17 November 2007

Information on US nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON EXPANDS ITS ILLEGAL WMD ARSENAL

BY DOUG LORIMER

While preaching "non-proliferation" of weapons of mass destruction to underdeveloped countries -- and using allegations of WMD development as a justification for invading Iraq and threatening to attack North Korea, Iran and Syria -- the United States is pushing ahead with the development of banned biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

n violation of the 1972 international Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC), the US Army was granted a patent on February 25 for a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that can deliver "biological agents".

While US federal laws, written to enforce the BTWC, make it a crime to "knowingly develop" a "delivery system for use as a weapon" that contains "biological agents", the US Army applied for and received a patent to produce an RPG that can release aerosols

"consisting of smoke, crowd-control agents, biological agents, chemical agents, obscurants, marking agents, dyes and inks, chaffs and flakes".

That same month, US war secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued before the US House of Representatives' armed services committee that the US military should be permitted to use "non-lethal" chemical agents.

Under the rules of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which became international law in 1997 and to which the US is a signatory, "any chemical which through its ... action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacition or permanent harm to humans or animals" is forbidden as a method of warfare.

Rumsfeld referred to the CWC as a "straitjacket" limiting US options in war.

Last September, the Sunshine Project, a non-government organisation that monitors biological weapons programs, obtained documents from the Pentagon's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) revealing that the US military was operating a secret chemical weapons research program.

In violation of the CWC, this program is developing military delivery systems for chemical agents, including an 81-millimetre mortar round, with a range of 2.5 kilometres. The JNLWD documents stated that the chemical weapons are intended to be used against "terrorists" and "potentially hostile civilians".

The Pentagon claims its chemical and biological weapons programs are not in violation of the CWC and BTWC because the weapons under development are "non-lethal". Last October's three-day Moscow theatre siege was ended with the use of a "non-lethal" chemical agent fed into the building through the air conditioning system by Russian special forces troops. The knock-out gas killed 129 of the 800 hostages.

Deceptive language

Deceptive language is also being used to hide Washington's drive to develop new nuclear weapons. On May 20-21, both houses of the US Congress voted to ditch a 10-year congressional ban on researching "low-yield" nuclear devices with an explosive capacity of 5 kilotons of TNT or less.

Buried in the US$399.1 billion military budget for fiscal year 2004 -- consisting of $379.9 billion for the Pentagon and $19.3 billion for the nuclear weapons programs run by the Department of Energy -- is authorisation for the DoE to research and test small nuclear weapons and the "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator". The RNEF is a "bunker-buster" nuclear weapon said to be at least 10 times more destructive than the 15-kiloton nuclear bomb dropped by the US on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing 200,000 people. [This has been reported in the Russian press and the arabic press, but NOT the North American press, following the "testing" - read saber rattling of Russia -- of the vacuum bomb. Threats were MADE.]

Development of these new nuclear weapons will violate the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. To get around this, Washington is claiming thatit is not developing new nuclear weapons, just "modifying" existing ones.

The US arsenal already contains a nuclear "earth penetrator" -- known as the B61-11 -- but it can only penetrate dry earth to a depth of about 7 metres. The purpose of the RNEP is to penetrate concrete or rock. Its supposed targets would be underground "command centres". But it could also be used to obliterate civilians who may have taken refuge in a underground air-raid shelters or subway systems in a large city.

Such an atrocity was committed by Washington during its first war against Iraq in 1991, when two US missiles made direct hits on the underground Amiriya air-raid shelter in Baghdad, incinerating more than 1000 civilians. The Pentagon at first claimed it had targeted a "command post". Only after the international media showed crowds of grieving relatives and burned corpses being removed from the shelter did the Pentagon acknowledge the real nature of its target. If the shelter had been hit by an RNEF -- a full-scale hydrogen bomb -- their would have been no burned corpses to retrieve since the shelter and its occupants would have been vaporised.

Battlefield nuclear weapons

The development of these new nuclear weapons is integral to the Bush administration's plans to increase its arsenal of "tactical" battlefield nuclear weapons. These plans were made public in March last year, when some of the Pentagon's classified Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) documents -- delivered to Congress on January 8, 2002 -- were obtained by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

The NPR reaffirmed long-standing US policy of being prepared to use nuclear weapons in a military conflict with countries either not possessing nuclear weapons or not having used them -- a policy first implemented against Japan in 1945, and now publicly known to have been threatened on at least 16 occasions since then, including during the Korean War, at the end of the 1946-54 French colonial war in Vietnam, during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and during 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

According to the March 12, 2002, New York Times, the NPR "proposes lowering the overall number of nuclear weapons, but widening the circumstances thought to justify a possible nuclear response". The first half of this assessment was highly misleading.

According to the Washington-based Center for Defense Information (CDI), set up and run by retired military officers, the US had a total of 6480 operationally deployed "strategic" nuclear warheads in 2002 -- 1700 on 550 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 3120 on 432 submarine-launched ballistic missiles and 1660 on 118 long-range bombers.

In addition, the US had a stockpile of 2166 "spare" and "inactive" warheads -- warheads that still have their fissionable plutonium detonators but do not have fusionable hydrogen gas installed.

The NPR set a goal of reducing the number of "operationally deployed" "strategic" US nuclear warheads to between 1700 and 2200 within 10 years. However, the NPR also set a goal of retaining a "responsive force" of warheads that can be redeployed "in weeks".

As a result, the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty signed in Moscow by US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2002 -- which committed both countries to reduce their strategic nuclear arsenals by two-thirds by 2012 -- did not include a requirement, originally sought by the Russians, for the destruction of warheads removed from the "operationally deployed" category.

According to the CDI, the "responsive force" will include 1350 strategic warheads in operational condition. The operationally deployed arsenal will be reduced by 2012 to 2200 warheads, plus 240 in "overhaul". The "spare" and "inactive" stockpile will increase to 4180, giving the US a total "strategic" arsenal of 7970.

Furthermore, according to the National Resources Defense Council (the largest US environmental organisation), the US also maintains some 5000 stored plutonium "primary" and highly enriched uranium "secondary" components that could be reassembled into nuclear warheads. Thus by 2012, the US will retain the ability to deploy around 13,000 "strategic" nuclear warheads -- not much less than it now has!

Wider range of targets

In addition, the US currently has an arsenal of some 2000 "tactical" nuclear weapons, consisting of warheads mounted on sea-launched cruise missiles and free-fall bombs carried by US Air Force jet fighters and battlefield attack aircraft, which are not covered by any international arms treaties.

The NPR proposed a wider range of uses of nuclear weapons, including

"against targets able to withstand a non-nuclear attack" and "in the event of surprising military developments".
Hence the Pentagon's push to expand its "tactical" nuclear weapons arsenal through the development of the RNEP and "mini-nukes".

The NPR, noting that existing US nuclear weapons facilities are capable of refurbishing "roughly 350 weapons per year", called for the construction of

"a new modern production facility ... to deal with the large-scale replacement of components and new production".
Commenting on the decision of the US Senate's armed services committee to recommend the repealing of the 1993 congressional ban on the development of small nuclear weapons, Richard Butler, former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq in the 1990s, told the May 14 SBS television's Dateline program:
"The Bush administration wants to have nuclear weapons in the regular battlefield arsenal of its armed forces in order to use them in the same way that they'd use a conventional artillery shell piece, a conventional missile, an ordinary cannon...

"This administration in Washington is honestly asking other human beings to believe that American security is so precious that it can have in its possession whatever weapons of mass destruction it might want, but others can't."
This attitude, however, is not unique to the Bush administration. Since they used the first nuclear bombs in 1945, the US imperialist rulers have always sought to ensure that they maintain a relative monopoly of "usable"weapons of mass destruction in order to blackmail rebellious nations.

All rights reserved, Green Left Weekly. Redistribution permitted with this
notice attached. Redistribution for profit prohibited.

*****

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- Wednesday, August 6, 2003 -

16 November 2007

RADIOLOGICAL HAZARDS AND THEIR CONTROL

http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/armytm/tm5-801-10/app-b.pdf

B- I. Types of ionizing radiation
penetrating than either alpha or beta radiation and may be
At any facility which produces, processes, uses, or stores
radioactive materials, radiological hazards will be present
to some degree. The basic hazard associated with radioactive
material is the emission of ionizing radiation.
Radioactive material, whether naturally occurring or
manmade, is unstable and is constantly seeking a stable,
atomic configuration through a process called radioactive
decay. As radioactive material decays to stable,
nonradioactive material, or to other types of radioactive
material, ionizing radiation is emitted. This ionizing
radiation will be emitted in either particle or
electromagnetic waveform. The four basic types of
radiation of concern are alpha radiation (particles), beta
radiation (particles), gamma radiation (electromagnetic
waves), and neutron radiation (particles).
a. Alpha Radiation. Alpha radiation is composed of
positively charged particles. Each particle is composed of
two neutrons and two protons, making an alpha particle
identical to the nucleus of a helium atom (24He). Alpha
radiation is less penetrating than either beta or gamma
radiation and may be completely stopped by a sheet of
paper. Alpha radiation is not a hazard external to the
body but becomes a hazard if the alpha-emitting
radioactive material gets inside the body. Alpha radiation
is denoted by the Greek letter a.
b. Beta Radiation. Beta radiation is composed of
negatively charged particles. Each particle is identical to
an electron (-10e). Beta radiation is more penetrating than
alpha but less penetrating than gamma radiation and may
be completely stopped by a thin sheet of metal such as
aluminum. Beta radiation is an external hazard to the skin
of the body and to the eyes, and is also an internal hazard
if the beta-emitting radioactive material gets inside the
body. Beta radiation is denoted by the Greek letter $.
c. Gamma Radiation. Gamma radiation is high energy,
short wavelength electromagnetic radiation, frequently
accompanying alpha and beta radiation. Gamma radiation
is much more penetrating than either alpha or beta radiation
because of its wave form. Gamma is similar in form
and energy to K-radiation. Gamma radiation is not
entirely stopped by materials but can be almost
completely attenuated by dense materials like lead or
depleted uranium, and with greater thicknesses of
materials such as water or concrete. Because of its
penetrating power, gamma radiation is a hazard to the
entire body, whether or not the gamma emitting
radioactive material is inside or outside the body. Gamma
radiation is denoted by the Greek letter
d. Neutron Radiation. Neutron radiation is composed
of particles with no electrical charge (10n). Neutron radiation
is less penetrating than gamma radiation, but more penetrating
than either alpha or beta radiation and may be
completely stopped by an appropriate thickness of a
hydrogenous material like water or concrete. Neutron
radiation has the unique property of being able to convert
nonradioactive material to radioactive material. Neutrons
are external hazards. They are emitted by machines such
as nuclear reactors. They could be an internal hazard if a
source emitting neutrons enter the body. Neutron
radiation is denoted by the small English letter n.

B-2. Types of radiological hazards
The radiations described above are hazards because each
has the ability to ionize, either directly or indirectly, cells
which make up body organs and structures. This exposure
can be either internal or external. If the body is exposed
to large doses of ionizing radiation, cell damage may be
sufficient to interfere with normal body functions and can
cause undesirable biological effects, both in the
individuals exposed and in the future offspring of these
individuals. During the decommissioning process,
radiological hazards may be present in the form of
radiation only, or in the form of radiation together with
the radioactive material emitting the radiation. These
hazards may be grouped as external radiation, surface
radioactive contamination, airborne radioactive
contamination and waterborne radioactive contamination.
a. External Radiation.
External radiation hazards to
an individual are those presented by exposure to
emissions from radioactive sources and contaminants that
are external to the person. External radiation can be
emitted from contained or partially contained sources.
Examples include sealed radioactive sources and
radioactive material contained in a closure such as a pipe,
equipment, or a system component of some type. External
radiation hazards may also be posed by surface
contamination, airborne contamination, or waterborne
contamination. Radiation dose to individuals must be
measured to show compliance with regulatory limits. This
measurement is accomplished by film badges,
thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). direct-reading
dosimeters, or a combination of the three. Radiation dose
rates are measured by portable and fixed instruments to
quantify the external radiation hazard. Individuals may be
protected from external radiation, or at least have their
radiation dose minimized, by three methods: time,
distance, and shielding.
(1) Time. Minimizing time spent in areas where external
radiation is present minimizes radiation dose.
(2) Distance. The greater the distance from a source
of radiation, the less the dose rate.
(3) Shielding. Installing materials such as lead or
concrete around a source of radiation will reduce the dose
rate.

b. Surface Radioactive Contamination.
c. Airborne Radioactive Contamination.
d. Waterborne Radioactive Contamination.

For more, see the link. This is all related to
FUSION radiation (think it's safe NOW???)

DIapers as radiation carriers: Canada

Capital Health moves to catch radioactive waste in hospitals

By FRANK LANDRY, CITY HALL BUREAU

Capital Health is considering installing high-tech sensors in its hospitals to catch radioactive waste before it's hauled off to the city dump.

Rob Stevenson, a spokesman for the health authority, told Sun Media that sensors at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre have detected radioactive material in Capital Health waste 15 to 20 times this year alone.

"We're working very hard with the city on this because of course it's a concern," he said.

All vehicles entering the dump must pass through radiation sensors. In the case of Capital Health, the alarms were set off by soiled diapers.

Stevenson said the garments contained urine with trace amounts of nuclear isotopes, which would have entered a patient's system while undergoing diagnostic testing, like PET scans.

Typically, Stevenson said Capital Health holds on to diapers for four days - enough time for the short-lived "nuclear garbage" to disintergrate.

He acknowledged sometimes there can be mix-ups, particularly when a patient is transferred between wards, and the diapers can wind up in the garbage too early.

When the sensors at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre were activated, Stevenson said Capital Health was contacted.

"It becomes a big hassle because then we send someone from our nuclear medicine department up to talk with them and figure it out."

The offending waste is then held by Capital Health for four days, before being returned to the dump, he said.

The low level of radiation is generally not considered to be much of a risk. (????)

One solution, Stevenson said, is installing radioactive waste sensors at all waste facilities inside hospitals.

WISE information list on uranium mining; updated November 2007

URANIUM MINING BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selected English and French language publications

(last updated 1 Nov 2007)

Contents

> see also:


INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL INTEREST

  • Uranium: a discussion guide, published by National Film Board of Canada, Montreal, 1991, 24 p.
    Order address: NFB
    Also available for download (86k HTML - CCNR) external link

  • Uranium Mining and Milling: A Primer, in: The Workbook, Vol.IV, Nos.6&7, Nov./Dec. 1979, p.222-233, [Excellent overview of technology, environmental and health impacts, and regulatory process.]
    Order address: SRIC

  • Uranium Legacy, in: The Workbook, Vol. VIII, No.6, Nov.-Dec. 1983, p.192-207
    Order address: SRIC

  • The "Costs" of Uranium: Who's Paying with Lives, Lands, and Dollars, by Chris Shuey, Paul Robinson, and Lynda Taylor; in: The Workbook, Vol.X, No.3, July/Sept. 1985, p.102-117 [Most recent look at uranium mining, as companies, workers, and citizens come to grips with uranium mill tailings.]
    Order address: SRIC

  • Uranium Mining at the Grand Canyon, by Cate Gilles, et al., in: The Workbook, Spring 1991, 17 p., [The author focuses on uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region and how it affects the Havasupai and Hualapai from a health and cultural standpoint. It also investigates the effect on the environment and industry claims that it will not be adversely affected.]
    Order address: SRIC

  • Cancer factories - America's tragic quest for uranium self- sufficiency external link, by Howard Ball, Contributions in Medical Studies No.37, Greenwood Press external link, Westport, Connecticut, 1993, 189 p., ISBN 0-313-27566-1 [The Context: America in the Post-World War II Years / Mining Uranium: National Policies, Uranium, and the Etiology of the Cancers in the Uranium Miners / The Pact with the Devil: U.S. Public Health Service Uranium Miner Studies, 1950-Present / The Uranium Miners in the Legal Environment / The Politics of Radioactivity in Congress: The 1990 Compensation Legislation / The Uranium Miners' Experience Viewed in a Comparative Context]

  • If you poison us : uranium and Native Americans external link, by Peter H. Eichstaedt, Red Crane Books, Santa Fe, NM 1994, 263 p., ISBN 0-878610-40-6 [The book contains an up to date account of the struggle of the Navajos to obtain some measure of relief from the problems caused by uranium mining. It is illustrated with numerous photographs of the people involved, as well as pictures of the abandoned mine sites in the area. Many of the surviving Navajo miners are interviewed. There is a discussion of some shortcomings of the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, and an account of efforts at mine reclamation.
    From the introduction: "This book is the story of how uranium mining began on Indian lands in the American West, how it was conducted, and how its deadly legacy still lingers in the lives of the men, women, and children whose harmony and homelands have been destroyed."]

  • The Navajo People and Uranium Mining external link, Doug Brugge, Timothy Benally, Esther Yazzie-Lewis (Eds.), University of New Mexico Press, 2006, 230 p.

  • "Memories Come to Us in the Rain and the Wind": Oral Histories and Photographs of Navajo Uranium Miners and Their Families. external link The Navajo Uranium Miner Oral History and Photography Project (Ed.); Boston 1997, 62 p.
    To purchase the book and/or for more information contact Doug Brugge at dbrugge@aol.com

  • Uranium Milling and the Church Rock Disaster external link, chapter 9 of Killing Our Own, The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation by Harvey Wasserman and Norman Solomon, New York 1982

  • Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan - Is It Worth the Risk?, by Jamie Kneen, Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout, Oct 1992, 42 p. [This collection of fact sheets explores all topics of Saskatchewan mining from health risks to environmental risks. Air and water quality and tailings management are reviewed as well as McClean and Cluff Lakes environmental impacts statements.]
    Order address: NIRS external link, Order No. UR- 2002

  • Bibliography on Saskatchewan uranium inquiries and the northern and global impact of the uranium industry, by Jim Harding, Beryl Forgay, and Mary Gianoli. In the public interest, Research report no.1; University of Regina external link, Prairie Justice Research, ISBN 0-7731-0052-0, Regina, Sask. 1988, 84 p.

  • Aboriginal rights and government wrongs: Uranium mining and neocolonialism in northern Saskatchewan -- Second edition, by Jim Harding. In the public interest, Working paper no. 1; University of Regina external link, Prairie Justice Research, ISBN 0-7731-0140-3, Regina, Sask. 1992, 42 p.

  • Voices from Wollaston Lake - Resistance Against Uranium Mining And Genocide In Northern Saskatchewan, by Miles Goldstick. 1987, 316 p. [overview on the uranium mining industry in Saskatchewan, Canada, its impacts on indigenous people, and reports on the resistance against the uranium industry in 1985]
    Order address: WISE Amsterdam

  • Uranium Mining in Europe - The Impacts on Man and Environment, by Peter Diehl. WISE News Communique 439/440, Special Edition, September 1995, 46 p. [Overview on the uranium mining industry in Europe, its environmental and health impacts, the decommissioning of uranium mines and mills; many maps, graphs and photos]
    Order address: WISE Amsterdam

  • WISE News Communique - Uranium Special Edition, WISE News Communique 362/363, 6 December 1991, 24 p. [overview on the uranium industry and its impacts, regional reports from all over the world, bibliography, international contact list]
    Order address: WISE Amsterdam

  • Past Exposure - Revealing health and environmental risks of Rössing Uranium, by Greg Dropkin and David Clark, published by the Namibia Support Committee in association with PARTiZANS, London, 1992, 134 p. [comprehensive overview on the impacts of the uranium mining industry on workers health and on the environment, in general, and in the case of Rössing in Namibia in particular]
    Order address: Namibia Support Committee, 37-39 Great Guildford Street, London SE1 OES, England

  • Plunder !, by Roger Moody, published by People Against RTZ and its Subsidiaries (PARTiZANS), and Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA), London, 1991, 195 p., ISBN 0-9517522-0-0 [several chapters of the book are on uranium mining by Rio Tinto Zinc in Australia, Namibia and Canada, and its impacts on environment and indigenous people]
    Order address: PARTiZANS, 218 Liverpool Road, London N1 1LE, England, Tel. +44-171-6091852, Fax: +44-171-7006189

  • Uranium Mining in Australia, published by Movement Against Uranium Mining (NSW), Haymarket 1991, 16 p.
    Order address: Movement Against Uranium Mining, P.O.Box K133, Haymarket NSW 2000, Australia, Tel. +61-2-2124538, Fax: +61-2- 2815216

  • Poison - Fire - Sacred Earth, Testimonies - Lectures - Conclusions, The World Uranium Hearing Salzburg 1992, 314 p., ISBN 3-928505-00-9, München 1993 [testimonies of indigenous people from all over the world concerned from uranium mining and nuclear weapons testing]
    Excerpts are available for viewing here external link (ratical).

  • La Quatorzième Source - Les Barrages de Grandmont, by Christian Pénicaud, 244 p. in French , 1996 [This books describes the struggle of the residents of Grandmont (St.Sylvestre, Haute-Vienne, France) against the uranium mining company COGEMA in 1980. The community had lost 13 sources due to the mining activities, but the running dry of the last source - la quatorzième source - was prevented, as a result of the struggle. Although the book is written in the form of a novel, it is based on the authentic history of the struggle.]
    Order address: Christian Pénicaud, Le Petit Coudier, 87240 St.Sylvestre, France

  • Yellowcake Towns - Uranium Mining Communities in the American West, by Michael A. Amundson, 208 p., University Press of Colorado
    Hardcover Edition, ISBN 0-87081-662-4, 2002 external link
    Paperback Edition, ISBN 0-87081-765-5, 2004 external link

  • A New Approach to Policy Evaluation - Mining and Indigenous People external link, by Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh external link, ISBN: 0-7546-2277-0, London 2002, 276 pages
    [the book examines the effects of Australia's policies on uranium mining on Aboriginal people]


URANIUM INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY

  • Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining, Volume 1: Mining and Reclamation Background external link, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 402-R-05-007, 182 pp., January 2006, Revised June 2007 [describes the uranium mining processes (conventional and in situ-leaching) used in the United States, the volumes and characteristics of the wastes generated, and the schemes used for reclamation of former uranium mine sites.]

  • Technical Resource Document: Uranium - Extraction and Beneficiation of Ores and Minerals, Volume 5, U.S.EPA Office of Solid Waste, EPA/530-R-94-032, NTIS/PB94-200987, November 1994, 125 p. [Report briefly characterizes the geology of uranium ores and the economics of the industry. Describes uranium extraction and beneficiation operations with specific reference to the waste and materials associated with these operations and the potential environmental effects that may result from uranium mining. Uranium processing wastes are not addressed in this profile. Report concludes with a description of current regulatory programs that apply to the uranium mining industry as implemented by Federal land management agencies and selected states.]
    Order address: National Technical Information Service
    Also available by Download external link (536k PDF ); alternate source: EPA NEPIS external link (EPA Pub # 530R94032)

  • Uranium Mill Tailings, Chapter 5 of: Integrated Data Base Report -- 1996: U.S. Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste Inventories, Projections, and Characteristics, Revision 13 -- December 1997, U.S. DOE Office of Environmental Management (Ed.): DOE-EM IDB97 Chap.5 external link

  • 45 000 000 tonnes de déchets radioactifs - les dépôts de résidus de traitement d'uranium en France, INFO URANIUM No.55 Numéro Special, Mars-Avril 1992, Rodez, 36 p. in French [overview on the situation of the uranium mill tailings deposits in France]
    Order address: Action Environnement

> See also:


ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF URANIUM MINING AND MILLING

  • The Sustainability of Mining in Australia - Key Production Trends and Their Environmental Implications for the Future external link, by G M Mudd, Research Report No RR5, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University and the Mineral Policy Institute, Australia, October 2007.

  • Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials From Uranium Mining, Volume 2: Investigation of Potential Health, Geographic, and Environmental Issues of Abandoned Uranium Mines external link, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 402-R-05-007, August 2007 [provides a general scoping evaluation of potential radiogenic cancer and environmental risks posed by small abandoned uranium mines in the western United States.]

  • Potential Health and Environmental Hazards of Uranium Mine Wastes. Vol.2 (Rept. to the Congress), published by U.S. EPA Office of Radiation Programs, Washington D.C., June 1983, 505 p., Report-No.: EPA/520/1-6-83-007-VOL-2, Order-No.: PB83-263343 [complete overview on the health and environmental hazards posed by uranium mining, in-situ leaching, and uranium mine wastes (not including uranium mill tailings)]
    Order address: National Technical Information Service

  • Final Environmental Impact Statement for Standards for Control of Byproduct Materials from Uranium Ore Processing (40 CFR 192), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation Programs, Washington, D.C., September 1983, EPA/520/1-83-008, 2 volumes, approx. 550 p. [EIS for public health and environmental standards (40 CFR 192) for uranium and thorium mill tailings at licensed mill sites under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (PL. 95-604).]
    Order address: National Technical Information Service
    > Also available for download from EPA NEPIS external link (EPA Pub # 5201830081 and 5201830082), and from NRC ADAMS external link (Accession Nos. ML032751396 external link, ML032751400 external link)

  • Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement on uranium milling, Project M-25, published by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Material, Safety and Safeguards, Washington, D.C., September 1980, Report No. NUREG-0706, 3 volumes, approx. 850 p. [assessment of health and environmental hazards from uranium milling and uranium mill tailings, and of tailings management alternatives]
    Order address: National Technical Information Service
    > Also available for download from ADAMS external link (Accession Nos. ML032751663 external link, ML032751667 external link, and ML032751669 external link)

  • An Assessment of the Radiological Impact of Uranium Mining in Northern Saskatchewan, published by Environment Canada, Report EPS 2/MM/1, Ottawa, June 1986, 174 p.
    Order address: Publications Section, Environmental Protection Programs Directorate, Environment Canada external link, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1C8, Canada

  • Long-term Ecological Behaviour of Abandoned Uranium Mill Tailings - 3. Radionuclide Concentrations and Other Characteristics of Tailings, Surface Waters, and Vegetation, by Margarete Kalin, published by Environment Canada, Report EPS 3/HA/4, February 1988, 97 p.
    Order address: Publications Section, Environmental Protection Programs Directorate, Environment Canada external link, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1C8, Canada

  • Patricia A. Thomas: Radionuclide analyses of Saskatchewan caribou, 1995: Final report. Saskatchewan Health, Regina (Canada). 1995. 72p. [Investigation of impacts of uranium mining in the Wollaston Lake area]

  • Environment Canada's Surveillance of Uranium Mining in Saskatchewan: Annotated Bibliography external link

  • Patricia A. Thomas: The Ecological Distribution and Bioavailability of Uranium Series Radionuclides in Terrestrial Food Chains: Key Lake Uranium Operations, Northern Saskatchewan, Environment Canada, Regina, December 1997, 223 p.

  • A Review of the Biophysical Effects of Uranium Mining and Milling in Canada, prepared by Golder Associates Ltd.; Atomic Energy Control Board external link, Research Report RSP-0056, Ottawa, Ontario, June 1996

  • Natural Resources Canada, Minerals and Metals Sector, Mine Environment Neutral Drainage Program: MEND Reports Available external link

  • Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), Environment Australia: Research Reports, Technical Memorandums external link

  • Radio-Ecological Investigations in the Surroundings of MAPE Uranium Ore Processing Plant Near Ceské Budejovice in Southern Bohemia (CSFR), by Peter Bossew, published by Österreichisches Ökologieinstitut, Wien, Nov. 1990, Report No. OEI-GAM-24
    Order address: Österreichisches Ökologieinstitut, Seidengasse 13, A-1070 Wien, Austria, Tel. +43-1-936105, Fax: +43-1-5235843
    View text only

  • Report on the Greenpeace visit to the uranium complex at the Priargunskiy Mountain Chemical Combine, by D. Litvinov, 17 p. [In November 1994 a team from Greenpeace Sweden visited the Krasnokamensk region in Eastern Siberia, in order to document the alleged environmental problems associated with uranium production in Russia. Report on this visit.]
    Order address: Greenpeace Sweden, Box 8913, 40273 Göteborg, Sweden, Tel. +46-31-222255, Fax: +46-31-232429, email: Greenpeace.Sweden@green2.greenpeace.org
    Also available for download external link

  • Assessment of the health and environmental situation in the mining community Krasnokamensk, East Siberia, Russian Federation, by H.Ehdwall et al. Translation of SSI-95- 20. Swedish Inst. of Radiation Protection (Ed.), SSI-95-21, Stockholm 1995, 51 p., [Report from a visit of a Swedish delegation, finding no significant impact].

  • Environmental Damage and Policy Issues in the Uranium and Gold Mining Districts of Chita Oblast in the Russian Far East: A Report on Existing Problems at Baley and Krasnokamensk and Policy Needs in the Region, by Paul Robinson, Southwest Research and Information Center, Albquerque NM, Nov. 1996
    > View excerpt Impacts of Uranium Mining in Krasnokamensk (38k)

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IMAGES, VIDEOS, FILMS & MUSIC

  • Fight for Country: The story of the Jabiluka blockade
    Written and directed by Pip Starr, produced by Bill Runting, Rockhopper Productions, 2001.
    Order address: Rockhopper Productions external link, 51 Alvie Rd, Mt. Waverley, Victoria, 3149, Australia, Tel. +61-425-763 681, email: info@rhproductions.com.au

  • Buddha Weeps In Jadugoda, by Shriprakash, Language: Hindi/santhali, subtitles in English , 1999, 55 min., video
    original format: Beta SP (available in vhs) PAL
    [This is a documentary film on uranium mining and its deadly impacts on the tribal people living near the Jadugoda mine, mill and tailings dam, in the East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand (India). Unsafe mining, milling and tailings management by UCIL in this area for almost 30 years has resulted in excessive radiation, contamination of water, land and air, destruction of the local ecology, and lead for to genetic mutation, and slow death for the people of the region. The film attempts to depict the gross misuse of power by the authorities in displacing the original inhabitants of the region, the utter lack of concern for internationally accepted norms and safety precautions in the handling of uranium and its by-products, and their callousness of its disastrous impact on the people and the region.
    The film was selected best film at the EARTH VISION - The Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival 2000 external link and third best film at the Film South Asia 1999 external link festival in Kathmandu.]

    • Order address: KRITIKA, 30, Randhir Prasad Street, Upper Bazar, Ranchi 834001, Jharkhand, India, Tel. +91-651-317461, e-mail: kritikashri@hotmail.com
    • A CD-ROM version in MPEG format (352 x 288 pixels) can be obtained from: mines, mineral and PEOPLE (mm&P), Singhbum Secretariat, Tel. +91-657-220266, e-mail: mmpnorth@dte.vsnl.net.in
    • Small excerpts can be viewed online external link.

  • Village Of Widows, by Peter Blow, 1999, 52 min., video
    [This is the story of the Sahtu Dene people in Canada's Northwest Territories, who worked as "coolies" transporting the uranium ore that went into the bombs that shattered Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ore from the Government owned Port Radium mine was sold exclusively to the American Atomic Bomb program from 1942 to 1960. There remains 1.7 million tonnes of radioactive waste at the minesite and in the lake. The film also looks at the band's contemporary plight, their political struggle for justice and their spiritual response (which took a small Dene delegation to Hiroshima in 1998).]
    Order address: Lindum Films Inc., 67 Marjory Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4M 2Y2. Tel. +1-416-461-2305, Fax: +1-416-461-4311

  • Jabiluka: the struggle of the Mirrar people against the Jabiluka uranium mine, by David Bradbury, 1997, 63 min., video: VHS. Produced and directed by Academy Award nominated David Bradbury; Edited by Jeff Canin; Original score by Rik Cole and Nicolette Boaz.
    View Review of Jabiluka external link · Interview with David Bradbury external link (Green Left Weekly No.301)
    Order address: Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation, Post Office Box 245, Jabiru, Northern Territory, 0886, Australia. Phone: +61-8- 89792200, Fax: +61-8-89792299
    > View online: high res. (225 kbit/s) external link · low res. (34 kbit/s) external link (Real player external link required)

  • Uranium en Limousin external link, by Thierry Lamireau, 1993, 37 min. in French , video: Betacam SP-PAL (VHS PAL also avail.), sound: Dolby NR, price: FF 150 plus postage [impacts of the uranium mining industry in the Limousin region in Central France on worker's health and environment]
    Order address: Thierry Lamireau, 16 rue de New York, F-87000 Limoges, France
    > View online: low res. (21kbit/s) external link (Real player external link required)

  • Uranium external link, by National Film Board of Canada, 1990, Color, 48 min., English and French versions, film: 16 mm, video: VHS
    Order address: NFB

  • Sunseekers external link (Sonnensucher), by Konrad Wolf, 1958/1972, 115 min., film: 16 mm, b/w, German with English subtitles
    Order address: DEFA Film Library Project external link, Univ. of Massachusetts

  • Museum of Western Colorado external link: Historic views of Uranium Exploration, Mining, and Milling on the Colorado Plateau

  • The Yellow Cake Revue external link: comments in words and music on the threat of uranium mining in Orkney: for voice and piano, by Peter Maxwell Davies; text by the composer; 1 score (36p); Boosey & Hawkes, London 1984, Pl.no. B&H 6550 [Songs with piano, composed by the famous conductor and composer for the campaign against uranium mining near Stromness on the Orkney Islands]


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