Five Reasons to Oppose Uranium
Mining and Exploration
Uranium mining companies
have shown a
renewed interest in
uranium deposits across
Canada in the past year.
In addition to being the
principal fuel for nuclear
reactors, uranium is
the main raw material
for nuclear weapons, while small quantities
are used for medical isotopes. The
industry claims that nuclear power is a
“clean, green energy.” But before jumping
on the nuclear bandwagon, there
are clear health and environmental risks
that should be considered.
Here are five reasons to oppose
uranium mining and exploration:
1. There is no safe storage
option for waste.
Uranium mining and milling leave
behind dozens of toxic and radioactive
components (uranium naturally
produces highly dangerous radioactive
by-products like radium, radon gas
and polonium.) Common methods of
waste storage have been vulnerable to
seepage and spontaneous containment
failure, not to mention earthquakes
and other natural and man-made
disasters. No storage method has been
accident-free to date; in fact, the largest
radiation release in human history after
Chernobyl was the sudden collapse of a
uranium tailings dam in Churchrock,
New Mexico, in 1979. Radioactive for
thousands of years, the uranium waste
leaves a toxic legacy for generations.
2. Mining poses serious
health risks.
Although technologies protecting miners
have improved, mine workers’ health
is still seriously at risk. Communities in at least a 100-km radius (and as far
as 1,000 km) are impacted by uranium
dust particles, and more importantly
by radon gas, a known cancer-causing
agent. Countless studies in areas around
uranium mines have confirmed higher
rates of radiation-induced lung cancer
(in smokers and non-smokers alike),
and a number of studies have linked
radon gas to an increase in childhood
leukemia and other diseases.
3. Uranium mining poisons
wat er sources.
Groundwater can be impacted by the
simple act of drilling, which can force
the movement of uranium ore and
release radon and other radioactive
materials into our drinking water. The
by-products of uranium in the waste
also leach into nearby watersheds and
ecosystems, contaminating them forever.
Solid radioactive fallout gets into the
food chain through contaminated soil,
fish and animals, increasing the likelihood
of disease in living creatures.
4. There is no such thing as
“clean” nuclear power.
Although the actual use of uranium in
a nuclear power plant is low in carbon
emissions, everything else relating to
nuclear power is very carbon-intensive: the mining and milling of uranium, the
enrichment of uranium, and the building
(and dismantling) of nuclear reactors.
In additional, the by-products of
nuclear waste and the hazards they pose
are significantly worse than
carbon emissions.
5. The push for uranium
mining is part of the U.S. energy
integrat ion agenda
Canada is the world’s largest producer
of uranium. About 80 per cent of
uranium mined in Canada is exported,
and a substantial portion of this is used
for nuclear power production in the
United States. As demand for uranium
ore increases in the United States and
around the world, there will be more
pressure on governments to allow companies
to mine it. The Security and
Prosperity Partnership of North America
(SPP) calls for increased integration
of energy markets in Canada, the
United States and Mexico, and harmonized
rules and regulations (with
a resultant weakening of social and
environmental policies) to meet these
growing energy demands.
The short-term economic benefits
uranium mining may produce do not
outweigh the long-term devastation it
brings to the environment, local waterways
and people’s health.
The Council of Canadians calls on
governments to enact legislation to
permanently ban uranium mining and
exploration in Canada.
For more information about the
Council’s energy campaign, visit
www.canadians.org or call us at
1-800-387-7177.
Angela Giles is the Atlantic Regional
Organizer for the Council of Canadians.
Printer-friendly version: Five Reasons to Oppose Uranium Mining and Exploration in PDF Format (96kB)
Photo: Uranium is used to generate power in
nuclear reactors. Uranium also provides the
fissile material for nuclear weapons.
