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Uranium mining contaminating groundwater

Utah’s Bingham Canyon mine, for example, has created a plume of contaminated groundwater that covers 72 square miles according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Uranium Danger, The Death Valley Journal, March 26, 2010 Uranium is a metallic chemical element found in rock, soil, and water. It is radioactive, and a primary use of it is to fuel nuclear power plants, thereby supplying electricity to cities and people. It also finds use in the construction of nuclear weapons.The half life of uranium 238 is about 4.5 billion years.

Concern involving the Death Valley region is that the mining of it here could cause groundwater contamination and depletion that may lead to a negative change in the ecosystem (plants, animals, people). Uranium inhaled in dust or consumed in water accumulates in bone tissue and remains for years.

Exposure to radon gas, one of uranium’s decomposition byproducts, poses a significant risk of lung cancer.National park issues, led by ongoing struggles to prevent uranium mining near Grand Canyon National Park, have brought Death Valley National Park onto the stage. On a Washington D.C. based website named “Environmental Working Group”, dangers are brought to light. Quoted from that website is this:“Other national parks and monuments with claims staked within five miles include Arches and Canyonlands in Utah, Death Valley and Yosemite in California and Mt. Saint Helens in Washington. While these nearby claims may be the most worrisome for the parks, claims even farther away could also pose problems. Utah’s Bingham Canyon mine, for example, has created a plume of contaminated groundwater that covers 72 square miles according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Uranium Danger « The Death Valley Journal

March 27, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium