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Page 14 Hazards of Uranium Exploration When aircraft assessing mineral composition, sweep over your farm; when Eldorado Nuclear takes water samples from your well; when some- one stakes a mining claim in your woodlot; it's time to wake up. Your farm, your community and your life is being threatened! Genelle, B.C. is a residential community of five hundred, with a post office, general store and a gas station. Residents discovered, after the fact, that uranium ex- ploration was well underway less than a mile from their homes. No public official had notified them of the development, nor had anyone offered to explain the hazards of radiation. In many other communities like Genelle, residents have found that exploration could proceed without notice, warning or permission of the local community. Moreover, a program of blasting and drilling does not require the approval of health or environmental officials. Despite reassurances from ex- perts in the nuclear industry that uranium mining is no more hazardous than any other mining, public reaction has been increas- ing. Government officials have been alarmed by the Open hostility shown by otherwise peaceful, law- abiding people. This hostility is the expression of sheer frustration when you ask for information and get the run around; when you make charges which are blatently denied; when you ask fundamental questions which cannot be answered. Who makes the decision whether uranium mining should be allowed in an area? Who is responsible for the operation? Who has jur- isdiction over environmental quality? What are the health and environmental safeguards? UNLIMITED Nestor Martin Fireplace, lakewood, Riteway, Freeflow. Cormor. Trolla, Uletos. 3053C. Petit Godin, Better’n Ben’s, Stanley. Heritage, Acorn Ranger, Old Timer and accessories WHAT IS RADIOACTIVITY? Radioactive substances like uranium, have an unstable atcmic structure. This means that parts of the atom are relensei or emit- ted to the environment as alpha, beta and gamma radiation. These emissions are known as ionizing radiation because when they bombard other atoms they cause these atOms to lose electâ€" rons. Ionizing radiation is thus distinguished from other types of radiation such as visible light or radio waves. When a radioactive atom emits radiation, it produces an atom with fewer parts than the orig- inal. The new atom, or daughter atom, may also be radioactive. A whole series of radioactive daughters may result from an original atom. Uranium~¢38 has 14 different decay daughters before a stable atom is In a deposit of Uranium ore, all of these decay daughters would be present in varying amounts. produce.. For any quantity of U-238, half of the atoms will have decayed after 4% billion years. That is, after a billion years the amount of radiation emitted will be half as much as now. 4% billion years is called the half-life of U-233. This gives us an idea of how long our environment might be conâ€" taminated. Half-lives for other decay daughters of U-238 range from 1.17 minutes to 244,000 years HIGH EFFICIENCY WOODSTOVES Whom is a renewable form of energy that many of us have access to at little or no cost. However, as more people turn to its use as a heating fuel it rejomes increasingly important that it be used in well designeu,air tight stoves capâ€" able of efficiently transferring heat from the stove :o the room. There is a high efficiency stove for every space and purpose, whether it be heating, heating/cooking or heating and occasâ€" ional viewing. Main St. A thens NEW STORE HOURS Tues., Sat. 10 am - 5 pm Fri 10 am â€" 9 pm We do home consultations to help you decide the best type, size, and location for your high efficiency wood burner. 345-0987 924-2373 RADIATION AND HEALTH No matter where radiation comes from, it is a hazard to health. The radiation that bombards our cells will cause structural chan- ges in those cells which tend to trigger tumor cancers and leukemia. Far more serious is the effect on the egg and sperm. Damage to these cells results in a higher in- cidence of a wide range of diseases such as mongolism, cystic fibrosis and leukemia. Children may also be affected during fetal development. Even though these unborn children may have normal cells, exposure during development may produce localized deformity, similar to the birth defects induced by the drug thal- idomide. More than a hundred babies with some form of birth defect have been born to families involved in uran- ium mining in the San Juan basin of New Mexico. PHYSICIS‘T’ errH VMGFEE rill F’LOitn TI 0N Uranium in its natural state is bound within rock. In most areas it does not release its decay pro- ducts to the air or water in any appreciable amount. (Surface dep- osits in some areas account for very high background radiation.) But during drilling and blasting radioactive dust and was is releas- 0 ° ed into the atmosphere and will readily enter our water supply. Radioactive atoms will eventually enter our bodies in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Radium-226 and Radon-222 are decay daughters of U-239, and are released to the environment during drilling and blasting. The amount released depends on the surface area exposed. Radium is slightly soluble i water and readily finds its way into plants and animals. When in~ gested, it concentrates in the bones where it can cause bone cancer and leukemia. Radon is a gas which is inhaled. Radon daughters become lodged in the lung, emitting radiation for the rest of your life, and leading to lung cancer. Although radon has a half-life of only 3.8 days, it is continuously produced from radium and can travel up to\1000 miles in a 10 mph breeze. l 4 '1