12 Apr 2012 - Story by Irene !Hoaës
WINDHOEK – Renewed concern has been expressed regarding uranium mining activities along the coastal areas and its impact on the environment following tests undertaken by the Commission for Independent Research and Information about Radiation (CRIIRAD) and EARTHLIFE Namibia.
These mining activities have a direct bearing on people’s health as they reportedly cause cancer, especially to people that get exposed to them.
According to CRIIRAD, people that spend 30 minutes to 35 hours at a distance below 25 meters from the waste rock dump, would receive an external radiation dose above the trivial dose of 10 microsieverts per year.
One of the main concerns is uranium concentrates found in underground water sources and on sediments in areas where Rössing and the Langer Heinrich mines are found, especially along the Khan and Gawib rivers.
According to Bruno Chareyron, a Nuclear Physics Engineer and Director of the CRIIRAD Laboratory, the radioactive tailings (waste) of the mines are not covered and dust particles from the tailings are accumulating on bushes and slopes.
“When it rains, this dust is even washed off the waste rock dumps that are situated next to the river banks and therefore deposited into the river system,” the nuclear engineer said.
Chareyron said some waste rocks are dumped on the banks of the Khan River, at the intersection with Dome Gorge, without fencing and confinement.
“The radiological impact of this activity has to be studied in detail, but preliminary measurements show various impacts on the environment,” he said in a preliminary report.
Read more:
http://www.newera.com.na/articles/44200/Concerns-over-uranium-mining
These mining activities have a direct bearing on people’s health as they reportedly cause cancer, especially to people that get exposed to them.
According to CRIIRAD, people that spend 30 minutes to 35 hours at a distance below 25 meters from the waste rock dump, would receive an external radiation dose above the trivial dose of 10 microsieverts per year.
One of the main concerns is uranium concentrates found in underground water sources and on sediments in areas where Rössing and the Langer Heinrich mines are found, especially along the Khan and Gawib rivers.
According to Bruno Chareyron, a Nuclear Physics Engineer and Director of the CRIIRAD Laboratory, the radioactive tailings (waste) of the mines are not covered and dust particles from the tailings are accumulating on bushes and slopes.
“When it rains, this dust is even washed off the waste rock dumps that are situated next to the river banks and therefore deposited into the river system,” the nuclear engineer said.
Chareyron said some waste rocks are dumped on the banks of the Khan River, at the intersection with Dome Gorge, without fencing and confinement.
“The radiological impact of this activity has to be studied in detail, but preliminary measurements show various impacts on the environment,” he said in a preliminary report.
Read more:
http://www.newera.com.na/articles/44200/Concerns-over-uranium-mining
