86
such incidents in April 2007, February 2010, and recently in March 2015 have been
surfaced, as contaminating the food chain from fish to vegetables and from rice
fields to drinking water (Syiemlieh 2018).
The other side of the coin is that the local economy nearby Jaduguda area is
mainly dependent on the uranium mines. The local tribal are employed in UCIL
and/or involved as daily wage labours, whereas some are involved in the business
like transportation and local foods. Due to the government-owned uranium mining,
the connectivity to the nearest city Jamshedpur and metro-city Kolkata is easy and
very frequent. Of course, the cost of this prosperity is yet to be fully determined,
despite the UCIL claiming for a safer mining activity.
5 Recommendations and Conclusions
The world is in the plight for a safer production of uranium mining, by which, the
human health and environment are always in a trigger point. The limits for radiotoxic exposure do not allow for a marginal error in the form of mismanagement of
waste generated in mining activities or in the form of misoperation. The legacy of
the old uranium mining shows bigger problem than the current activities, therefore
the stewardship of the mine sites for their remediation is much needed whose cost
may vary with the available engineering and technology. The technological advancement should be incorporated in mining and tailing operations to handle and treat the
different forms of waste materials in a safer way. Chemical remediation process was
found to be costlier, whereas adoption of natural remediation like use of microbial
activities can be potent with low maintenance cost. The present mining and milling
generated waste must be stored out of the biosphere for preventing the exposure to
mankind. The site characterization would be essential for estimating the potential
environmental impacts of uranium mining and processing under site-specific conditions and mitigation practices. A regular surveillance is required to ensure that the
waste disposal methods do not harm the public health and environment. The weathering of mining waste will continue through decades/centuries; therefore, site maintenance must be foreseen to prevent the removal (intrusion/erosion) of capping
materials. Effluent or acid water drainage containing radionuclides may flow to the
creeks or water streams (surface/underground); hence a periodic monitoring of
environmental radioactivity with corrective measures is much needed. The government/local bodies/regulatory must assure the better environment to live the miners
and nearby communities in mining areas, so that they could believe in their reports
for the health and environment and utilize the wealth earned from mining activities
for their betterment instead of lying on the hospital bed for the treatment of radioactive exposure.
R. R. Srivastava et al.
such incidents in April 2007, February 2010, and recently in March 2015 have been
surfaced, as contaminating the food chain from fish to vegetables and from rice
fields to drinking water (Syiemlieh 2018).
The other side of the coin is that the local economy nearby Jaduguda area is
mainly dependent on the uranium mines. The local tribal are employed in UCIL
and/or involved as daily wage labours, whereas some are involved in the business
like transportation and local foods. Due to the government-owned uranium mining,
the connectivity to the nearest city Jamshedpur and metro-city Kolkata is easy and
very frequent. Of course, the cost of this prosperity is yet to be fully determined,
despite the UCIL claiming for a safer mining activity.
5 Recommendations and Conclusions
The world is in the plight for a safer production of uranium mining, by which, the
human health and environment are always in a trigger point. The limits for radiotoxic exposure do not allow for a marginal error in the form of mismanagement of
waste generated in mining activities or in the form of misoperation. The legacy of
the old uranium mining shows bigger problem than the current activities, therefore
the stewardship of the mine sites for their remediation is much needed whose cost
may vary with the available engineering and technology. The technological advancement should be incorporated in mining and tailing operations to handle and treat the
different forms of waste materials in a safer way. Chemical remediation process was
found to be costlier, whereas adoption of natural remediation like use of microbial
activities can be potent with low maintenance cost. The present mining and milling
generated waste must be stored out of the biosphere for preventing the exposure to
mankind. The site characterization would be essential for estimating the potential
environmental impacts of uranium mining and processing under site-specific conditions and mitigation practices. A regular surveillance is required to ensure that the
waste disposal methods do not harm the public health and environment. The weathering of mining waste will continue through decades/centuries; therefore, site maintenance must be foreseen to prevent the removal (intrusion/erosion) of capping
materials. Effluent or acid water drainage containing radionuclides may flow to the
creeks or water streams (surface/underground); hence a periodic monitoring of
environmental radioactivity with corrective measures is much needed. The government/local bodies/regulatory must assure the better environment to live the miners
and nearby communities in mining areas, so that they could believe in their reports
for the health and environment and utilize the wealth earned from mining activities
for their betterment instead of lying on the hospital bed for the treatment of radioactive exposure.
R. R. Srivastava et al.