SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Legacy of US Nuclear Weapons Still Killing Uranium Miners Decades Later: Study
Study obtained exclusively by The Guardian exposes deaths of workers who mined uranium for nuclear weapons and power generation
Apr 16, 2014
The race by the U.S. and British governments to build nuclear arms and power plants in the 1970s has left behind a deadly--and largely ignored--legacy for those who worked at the world's oldest open-pit uranium mine in Namibia.
Workers who mined uranium ore in Namibia for the British and U.S. military in the Rossing uranium mine during the 1970s are dying of cancers and unexplained illnesses, according to The Guardian, which obtained exclusive access to a study by Earthlife Namibia and the Labor Resource and Research Institute that is slated for release later this week.
The workers dug materials for U.S. and UK nuclear weapons and power plants at the mine, which is located in the Namib desert and still produces 7 percent of the world's uranium.
Workers faced dangerous conditions, poor regulations, and high levels of dust, according to the study. According to The Guardian,
During the first years of operation, Rossing operated with a migrant labor system which the International Commission of Jurists declared illegal and said was similar to slavery. Black workers lived on the mine premises and were exposed to dust and radiation 24 hours a day and the mine became the focus for protests by anti-apartheid and anti-nuclear groups.
Based on a survey of current and former workers at the mine, the study found that every respondent knew people suffering lung infections and other illnesses they believe are linked to conditions at the mine.
"People get sick. We are seeing it in people that have worked for Rossing for a long time. They just go back and die after working at Rossing," one man told researchers.
While the study's authors say conditions at the mine have marginally improved, they find its 1,500 workers are still exposed to high levels of dust.
Yet, the study states, "Uranium companies generally deny that workers get sick because of exposure to radiation. They blame the bad health conditions to unhealthy lifestyles such as eating habits, tobacco smoking and alcohol."
_____________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
The race by the U.S. and British governments to build nuclear arms and power plants in the 1970s has left behind a deadly--and largely ignored--legacy for those who worked at the world's oldest open-pit uranium mine in Namibia.
Workers who mined uranium ore in Namibia for the British and U.S. military in the Rossing uranium mine during the 1970s are dying of cancers and unexplained illnesses, according to The Guardian, which obtained exclusive access to a study by Earthlife Namibia and the Labor Resource and Research Institute that is slated for release later this week.
The workers dug materials for U.S. and UK nuclear weapons and power plants at the mine, which is located in the Namib desert and still produces 7 percent of the world's uranium.
Workers faced dangerous conditions, poor regulations, and high levels of dust, according to the study. According to The Guardian,
During the first years of operation, Rossing operated with a migrant labor system which the International Commission of Jurists declared illegal and said was similar to slavery. Black workers lived on the mine premises and were exposed to dust and radiation 24 hours a day and the mine became the focus for protests by anti-apartheid and anti-nuclear groups.
Based on a survey of current and former workers at the mine, the study found that every respondent knew people suffering lung infections and other illnesses they believe are linked to conditions at the mine.
"People get sick. We are seeing it in people that have worked for Rossing for a long time. They just go back and die after working at Rossing," one man told researchers.
While the study's authors say conditions at the mine have marginally improved, they find its 1,500 workers are still exposed to high levels of dust.
Yet, the study states, "Uranium companies generally deny that workers get sick because of exposure to radiation. They blame the bad health conditions to unhealthy lifestyles such as eating habits, tobacco smoking and alcohol."
_____________________
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
The race by the U.S. and British governments to build nuclear arms and power plants in the 1970s has left behind a deadly--and largely ignored--legacy for those who worked at the world's oldest open-pit uranium mine in Namibia.
Workers who mined uranium ore in Namibia for the British and U.S. military in the Rossing uranium mine during the 1970s are dying of cancers and unexplained illnesses, according to The Guardian, which obtained exclusive access to a study by Earthlife Namibia and the Labor Resource and Research Institute that is slated for release later this week.
The workers dug materials for U.S. and UK nuclear weapons and power plants at the mine, which is located in the Namib desert and still produces 7 percent of the world's uranium.
Workers faced dangerous conditions, poor regulations, and high levels of dust, according to the study. According to The Guardian,
During the first years of operation, Rossing operated with a migrant labor system which the International Commission of Jurists declared illegal and said was similar to slavery. Black workers lived on the mine premises and were exposed to dust and radiation 24 hours a day and the mine became the focus for protests by anti-apartheid and anti-nuclear groups.
Based on a survey of current and former workers at the mine, the study found that every respondent knew people suffering lung infections and other illnesses they believe are linked to conditions at the mine.
"People get sick. We are seeing it in people that have worked for Rossing for a long time. They just go back and die after working at Rossing," one man told researchers.
While the study's authors say conditions at the mine have marginally improved, they find its 1,500 workers are still exposed to high levels of dust.
Yet, the study states, "Uranium companies generally deny that workers get sick because of exposure to radiation. They blame the bad health conditions to unhealthy lifestyles such as eating habits, tobacco smoking and alcohol."
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy