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By uranium economy all economic activities are understood, which are enough from the processing of the uranium ore to a usable product over the trade with uranium products up to its industriellen and military use. The economic activities are to a considerable degree coined/shaped of political influences because of the high meaning for the power supply and for the making and safety questions of the states.
In order to examine the uranium concentration, test drillings must be made. Only one uranium dismantling place about 500 test drillings precede. Often in such a way specified is used in situ method, with which the uranium with addition is separated from chemicals from the rock. With these drillings the groundwater is chemically contaminated. A further contamination of the groundwater is made by the solved uranium. If this is only once solved from the rock, it delivers radioactivity to the environment.
If the test drillings were successful, i.e., if the uranium in good quality and in does not occur to small mass, the uranium dismantling follows. Although the uranium dismantling is thus actually only the second member in the chain of the uranium economy, it called front end to the atomic industry nevertheless.
In a further step the uranium ore is cut up by mills. Often the mills stand in the proximity of the mines, in order to save transport costs. Mills cut up the diminished stones to fine sand, which is mixed into large quantities of water and chemicals, which extract the uranium. The developed uranium ore concentrate is goldfarben and therefore also Yellowcake is called. Qualitatively high-standing Yellowcake contains a concentration of 60% uranium or more. Before the processing contained the diminished, qualitatively good uranium ore only about 0,04% uranium - dementsprechnd the waste, which developed when grinding, is large. Per ton produced uranium about 750 tons of radioactive waste result. The waste contains about 85% of the original radioactivity of the uranium ore.
The waste produces radioactivity and additionally delivers it radon gas to the environment. Radioactive components of the waste can arrive also in the groundwater and contaminate this. The moreover produces only one mill per hour over 20 kg of radioactive dust, which distributes itself in air over an enormous area.
Uranium occurs in nature as mixture of three isotopes: U-238, U-235, U-234. The predominant part of the uranium consists of U-238-Isotopen. For splitting the uranium in a nuclear reactor (exception of fast breeders) however the isotope U-235 is needed, since this isotope is more easily fissile more unstably and therefore. For this purpose the uranium is enriched. The uranium is shipped in factories, and there by isotope separation the portion of the U-235 isotope is increased.
Uranium is used either in nuclear power stations for the power production or but for the production of nuclear weapons.
Even if in such a way used uranium represents the final product, it is not yet the last member of the uranium economy. For a long time after the use of the uranium waste products remain in the earth back (compares lower). Still thousands of years radioactive gases are transferred to air. The Tailings, those when grinding the uranium ore of developed wastes, delivers just as radioactive emissions to the environment. In order to be able, become to hold these emissions within limits often approximately around the waste mountains of dams built and the whole area with water it floods, in order to prevent that radioactive gases can arrive into air. Also the radiation by the rock can be minimized in such a way.
With the chain of the uranium economy thus both radioactive develop as well as chemical emissions. In the last years the use of uranium was therefore criticized ever more violently. The economics of nuclear energy has an uncertain future. Hardly more new atomic power plants are built already now. Also the atomic war guidance is guessed/advised in disrepute.
The ecological damage results from radioactivity over a longer length of time away. They much too often result in addition, from accidents.
A frequent development of the ecological damage is the contamination of the groundwater. The flooding of the Tailings has the negative effect that the water contaminates the groundwater easily into the soil arrived and there. For example in the Laguna Pueblo in new Mexico, whose country the Anaconda company leased and diminished between 1952 and 1981 there uranium, one stated 1975 that the entire groundwater of the village was radioactively contaminated. In accordance with the Laguna Acoma Koalititon for a safe environment already two tributaries of the Rio San Jose are radioactively contaminated in new Mexico.
Also the dams, which are established for the flooding of the waste, can break. On 11 June 1962 this happened for example in Edgemont in the Black Hills (South Dakota). At that time 200 tons overburden arrived in the Cottonwood Creek, which flows into the Cheyenne River. That again feeds the Angostura water reservoir, which serves in the Pine Ridge reservation for the agriculture irrigation and as potable water supply.
A further dam failure led 1979 in new Mexico to the largest nuclear disaster of the USA. About 400 million litre of radioactive water flowed into the Rio Puerco. The responsible person company United Nuclear the tears were in the dam at least two months before the accident admit been, nevertheless led the responsible persons no repairs into the ways. Of it were concerned in particular the Hopi and Pueblo Indian.
Accidents happened also with poisonous chemicals. The Cove/McCoy mine in Arizona for example had different leakages with those about 500,000 litres of liquid ran out. In the liquids about 400 kilograms of Zyanid were contained. The operator was not pulled for this ecological disaster to the account. One placed only the edition to it to secure the plant better.
The danger of the radioactivity becomes apparent also in the animal world. Dead fish as well as deformations become again and again, as observes for example frogs, in the local animal world. Straight one in Canada was found with the animal world in close proximity to uranium mills increased sterility and mutations. This has in particular there also for the Indigenen negative consequences, where the Indigenen is dependent on them from nature to the order the products placed.
The consequences of the uranium radiation on the animals one strengthens to that extent, many animals use abandoned mine lugs as protection from the weather. There drink the animals, among them Kojoten, foxes, cattle, horses, sheep, reptiles, birds and rodents, contaminated water and eat contaminated plants.
Into the late 1980-he 1980 the US Government rejected any responsibility for the death of mine workers. Only 1989 mentioned the American house of representatives that at least 450 uranium mine workers at cancer of the lungs had died. As direct consequence of this realization the US Government issued one year later the radiation Exposure Compensation act. Thus mine workers, if they can occupy from their activity health damages to have suffered are to be compensated.
In recent past scientist arrived at ever newer realizations, what concerns the danger of the uranium dismantling. These realizations let sink as "innocuous" valid limit values also ever further downward.
Humans in the periphery of a mile around a stockpile suffer from a twice as high cancer risk. One speaks in this connection also of national victim areas.
One into the Pine Ridge reservation, where uranium dismantling was likewise operated, accomplished study examined twelve families. Of it had from 1962 to at the beginning of of 1980 ten at least a family member died at cancer to deplore and this although thereby only the deceased of the age group between 50 and 80 years were examined. 38% of all pregnancies ended in one test month in the year 1979 with an abortion. Thus it was around 6,35 times more highly than in the national average. From the born children suffered in the same period 60 to 70% under breath complaints due to deformations of the lung.
Both a smoking, as well as mine work can lead acquaintance masses to cancer of the lungs. Very dangerously is however the combination of the two factors of risk. This points a importantly higher cancer risk to as if one the two factors of risk separately from each other regarded and it afterwards together-added. Characteristically a majority of the mine workers is smoker.
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