Here is the real story. Uranium mining has left France with a toxic legacy that threatens their health, heritage and local agricultural economy.
Uranium mining operations in France ceased in 2001 and a toxic legacy left by the mine sites still exists. According to the Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD) in France, lack of proper regulation means by-products of uranium mining can still be found throughout the region. Further, the cost of shutting down these mines is still largely supported by French citizens, not the companies.
A recent report by CRIIRAD stated, “… at all the French uranium mines where it made radiological surveys, the CRIIRAD laboratory discovered situations of environmental contamination and a lack of proper protection of the inhabitants against health risks.” One of these closed mining sites has been found to produce 20 times the normal radiation and is close to a populated town. CRIIRAD found that improper protection across France was due to the lack of proper regulations, a poor awareness of the radiological hazards associated with uranium and its by-products, insufficient monitoring practices, and the lack of controls by the local and national administration. (2)
The water contamination from uranium waste threatens France’s Champagne wine industry and other agricultural markets. The accumulation of radioactive metals in sediments and plants of rivers, ponds, and lakes by contamination around former mine sites has also been found to have high enough contamination to be considered “radioactive waste,” making some traditional water sources unusable for Frances’s renowned agriculture industry.
The toxic legacy left by the uranium mining industry in France filled with poor regulations and threats to the local economy; shows uranium mining is a bad deal for Virginia.
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