nuclear-news

Cancers from uranium mining – the quiet catastrophe

Cancer deaths do not occur suddenly, inside a mine. Instead, they happen slowly and at a remove from the time and place of exposure.

Let’s not forget the hidden costs of uranium mining High Country News Infographic/Photo Essay – June 15, 2010 by Jen Jackson “…….With the epic oil spill in the Gulf causing many to question our current energy policies and to begin viewing nuclear power in a more favorable light, the uranium industry’s slow resurgence may turn into another spike in growth. But at what cost?

With other extractive industries, we tend to see the tragedies boldly splashed across the front page of the newspaper — the massive oil spills, deaths on the natural gas rigs, or the dozens of coal miners killed in collapses and explosions. We can’t avoid a general awareness of some of the true costs of fossil fuels-based energy production. But many of the costs of nuclear power — beyond the Three Mile Island tragedy now fading in our memories — have been more insidious.

Cancer deaths do not occur suddenly, inside a mine. Instead, they happen slowly and at a remove from the time and place of exposure. The deaths occur at home or in the hospital, surrounded by grieving loved ones rather than reporters with TV cameras. The family mourns, but the nation goes on about its business; nobody makes speeches. Mining disasters are horrible, but uranium takes an even more deadly toll. And it’s not just the miners who are affected. It’s also the families that live near the mine or the mill………..Now, 600 cases of cancer — a number that is growing each year — have been confirmed among current and former Monticello residents. The town has a population of just under 2,000. The Utah Department of Health has finally labeled what is occurring in Monticello as a cancer cluster that does not appear to be a random occurrence.

If 600 mine workers died in a single day, the nation would be abuzz. People would be outraged and collectively grieving. Instead, news of the Monticello cancer cluster hasn’t reached much beyond Utah’s borders.

Let’s not forget the hidden costs of uranium mining — High Country News

June 16, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive, uranium