Coal union stats say there are 500,000 black lung "casualties". It would be a stab, a guess, but that may be more than all the uranium miners put together.
The kill ration among waitresses is also 100%, but I expect you mean premature deaths - but premature death is also true of black lung.
I was comparing coal and nuclear.
Vastly more coal is needed for the same wattage as is supplied by uranium. In fact, half the rail traffic carries coal, so you can blame half the rail worker deaths to coal. Last time I looked it was 125 a year, but I think it's a bit down. Call it 100 and 5o deaths applied to coal.
I have no idea how many people die from coal originated pollution. Thirty years ago, the government's "Direct Use of Coal" suggested the premature death toll of coal pollution reached 85,000 a year. Say it's only 10,000 a year now. That's probably more than the total number of uranium miners.
However, men shouldn't have to go down into the bowels of the earth to dig coal or uranium. That's where attention should be focused.
I didn't say "there is more radioactivity in coal tailings than in uranium". If I leave things out, then you put things in. Read more carefully.
Harry
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Ray wrote:
Wh.......at? You are leaving crucial information out as you do frequently. The key is the word casualty. Black lung is bad but not nearly as terminal as soon as silicosis in lead and zinc mines and the kill ratio in the Uranium mines was 100%. I guess you mean they all died eventually or are you spouting industry stats?
I don't know about how early the Uranium miners died but I suspect it has to do with you wattage stats but that would be just speculation. I was around mining stats for years and companies just make up things. They told us the tailing ponds were safe to swim in but my mom said that she would spank us both if she ever heard of it. Today, we have enough lead in our bones without having emersed ourselves in that beautiful clear lead water. They are still OK ing the water for drinking which is highly suspect even today.
If there is more radioactivity in coal tailings than in uranium then why did the only thing killing us in those strip mine swimming holes was eating too soon and drowning or the water moccassins? On the other hand all of those Navajo kids have cancer from swimming in the tailing water. Facts like these are the big reasons that the conservatives want to do away with PBS. They call PBS prejudiced towards environmentalists. Indian people call them the only good thing going.
REH
**************************************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 Tel: (818) 352-4141 -- Fax: (818) 353-2242 http://home.attbi.com/~haledward ****************************************************
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