French uranium mine leaves 20 million tonnes of radioactive waste in Niger

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 06:44:53 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230124-french-uranium-miner-leaves-20-million-tonnes-of-radioactive-waste-in-niger>

"Niger is the world’s fifth-largest uranium producer.

In 2021, it provided the European Union with nearly 25 percent of its uranium
supplies, which helped produce electricity for millions of households.

The French nuclear company – formerly, Areva and now Orano –  started mining
the country’s uranium reserves in the 1970s. Forty-seven years later, in March
2021, the Cominak mines near the northern town of Arlit closed down.

The closure left the local population to live with 20 million tonnes of
radioactive mud on the mine’s site, according to the French-based Independent
Research and Information Commission on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD).

Its findings, following an investigation of the area in 2009, showed that the
level of radioactivity was 450,000 Becquerels per kilo -  well above the
internationally recommended levels of radiation."

Via Christoph S, who wrote "So much for green energy"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

Comment via email

Home E-Mail Sponsors Index Search About Us