Soweto, Johannesburg – Thousands of people face evacuation from greater Johannesburg in the Gauteng province – the economic heartland of South Africa – due to toxic sludge from abandoned gold mines laced with high radiation levels.
Residents use radioactive mud as an acne cure
Experts warn old mine dumps could cause birth defects and brain disorders Patience Mjadu can’t bear the pimples that dot her face. So, like other women in her impoverished informal settlement, she has resorted to a novel but potentially dangerous form of treatment involving toxic and radioactive mining waste.
Radioactive spillages condemn farmland
In the wasteland that is Johan Kondos’s farm, a lush green field brings hope. “This is what a farm is supposed to look like,” he says, gesturing proudly to his prized lucerne crop, seemingly untainted by the surrounding mining pollution. This lone field, and a few beloved cattle, is all Kondos has left of his […]
South Africa – ‘not managing’ impact of uranium mining
The government’s failure to address mining hazards is placing the lives of its poorest people at risk from large-scale toxic and radiological pollution, according to a new report.
The battle over uranium: Just how bad is it?
One of the most abundant heavy metals in the earth’s crust, uranium is a known radiological element and toxin. It is also a major by-product of gold mining, historically one of South Africa’s greatest economic undertakings. The country additionally began mining specifically for uranium in 1949, primarily for export to the United States and other […]
Actions required by the Nuclear Regulator
The FSE has presented a proposal of recommended actions by the National Nuclear Regulator to deal with health risks and environmental hazards in the Witwatersrand Goldfields.
The Critical Question
What does it mean for us and our environment, if more and more countries produce energy from nuclear power plants?
Advanced Biochemical and Biophysical aspects of Uranium Contamination
Uranium has been considered both a radiological and also a heavy metal poison, following calcium in its distribution within the body, i.e. building up in bone, and with the principle target for toxicity being the lung and the kidney. Recently, it has been shown that uranium also targets the brain.
Hazards of Uranium
Uranium mining and processing poses a tremendous threat to workers and the population in the surrounding areas through the release of radiation and exposure to heavy metals and chemicals.
THE TIPPING POINT: Inevitable or Avoidable?
“The 2006 Energy Review merely exacerbated the problem. It acknowledged that the UK would not meet its emissions targets without nuclear, but did almost nothing to address the problem of the reluctance of the market to fund a new generation of plants.