Uranium mining dilemma

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EDITORIAL


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Uranium mining dilemma
— Divya Badami Rao

The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has been engaged in efforts to convince the
people of Meghalaya to allow opencast mining of uranium in the West Khasi Hills
region. In return for the rights to mine uranium, the government has offered a
Rs. 800 crore compensation package to develop infrastructure. When such large
quantities of money are involved, something serious must be at stake. In this
case, there are two. On the one hand, the traditional uranium mines in the
Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are unable to produce enough uranium to meet
even the demand from existing nuclear reactors in the country, let alone future
ones. On the other, local inhabitants are strongly opposed to the project. This
is true not just in Meghalaya, but also in Andhra Pradesh, another state where
uranium mining projects are being planned.

The list of groups and organisations that have consistently opposed the project
includes the Khasi Students Union, Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People,
Meghalaya People's Human Rights Council, and the Langrin Youth Welfare
Association. Two political parties, Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP)
and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) also oppose uranium
mining. They claim that even the exploratory work on uranium that started in
1992 has already started producing health impacts. Several children from Langpa
Nongmluh and Phlangdiloin villages were reportedly taken ill and shoals of fish
in the Kynshi and Rilang rivers died after the drilling commenced. These groups
are convinced that workers will be exposed to health hazards if they engage in
uranium mining.

The evidence from elsewhere suggests that the health of communities living
around uranium mines and mills is indeed impacted adversely. The Uranium
Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has been running the mining and milling
operations in Jaduguda since the mid-sixties. This has resulted in a higher
degree of material prosperity. With the steady income of a regular salaried job
in the mines or mills as against dependence on agriculture.

But there is a price to be paid. Uranium workers are exposed to an environment
laden with dust caused by blasting and powdering of hard rock. This puts them at
risk of developing silicosis, a painful disease of the lung that causes
impairment of breathing. The concentrations of dust in the Jaduguda mines appear
to be in excess of the permissible limit set by of the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration of the USA. The limits set by the India mine safety
authorities are weaker and have not been modified to account for more recent
research which suggests that breathing such dust is more harmful than previously
understood. Yet, diagnoses by UCIL doctors do not show even one case of
silicosis or any work related diseases.

The health toll is paid not just by people working in the mines and mills but
also their families and neighbours. One pronounced impact is congenital
deformities: infants born with one or more birth defects. A statistical survey
undertaken by the Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya along with local groups indicated
that persons with congenital deformities are far higher in villages closer to
Jaduguda in comparison with villages further away from the mining area, what are
called control villages in the terminology used in such surveys. The control
villages were chosen so that they match the villages near the mines and mills
fairly well in terms of demographic indicators such as the age and sex
distributions of the population, and the caste composition. Thus, a priori, one
would expect roughly similar incidences of various health problems. This is
indeed the case except for some specific problems, such as congenital
deformities.

In the nearby villages, 35 men and 28 women were afflicted with one or more
deformities. In the control villages, on the other hand, the corresponding
figures were only 7 men and 6 women. These congenital deformities are correlated
with the start of mining operations – if you look at people above 35 years of
age, those that would have been born before the Jaduguda mill was established,
there is hardly any difference between the villages near the mining region and
the control villages.

When it comes to deaths amongst children, of the nine children from villages
closer to Jaduguda who died within the year of birth, eight were afflicted with
congenital deformities. The six deaths that occurred in control villages were
all caused by environmental reasons such as diarrhoea, fever, and premature
birth.

Scientific tests and statistical health surveys conducted cannot easily
establish the route through which mining causes these birth defects and health
impacts. What these studies show with a high degree of certainty is that the
incidence of birth defects and diseases has increased in the area due to the
presence of uranium mining. UCIL predictably denies all reports but it has not
substantiated this denial on scientific grounds.

The people of Meghalaya, recognising the dangers of uranium mining have put up a
concerted and united effort to resist the Government's offers. Refusing to trade
health for money, they have taken a strong and unwavering stance against the
project. Despite the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Anil Kakodkar having
held "talks" with Chief Minister Donkupar Roy, and Cabinet Secretary K M
Chandrashekhar "seek(ing) cooperation" from various NGOs and protesting groups,
Deputy Chief Minister and leader of the Hill State People's Democratic Party,
Hoping Stone Lyngdoh was quoted as saying "We will not allow anyone to start
uranium mining until they can protect people from radiation. I don't want to see
my own people dying due to radiation."

However, the Indian Nuclear establishment is not used to taking 'No' for an
answer. Public Hearings held in connection with the Lambapur-Pedagattu and
Seripally uranium mine and mill in Andhra Pradesh saw massive protests from
residents in the area and yet the projects received the green go-ahead in the
form of an Environmental Clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
(The writer is associated with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in
Environment and Development, Bangalore.)


One vaccine decreases cell-mediated immunity by 50%, two vaccines by 70%…all triple vaccines (MMR, DTaP) markedly impair cell-mediated immunity, which predisposes to recurrent viral infections - Dr H H Fudenberg, world renowned immunologist