nuclear-news

Czech government faces costly cleanup of radioactive uranium mine site

Government earmarks 4.5 billion Kč to remove uranium mining damage in Stráž, Prague Post,  Stráž pod Ralskem, North Bohemia, Jan 9 (ČTK) — The Czech government will earmark 4.5 billion Kč for 2015 to 2017 to remove damage caused by the environmentally unfriendly method of uranium mining in Stráž pod Ralskem, Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mládek told journalists. The process is estimated to cost about 50 billion Kč and last until 2037.

Uranium mining took place in Stráž pod Ralskem between 1967 and 1996 having contaminated over 370 million cubic meters of underground water with four million chemicals on an area of 27 square kilometers.

The situation is even more complicated because the contaminated land is near the large drinking water reservoirs in northern and central Bohemia.

The contaminant content is 50 grams per liter, but it should be seven grams per liter, said Tomáš Rychtařík, the head of the state-run company Diamo that is in charge of land reclamation.

The land reclamation process began in 1996, its costs at around 20 billion Kč so far.

Mládek said the government is not considering resumption of uranium mining in the said area.

The Cabinet is mulling mining activity in Brzkov in southern Moravia, where it is possible to get over 3,000 tons of uranium. At present any activity would be loss-making and so the cabinet will leave a decision on the issue to a government to emerge from the next parliamentary election………..  http://praguepost.com/czech-news/43739-uranium-mine-area-being-reclaimed#ixzz3OfwXa2G2

January 12, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, EUROPE