Health concerns with uranium mining and milling

The health risks associated with working in a uranium mine or milling operation are difficult to refute.

Potential health effects include lung cancer from inhalation of radioactive particles, as well as bone cancer and impaired kidney function from exposure to radionuclides in drinking water.

A recent study has found that uranium, in addition to being a radioactive toxicant, also acts as an estrogen mimic. Some estrogen mimicking chemicals, or xenoestrogens, are known to exaggerate the carcinogenic effects of radiation.

Mine worker health risks

The Pembina Institute reports that workers at uranium mines and mills in Canada typically receive annual effective radiation doses higher than those considered acceptable for members of the general public. Increased incidences of lung cancer as well as deaths resulting from silica exposure are reported among uranium miners.

During mining operations in the southwest United States, radon and its progeny were inhaled into the lungs of miners and mill workers, and according to the Indian Health Services it is believed that exposure to high concentrations of alpha decay particles has caused lung cancer in some Navajo miners. In addition to cancer, chronic pulmonary disease also developed in some miners due to the inhalation of the silica dust particles.

Community health risks

Food contamination

In their 2006 report Nuclear Power in Canada: An Examination of Risks, Impacts and Sustainability the following risks to communities were outlined:

Studies have been performed to assess the health of foodstuffs near uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan. In one study, tissues from moose and cattle were collected. The study concluded that moose and human radiation doses in the Wollaston area were two to three times higher than in control areas. These risks were not thought to be significant. But significant health risks, particularly increased risks of developing cancer, have been identified for regular consumers of caribou in the vicinity of Wollaston uranium mine operations and waste rock storage areas. The consumption of caribou was found to increase the chance of developing cancer -- the estimated rate was six cancers per 1,000 people. This far exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) range of acceptable cancer risks of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000,000.

Water contamination

Another source of exposure to toxic and radioactive chemicals comes from contaminated water sources.

• Surface water discharges from uranium mining and milling facility in Canada have resulted in the contamination of the surrounding environment with radionuclides and heavy metals. Effluent from uranium mines and mills has been classified as “toxic” for the purposes of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
• From 1944 to 1986, nearly four million tons of uranium were extracted from Navajo lands. Many Navajo people worked the mines, and raised families in close proximity to the mines and mills.
   
  Today the mines are closed, but a legacy of uranium contamination remains. In March 2008, EPA tested 50 Navajo Nation unregulated water sources, and Center for Disease Control sampled over 100 additional sources. Of these, 22 were found to exceed standards for radionuclides. EPA testing identified 15 of these and the CDC testing revealed an additional seven. The water from 21 of these sources is being used for human consumption.

For More Information

• NDE: Dirty air pollutants: VOCs, NOx, particulate matter, and acid rain.

• NDE: Dirty water and uranium.

• NDE: Dirty land and uranium.

• NDE: Sources of dirty energy - uranium.

• The Pembina Institute: Nuclear Power in Canada: An Examination of Risks, Impacts and Sustainability.

• Wise Uranium Project: Health Impacts for Uranium Mine and Mill Residents.

• Southwest Research and Information Center: Uranium Impact Assessment Project.

• Miningwatch Canada: Uranium issues.

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