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US warned on mining | Herald Sun

US warned on mining

heraldsun.com,.au March 01, 2009

AUSTRALIAN Aborigines, a French physicist and a US actor have joined indigenous peoples from Africa and the US to send legislators a stark warning about the dangers of uranium mining………………………

On Friday representatives of the Tuareg nomads of Niger, Native Americans and Australian Aborigines told US legislators of the ravages of uranium mining on their communities.

Australia is the world’s biggest producer of the mineral.

Sidi-Amar Taoua, a Tuareg who has lived in the US for seven years, said Areva had been mining uranium in Niger for more than 40 years with “no regard for the environment, people’s heath (or) animals”…………………..

Native American environmental activist Manny Pino said though most have been closed, the mines’ legacy included contaminated drinking water and illnesses from cancer to kidney disease.

“In this process of nuclear renaissance, it’s almost like the US Federal Government is ignoring the historical legacy of uranium mining in the past and prioritising the economic benefits of nuclear power in the future at the expense of our land, our water and our people,” Mr Pino said.

Actor James Cromwell, who played George H.W. Bush in the film W, said when the price of the mineral peaked at about $215.52 a pound in 2007, mining companies descended “like vultures” on uranium-rich areas, 70 per cent of which were situated on land inhabited by low-income indigenous

US warned on mining | Herald Sun

March 2, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized