The Health Risks of Uranium Exploration and Mining in Nova S

[Oscar]

The Health Risks of Uranium Exploration and Mining in Nova Scotia

- Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment - June 23, 2025

EXCERPT: "URANIUM IS UNLIKE other minerals mined in Nova Scotia. It is a heavy metal that is both chemically toxic and radioactive, decaying over time to produce other materials that are even more toxic and radioactive. This includes the carcinogenic, but colourless, tasteless and odourless gas radon, emitted by uranium deposits. Radon gas can travel hundreds of kilometres in the air, emitting radioactive particles as it moves. . . . .

The Health Risks

Physicians increasingly oppose uranium mining because of its potential to cause a wide range of adverse health effects from uranium exposure.13 14

These health effects include:15

• Kidney failure16
• DNA damage
• Infertility
• Damage to the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys and bones
• Damage to the immune system
• Cancers, most commonly lung cancer, but also leukaemia and tumours of the lung, breast, thyroid, bone, digestive organs, and skin, which are linked with radiation exposure 17
• Premature aging and decreased life expectancy18 . . . . "


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