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Poor conditions of workers in Africa’s uranium mines

The low ventilation within the mines caused health problems for the miners from Niger, Gabon and Namibia, who are portrayed in Hecht’s book. “The miners got more exposure of radon,” Hecht said. “Exposure became overexposure.”

Radon is a decay product of uranium and can stick to dust particles that, if inhaled, increases the risk for lung cancer.

Mine workers are also specifically told to ignore safety standards, Hecht said.

Michigan history professor gives lecture on Africa, uranium, The Daily Cougar, By Audris Ponce,   February 7, 2012 African uranium mines have carried a significant political impact on international affairs since the Cold War and, more recently, in the Iraq War.

Gabrielle Hecht, a University of Michigan Ann Arbor history professor, asked during her lecture on Thursday at the Rockwell Pavilion, “What explains the power of this phrase: Uranium from Africa?” Hecht discusses this question in her book “Being Nuclear: Africans and
the Global Uranium Trade,” which will be released at the end of the month.

During the Cold War, Africa supplied 20 to 50 percent of the western world’s uranium, Hecht said. George W. Bush thrust African uranium mines into worldwide attention with his 2003 State of the Union speech, in which he told the public that “the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

Since Bush’s speech, uranium from African mines has become a constant
source of speculation and discussion.

“Africa remains the dark continent. We need new histories for Africa,”
Hecht said. “That’s what this book tries to do.”

The low ventilation within the mines caused health problems for the miners from Niger, Gabon and Namibia, who are portrayed in Hecht’s book. “The miners got more exposure of radon,” Hecht said. “Exposure became overexposure.”

Radon is a decay product of uranium and can stick to dust particles that, if inhaled, increases the risk for lung cancer.

Mine workers are also specifically told to ignore safety standards, Hecht said.

Hecht says his book is not as much about the plight of African uranium
miners as it is an effort to show readers how to go about the
parameters of political debate.

“I think it’s important for people to understand global discussions —
in this case nuclear industry — and to also know the stories of
faraway places,” Hecht said.

http://thedailycougar.com/2012/02/07/michigan-history-professor-gives-lecture-on-africa-uranium/

February 8, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general