Legacy of US Nuclear Weapons Still Killing Uranium Miners Decades Later: Study

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/16-6



Researchers say the Rössing uranium mine's 1,500 workers are still exposed to dangerous dust

Legacy of US Nuclear Weapons Still Killing Uranium Miners Decades Later: Study
- Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Published on Wednesday, April 16, 2014 by Common Dreams

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 Rössing 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.

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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.