4/449| doi = 10.1378/chest.81.4.449| pmid = 6279361| archive-date = 2007-09-27| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927000558/http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/4/449| url-status = dead| url-access = subscription}} Radon-222, a natural decay product of uranium, has been shown to be the cancer-causing agent.{{cite web | url= https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.7/mr1018.7.chap2.html | title= Chapter 2: Health Effects | last= Harley | first= Naomi | author2= Ernest Foulkes | author3= Lee H. Hilborne | author4= Arlene Hudson | author5= C. Ross Anthony | year= 1999 | work= A Review of the Scientific Literature As It Pertains to Gulf War Illnesses | publisher= RAND Corporation | pages= Volume 7: Depleted Uranium | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080604031602/http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.7/mr1018.7.chap2.html | archive-date= 2008-06-04 |access-date= 2008-05-10 | url-status= dead }} Some American survivors and their descendants have received compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act which was enacted in 1990, and as of 2016 continues to receive and award claims. Successful claimants have include uranium miners, mill workers and ore transporters.

Residues from processing of uranium ore can also be a source of Radon. Radon resulting from the high radium content in uncovered dumps and tailing ponds can be easily released into the atmosphere.{{cite journal |url= https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.7/mr1018.7.chap2.html |title= Radon exhalation of the uranium tailings dump Digmai, Tajikistan |author1= P. Zoriy |author2= M. Schläger |author3= K. Murtazaev |author4= J. Pillath |author5= M. Zoriy |author6= B. Heuel-Fabianek |year= 2016 |journal= Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |volume= 181 |pages= 109–117 |language= en |doi= 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.11.010 |pmid= 29136519 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080604031602/http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1018.7/mr1018.7.chap2.html |archive-date= 2008-06-04 |url-status= dead |url-access= subscription }}

Also possible is the contamination of ground water and surface water with uranium by leaching processes. In July 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the fourth edition of its guidelines for drinking-water quality. The drinking water guidance level for uranium was increased to 30 μg/L. This limit can be exceeded near mill tailings or mining sites.{{cite journal|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0265931X/181?sdc=2| title= Monitoring of uranium concentrations in water samples collected near potentially hazardous objects in North-West Tajikistan

|last= Schläger |first= Martin |author2=K. Murtazaev |author3= B. Rakhmatuloev |author4= P. Zoriy |author5= B. Heuel-Fabianek| year= 2016 |journal= Radiation and Applications|publisher= International Union of Radioecology|pages= 222–228 |language= en |doi= 10.21175/RadJ.2016.03.041 |url-access= subscription }}

Tetravalent uranium is commonly assumed to form insoluble species and such strategy was employed to reduce the risk of uranium leakage near mining sites. However, the presence of U(IV) in soil bound to amorphous Al-P-Fe-Si aggregates as a non-crystalline species was detected by Rizlan Bernier-Latmani and coworkers into a stream that joined a mining-impacted wetland in France, raising suspicious that phenomena of uranium leakage could be greater than previously imagined.{{Cite news|title=Kakadu mine: risk of uranium leakage could be greater than thought|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/18/ranger-mine-risk-of-uranium-leakage-could-be-greater-than-thought|date= 18 December 2013 |access-date=27 February 2021}}{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Yuheng|last2=Frutschi|first2=Manon|last3=Suvorova|first3=Elena|last4=Phrommavanh|first4=Vannapha|last5=Descostes|first5=Michael|last6=Osman|first6=Alfatih A. A.|last7=Geipel|first7=Gerhard|last8=Bernier-Latmani|first8=Rizlan|title=Mobile uranium(IV)-bearing colloids in a mining-impacted wetland|journal=Nature Communications|volume=4|issue=1|year=2013|page=2942 |issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/ncomms3942|pmid=24346245 |bibcode=2013NatCo...4.2942W |doi-access=free}}

In January 2008 Areva was nominated for an Anti Oscar Award.{{cite news| url= https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jan/22/corporatesocialresponsibility| title= Awards shine spotlight on big business green record| last=Aldred |first= Jessica | date= January 22, 2008 | newspaper= The Guardian| access-date= May 10, 2008}} The French state-owned company mines uranium in northern Niger where mine workers are not informed about health risks, and analysis shows radioactive contamination of air, water and soil. The local organization that represents the mine workers spoke of "suspicious deaths among the workers, caused by radioactive dust and contaminated groundwater".{{cite news| url= http://www.foeeurope.org/activities/Nuclear/pdf/2008/Public_Eye_Denounces_Areva.pdf| title= Public Eye Denounces Areva and Glencore, Praises Hess Natur | date= January 23, 2008 |newspaper= The Guardian| access-date= May 10, 2008 }}

{{See also|Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta|Uranium mining and the Navajo people}}

Large-scale uranium mining operations throughout the world have had a significant impact on indigenous peoples and their ways of life, raising questions concerning economic development of "remote regions" in relation to the impact on traditions life styles of these cultures, and resulting health and environmental hazards.{{cite journal|last=O'Faircheallaigh|first=Ciaran|title=Resource development and inequality in indigenous societies|journal=World Development|date=March 1988|volume=26|issue=3|pages=381–394|doi=10.1016/s0305-750x(97)10060-2}} The Jabiluka uranium mine is located in Kakadu National Park, Australia, is a World Heritage Site and home to the Mirrar Aboriginal culture. A dispute exists between the mining industry, the Mirrar people represented by Yvonne Margarula, ecologists and politicians on the implications of postcolonialism in relation to the impacts on the health and vitality of humans and other species, and effects on scarce water resources.{{cite journal|last=Banerjee|first=Suhabrata Bobby|title=Whose Land Is It Anyway? National Interest, Indigenous Stakeholders, and Colonial Discourses The Case of the Jabiluka Uranium Mine|journal=Organization & Environment|volume=13|issue=1|pages=3–38|series=RMIT University|doi=10.1177/1086026600131001|date=March 2000|s2cid=17058587 }}{{cite web|title=Environmental Justice Case Study: The Jabiluka Mine and Aboriginal Land Rights in Australia's Northern Territory|url=http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jabiluka.html|publisher=University of Michigan|access-date=19 February 2014}} The impact of uranium mining, milling and processing for India's burgeoning nuclear power industry has created controversy between indigenous peoples and mining and energy development.{{cite journal|last=Karlsson|first=BG|title=Nuclear lives: Uranium Mining, indigenous peoples, and Development in India|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=August 22–28, 2009|volume=44|issue=34|pages=43–49|jstor=25663470}} Winona LaDuke, spokesperson for Native Americans and First Nations has written extensively on the impact of uranium mining on indigenous communities.{{cite journal|last=LaDuke|first=Winona|title=Uranium Mining, Native Resistance, and the Greener Path|journal=Orion Magazine|date=January–February 2009|url=http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4248/|access-date=19 February 2014|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223103350/http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4248/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Uranium Mining and Milling|url=http://www.wise-uranium.org/indexu.html#UMMIMP|publisher=WISE Uranium Project: World Information Service on Energy|access-date=19 February 2014}}

The Jackpile Uranium Mine was the world's largest open-pit uranium mine until its closure in the 1980s. The mine, located on Laguna Pueblo land in New Mexico covered approximately 2,500 acres, and employed Laguna, Canyoncito, Acoma and Zuni Pueblo people, as well as the Navajo.{{cite web|title=Laguna Pueblo Indian Reservation Case Study: Jackpile-Paguate Mine, New Mexico|publisher=MiningWatch Canada|date=January 28, 2007|url=http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/laguna-pueblo-indian-reservation-case-study-jackpile-paguate-mine-new-mexico|access-date=19 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225124645/http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/laguna-pueblo-indian-reservation-case-study-jackpile-paguate-mine-new-mexico|archive-date=25 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last=Frosch|first=Dan|title=Nestled Amid Toxic Waste, a Navajo Village Faces Losing its Land Forever|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/us/nestled-amid-toxic-waste-a-navajo-village-faces-losing-its-land-forever.html?emc=eta1&_r=0|access-date=20 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 February 2014}} The Jackpile Mine had a significant gendered impact on the Laguna Pueblo community.{{Cite web |last=Lorenzo |first=June |date=2019 |title=Gendered Impacts of Jackpile Uranium Mining on Laguna Pueblo |url=https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=ijhre |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=usfca.edu}} The mine employed men from the community, which shifted the economy form largely agricultural to wage-earning, with mostly men working in the mine. Laguna Pueblo culture is traditionally matriarchal and matrilineal. Men earning wages, gave them more power in and outside the community. Because the Mine operated 24/7, mine workers often missed participating in ceremonies to go to work.

• Church Rock uranium mill spill
• Environmental racism
• Nuclear labor issues
• Nuclear power debate
• Nuclear weapons debate
• The Navajo People and Uranium Mining
• The Return of Navajo Boy

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Category:Uranium mining

Category:Environmental impact of mining

Category:Uranium politics