nuclear-news

Living on a radioactive uranium dump

What does uranium do?

When uranium is ingested it is deposited in the kidneys, lungs, brain and bone marrow. The alpha particles – which contain massive doses of energy – sit in these parts and damage the tissue around them. Because it is an endocrine disrupter, it increases the risk of fertility problems and reproductive cancer. Large doses are fatal, but the constant exposure to low levels has intergenerational effects that are still not fully understood

One man’s home is another man’s uranium dump, Mail & Guardian, Africa 18 JUL 2014 SIPHO KINGS With nowhere else to live, many seek refuge in the radiation wastelands in Gauteng, unaware of the deadly dangers the abandoned mining areas present……..Faded photographs in the town museum show people sunbathing and swimming in the lake in the 1980s. There were bars, a jetty and a miniature putting course. Now only the foundations remain after it was closed because of the increasing concentration of uranium in Robinson Lake.

In the past it was a place for the residents of Randfontein – 50km west of Johannesburg – to relax on the weekend and forget their jobs in the mining industry. But in the late 1990s the underground mines started closing because the falling price of gold and uranium made them unprofitable. The mines were abandoned and the water levels inside started rising. Acid mine drainage began seeping into the dam, increasing the level of uranium to levels 220 times higher than the safe limit. The resort closed.

Deep into winter a chill breeze blows across the lake, creating ripples in the clear water. The surface is a stark blue reflection of the sky, with the bottom tainted red from the heavy metals in the water. No alga grow here, no fish swim, no underwater life ripples the surface.

The periphery of the lake is a wide ring of cracked yellow earth. The soil beyond is brown. There are 20m-high blue gum trees. There are yellow signs with “Radiation area – Supervised area” wired to the fence around the area and nailed to the trees.

Gold seam
The Witwatersrand gold seam runs for about 100km, from Randfontein in the west of Johannesburg to Springs in the east. A century of mining drove a mining boom, thanks to this being the world’s largest concentration of the precious metal.

Mine shafts up to 3km deep were sunk. The waste was dumped above ground in over 400 mine dumps or tailings dams that now dot the province. These contain a mixture of heavy metals, and an estimated 600 000 tonnes of uranium.

The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) says this is the only place in the world where large numbers of people live next to dumps full of uranium.It says up to 400 000 people in the Witwatersrand are exposed to low levels of radiation as a result, and tests Cansa did on the teeth of residents in Carletonville found uranium levels 100 times higher than normal levels. It says no research has been done in Gauteng about long-term exposure to mine dumps.

Managers of one of the Witwatersrand mines lived 300m from Robinson Lake. Their large red-brick homes were abandoned when operations ceased in the late 1990s, and have been occupied by squatters……….

The National Nuclear Regulator has found uranium concentrations of 16mg a litre in Robinson Lake. Water affairs says a maximum concentration of 0.07mg is safe to drink. In 2002 it was declared a radioactive site thanks to the levels of uranium – one of 50 in the Witwatersrand. The regulator fences these off because people cannot be exposed to them for prolonged time. When people do live in dangerous places, it must move them. But the fences around Robinson Lake keep being stolen for scrap.

Radioactivity
South Africa has not done much of its own research, and relies in part on work carried out in eastern Germany, where uranium was mined during the Cold War. Here, old mines are fenced off and exclusion zones are established to ensure no one lives there. Naturally occurring uranium remains radioactive for billions of years, and these areas cannot be rehabilitated.

The National Nuclear Regulator had not responded to requests for comment by the time of going to print.   ….

Research by the nuclear regulator says radiation seeps into these rivers from tailings dams and is carried far downstream. The town of Potchefstroom is down-river from Randfontein, and is home to Professor Frank Winde’s laboratory. A lecturer in geography and environmental studies at North-West University, he says there are more than 600 000 tonnes of uranium sitting above the soil in Gauteng.

Uranium levels inside kettles he tested in the town were 20 times higher than levels in towns with water that was not affected by mining. The South African levels for uranium in water are four times the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), he says. Untreated water that he tested upstream had levels 4 000 times higher than this limit.

Isolated tests
Although isolated tests have been conducted, there has never been a comprehensive study of the air and water pollution from mine dumps………

Remediation costs
There are 6 000 abandoned mines in South Africa, and the auditor general said in 2009 that it will cost at least R30-billion to remediate these. The legislation around mines is based on the principle of “polluter pays” but until the 1980s mines did not have to bear the cost of remediating the areas they had operated in.

Now, the mines are fully responsible. But the mines, through the Chamber of Mines, argue that current companies cannot be held liable for the negligence of companies that have closed. Environmental groups have opposed this and said that when a company is transferred (all mines and their dumps are owned by someone) its assets and liabilities are carried through to the next owner.

The Gauteng part of this strategy – “Regional Mine Closure” – says the worst affected population when it comes to exposure to possible radiation are “informal settlement dwellers” living next to affected rivers…..

What does uranium do?

When uranium is ingested it is deposited in the kidneys, lungs, brain and bone marrow. The alpha particles – which contain massive doses of energy – sit in these parts and damage the tissue around them. Because it is an endocrine disrupter, it increases the risk of fertility problems and reproductive cancer. Large doses are fatal, but the constant exposure to low levels has intergenerational effects that are still not fully understood. http://mg.co.za/article/2014-07-17-one-mans-home-is-another-mans-uranium-dump/

July 19, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, South Africa, Uranium