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Article: Uranium mines put health and environment at risk.
- Article from:
- Chemistry and Industry
- Article date:
- May 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Society of Chemical Industry. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Twenty years after the Chernobyl crisis, the nuclear industry continues to expand and a global nuclear renaissance seems inevitable. Much of the debate over safety has focused heavily on plant operation and waste disposal, but uranium mining poses similar risks to environment and health.
One of the major concerns is that, while international protocols and safeguards regulate the sale of uranium globally, safety in uranium mining operations is the responsibility of individual countries. And many of these countries are failing to ensure that uranium mining is conducted safely.
There have been reports of contamination at all uranium mines in Australia, one ...