** * * * Jharkhand News *
<http://jharkhand.org.in/> * In Jharkhand, mining uranium in plain clothes, dumping in open * * Staking claims, buying mineral rights and applying for permits on the edge of the tribal homeland, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) makes it no secret that they are out to satiate the country's vast energy needs, even if it means endangering the environment by the detritus of the uranium boom. Although fenced and declared a prohibited area, Jaduguda's tailing ponds in Jharkhand are sitting on the surface and no rocket science is needed for anyone to access it. Uranium tailings are generated as solid and liquid wastes in uranium mining/milling operations after uranium is recovered from the ore. Since uranium deposits Jaduguda is of low grades (about 0.06%), tonnes of such wastes are produced annually. Dispelling any concern on the safety and environmental impact of uranium mining UCIL chairman and managing director R Gupta said, "There is adverse public perception and in the past few years we have tried to educate people on the safety initiatives taken by us. Only a small group of people and a couple of NGOs are opposing us." On the environmental side, the tailings, once the water dries, emit radon gases. Radon is about eight times heavier than air, so it stays close to the ground. It can travel 1,000 miles in just a few days in a light breeze. Radon causes lung cancer and in most cases is fatal. Even worse is the fact that as the radon atoms disintegrate, they produce other radioactive substances. Therefore one has a multiplication of new radioactive materials. These materials—the radon daughters—are extremely dangerous. Even fire at the waste disposal site could cause widespread radioactive contamination, with serious health and environmental consequences. The radioactive substances released into the environment from such an event could contaminate thousands of square kilometers; result in billions of dollars in economic impact and large numbers of both early and latent cancer deaths. Also , some of the slag from the mill is taken back to the mines for filling purposes. The waste has considerable radioactivity in it, but is shipped back to the mines in open dumper trucks. For the workers involved in the mining process, safety though quite stringent in certain cases, is quite lackadaisical in others. It is essential for the workers to change into different set of clothes when entering the mines. However, the clothes they change into are normal everyday clothes, which lack any material, which would absorb the radiation between the person and the source. Miners who spoke to FE admitted that they washed clothes once a week and mostly in the near by ponds and rivers. This means any radioactive material or particle is often disseminated into water bodies, contaminating the water source in the process. Uranium ore rocks are scattered outside the mine itself. UCIL officials, however, claimed there was no danger from the rocks and could even be handled with bare hands. "There has been no scientific study done here which proved the adverse impact of mining on the health of the people. No radiation related disease is found here," Gupta claimed. Company secretary and PIO PV Dubey said the company has taken adequate measures and spent considerable time in ensuring the safety of people and protection if environment. "Scientist from Bhabha Atomic research Centre continuously monitor the situation here and they have found nothing untoward. The radiation from conventional sources is much more then radiation from uranium mining." It is sad that UCIL is continuously targeted and a center of misinformation, given that the country needs uranium for its power needs and we are the only source for it, he added. Locals, however, question as to how long UCIL will shoulder the responsibility of sustainable mining. "One day the mines will run dry and UCIL will leave. What will happen to the large amount of radioactive waste? Who will take care of it? There is no guarantee that the water will not migrate beyond the tailing ponds," questioned a local resident. financialexpress.com/news/In-Jharkhand-mining-uranium-in-plain-clothes-dumping-in-open/324048/0 * ** ** *Jharkhand Network* * www.jharkhand.org.uk* **
