Uranium is an element that has many applications nowadays, but it’s no secret that it’s radioactive and can bring adverse effects on one’s health. This article will discuss the essentials of uranium mining occupational health and safety.
The ore is mined deep underground and brought to the surface, where it is crushed to fine sand. Uranium is then extracted using various processes, resulting in a murky yellow-orange concentrate. Before uranium was identified as the energy source of the future, it was used as a yellow pigment in ceramic glazes and glass and as a generator in early photography.
Uranium has high binding energy and thus remains radioactive for a long time. In some geological environments, such as the Earth’s upper crust, most uranium is bound in minerals that are sufficiently soluble to be leached by water and carried downward toward Earth’s mantle.
Suppose uranium is released into the atmosphere from a nuclear reactor or dispersed into a high-level radioactive waste repository. It is diluted to low concentrations by the environment and is readily attenuated or bound to soil particles and removed by wet and dry deposition processes.
Occupational Health and Safety in Uranium Mining
Approximately 200 uranium mines are operating worldwide. They will have produced about 690,000 tons of uranium concentrate by 2007. This figure parallels the annual uranium production rate in the United States.
In the United States, the first uranium mining district was established in 1871 in Colorado. Before World War II, the United States had produced more than 3 million tons of uranium ore from the Colorado Plateau and adjacent areas of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, but the mines were near exhaustion.
With the expansion of the defense industry during the war, uranium mining resumed, and by 1946, production was again at the prewar level. The United States was the world’s largest producer of uranium until 1948 when they discovered the South African production of uranium.
Offices of the Radiation Protection Program are located at each of the uranium mining and milling operations in the United States. These offices, operated by the Navajo Nation Department of Environmental Quality, are charged with implementing required safety programs, informing employees of safety practices, reporting any accidents or exposures, and working to prevent accidents.
In the United States, there are more than 700 million tons of uranium ore in the Earth’s crust, the highest uranium ore reserve in the world. The United States has already produced more than 60 million tons of uranium ore. The U.S. uranium production rose from 1,600 tons in 1960 to 50,000 tons in 1977, primarily because of the increased demand for nuclear power.
Private companies operate uranium production in the United States, undermining permits issued by the appropriate state or federal government agency. The mining companies must report annually to the government on various aspects of their operation, including the number of employees, the number of hours worked, the quantity of ore mined, the amount of uranium concentrates produced, and the number of cases of radiation exposure.
Conclusion
Uranium is an essential fuel for powering the world’s most advanced economies with clean, reliable, and abundant energy. Today, nuclear energy accounts for about 19% of electricity generated in the United States.
The world is quickly moving away from fossil fuels. Nuclear power is a safe, clean, and cost-effective energy source that will provide a significant portion of the United States’ future energy needs. The nuclear industry is committed to meeting or exceeding all applicable regulations, industry standards, and licensing requirements.
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