Tue Dec 6, 2011 5:20pm GMT
(Reuters) - Areva said on Tuesday it would monitor the health of thousands of workers and residents exposed to its uranium mine sites in Niger, bowing to pressure from advocacy groups.
The move comes a year after the French nuclear giant launched a plan in Gabon to treat more than 1,000 former miners who fell ill after working in one of Areva's mines there.
"Health observatories have now become a reality in two African countries and Areva wants to extend the health monitoring to all the mines it operates in the world," said Alain Acker, medical director for Areva.
"In case of illness attributable to professional activity, Areva would take responsibility for healthcare up to French medical standards."
The company's doctor who is in charge of workers in Niger, Assane Baraze, said Areva would also review "all cases of deaths reported over the period 1977-2010... to see if there is a link between the deaths and uranium mining."
There is no reliable data on deaths or diseases in the area of Niger's mine sites, which have been in operation for roughly four decades.
But Areva has come under pressure from rights and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and SHERPA for not doing enough to protect the environment and the health of workers and nearby residents.
Read more:
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7B509620111206
