Nuclear legacy far dirtier than coal

WE are disgusted at Gordon Brown's new nuclear power programme.

The whole nuclear cycle is a disaster for human health.

The initial stage of uranium processing emits gamma radiation which causes the mutation of human cells. The mining process gives rise to seeping radon gas, which also has an adverse effect on cells.

Radium dust is ingested by miners. Its composition mirrors calcium and accumulates in human bones, causing leukaemia.

Research also shows that uranium miners face an above-average risk of lung cancer.

Then there is the mine waste.

The ERA Ranger mine in Australia disperses liquid waste across the mine lease area and it has plans to disperse it into the Kakadu wetlands.

Heathgate Resources, which owns the Beverly uranium mine, discharges liquid radioactive waste into the ground water system.

There is no legal requirement to rehabilitate the area from the impact that acid-leach uranium mining methods have on ground water systems.

The expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine will create the world's largest radioactive tailings pile. It will remain as waste for thousands of years, unless a scientific breakthrough is made.

The dam's owner BHP Billiton is the largest user of ground water in the southern hemisphere at a time of acute water scarcity.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, BHP Billiton takes 35 million litres of Great Artesian Basin water free of charge every day. Even this is not enough. The company is the driving force behind a desalination plant to be built at the top of Spencer Gulf. This location is "cost effective," but what about the environmental impact in a unique breeding ground for the giant Australian cuttlefish and other fish species?

Uranium is not a clean fuel. It is far dirtier than coal.

FLORENCE & IVOR KENNA
Associate NUM Members
London EC1