Subject: RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK IN DUGRIDIGH- WE DEMAND FULL INVESTIGATION AND REMEDIATIONMr. Ramendra Gupta Chairman and Managing Director Uranium Corporation of India, Limited Dr. Anil Kakodkar Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) & Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India We, the undersigned, express our deepest concern at the leak of toxic radioactive waste in Jadugoda (Jharkhand State, India), as a result of an accident at a facility owned and operated by UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Limited). According to news reports - on December 24, 2006, one of the pipes carrying radioactive waste from the uranium mill operated by UCIL in Jadugoda to a storage dam burst, discharging highly toxic wastes into a nearby creek. When released into the environment in such a hazardous manner, the radioactive and chemical wastes are deadly to the people living in the surrounding area as well as their land and water. The accident occurred in a small village inhabited largely by displaced families whose lands were acquired to construct two of the three storage dams, also known as tailings ponds. The tailings ponds store all the radioactive wastes generated by the milling of uranium ore in Jadugoda. Based on the experience of similar accidents in other countries, the negative effects on human and environmental health will impact not just Jadugoda, but several communities living downstream, perhaps even hundreds of kilometers away. It is troubling that UCIL did not have its own alarm mechanism to alert the company in cases of such a disaster. Rather, the villagers that had arrived at the scene of the accident soon after the pipe burst informed the company of the toxic spill. Even more reprehensible is the fact that the toxic sludge spewed into creek for nine hours before the flow of the radioactive waste was shut off. Consequently, a thick layer of toxic sludge along the surface of the creek killed scores of fish, frogs, and other riparian life. According to local news reports, UCIL has begun repairing the pipe and removing sludge from the creek. This is an important step, but far from adequate. There must be a comprehensive disaster recovery and adequate. There must be a comprehensive disaster recovery and elsewhere. In addition, comprehensive monitoring, alerting and reporting procedures must be introduced in order to prevent such incidents in the future. WE DEMAND: (1) Full disclosure by UCIL of all facts about the accident, and corrective measures taken thus far. (2) A thorough, independent investigation of the causes and impacts of the disaster, involving UCIL, appropriate state and non-governmental agencies, and representatives of local community organizations such as JOAR (Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation) (3) Decontamination of the soil, streams and riverbeds that have been affected by the bursting of the pipe (4) Provision of alternate sources of clean and usable water for communities that are dependent on water from the contaminated creeks (5) Adequate compensation for the people who have been harmed and whose livelihoods have been affected by the hazardous discharge of the radioactive waste into the environment (6)Regular, independent monitoring of the quality and safety of UCIL's sites, processes and equipment. (7) Regular monitoring of the exposure of workers and area residents to the radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants that are generated by the mining and milling of uranium (8) Creation and establishment of emergency response programs in order to ensure the safe, effective, and timely response to such disasters in the future For more information, including a backgrounder on Uranium tailings and other hazards associated with Uranium mining, information on similar disasters in other parts of the world, news reports of this disaster,etc., please visit http://www.jadugoda.net. cc: Mr. A. Raja, Union Minister of Environment and Forests Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mr. Madhu Kora, Chief Minister of Jharkhand Privacy PolicyEmail addresses are required to verify the authenticity of the petition. They are kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to anybody. List of SupportersClick here to view the supporters who have signed up. |