Human Health Implications of Uranium Mining and Nuclear Power Generation

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Ever since the discovery of radioactivity at the turn of the last century, it has been recognized that ionizing radiation has a deleterious impact on human health. Radiation damage can affect any part of the cell and can interfere with many cellular processes. Most importantly, damage to the genetic material of the cell can lead to cancer, birth defects and hereditary illness. It is generally accepted by the scientific community that there is no safe level of radiation exposure, and that any amount of exposure to ionizing radiation is harmful.

Standards of acceptable exposure in Canada and elsewhere have been reduced many times over past decades, as evidence has mounted of more deleterious health effects. Effects of chronic low-level exposures are poorly understood, especially in children. All stages of the nuclear fuel chain have their associated toxicity. There is also the continuing risk of accidents or meltdowns, which could release massive amounts of radioactivity, such as occurred at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Much of the long-lived radioactive contamination we are spreading into our environment now is essentially permanent and irreversible. Download free Human Health Implications of Uranium Mining and Nuclear Power Generation.pdf here