The immediate case of the disaster at Fukushima may have been a natural once, but the official report to Japan’s parliament says the ultimate culprit was a weak regulation – a lesson South Africa cannot afford to ignore.
Women’s toxic secret to beauty found in the earth
FACIAL TREATMENT: Patience Mjadu, 44 inside her shack in Tudor Shaft informal settlement, with her face smeared with toxic soil from mining waste mixed with skin lotion and water. Mjadu believes the soil helps with her pimples and protects her face from the sun.
Mine dumps – “toxic threat”
Despite intensive and extensive investigations undertaken and reports issued by several government departments several years ago into the health hazards associated with a toxic environment in the Johannesburg region, the situation persists with little to no remedial action taken to date.
Acid sludge poses a serious risk to Gauteng
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?