[ RadSafe ] " Uranium dangers are very real "

[Jaro]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/todays-paper/Uranium+dangers+very+real/1
284476/story.html
Uranium dangers are very real
The Gazette, February 13, 2009 3:02 AM

Re: "Mining town balks at uranium" (Gazette, Feb. 7).

Mark Cardwell's article might leave readers believing that the residents of
Sept Îles were only imagining the threatening health and environmental
concerns that led to a permanent moratorium on uranium mining.

His article doesn't mention radon gas, a principal toxic contaminant of
uranium mining. This is especially true of the low-grade ore, whose
extraction creates huge deposits of ground-up tailings that leak radon into
the air, soil and water.

Health Canada describes radon gas as second only to cigarettes as the
leading cause of lung cancer. Recently the federal government has reduced
the permissible level by 75 per cent to achieve safer public health
measures.

We must applaud the conscientious physicians of Sept Îles in threatening to
leave town in a desperate and successful attempt to alert the mayor and
council that profit over people is unacceptable. The short-term economic
benefits that uranium mining might produce do not outweigh the devastating
long-term effects it has on the environment and people's health.

Dr. Michael A. Dworkind
Cancer Prevention Unit
Jewish General Hospital
Montreal





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