Process of uranium mining is not green? (Fan mail question)

Hiya all~ It is a very strange and awkward day as for once we actually have fan mail…

Anyway, I digress.

Recently a Nuclear Edition reader stated a very interesting fact, that the process of uranium mining is not green! While thinking about it, it does really ring a bell. Although the nuclear plant operation might be green, the process in which to produce it might not be environment friendly!

So we take a little online detour to the uranium mine hunt. Uranium is typically mined from the earth crust, 

where there could be ‘open pit’ mining, underground mining and in-situ leeching.

The open pit mining method is done for deposits that are located close to the surface of the earth crust, of about 100m. How the open pit works is it require large holes on the surface, larger than the size of the deposits because the walls of the pit must be sloped for structural integrity. The walls will collapse if not sloped. 

 An open mine

For underground mining, this method is for deposits that are over 100m below the surface. Tunnels will be bored down and ore is raised to the surface in carts. This method is potentially dangerous for miners and requires powerful ventilation systems, use of respirators and there’s limited amount of time that can be spent underground.

 Photo of a worker in a deep mine

Finally about in-situ leaching, this method is non-invasive and claimed to be environmentally friendly. This method extracts uranium by pumping weak acid underground to dissolve ore deposits and pumping the deposits to the surface.

 Diagram of in-situ leaching

Mining has always had huge impacts on the environment where massive craters are formed and these places would then be barren of life once mining operations are completed. Even in in-situ leaching, there is the risk of the acid to contaminate underground water sources.

So, is nuclear energy really clean?In fact, a lot of policies and regulations are imposed in any mining activity, uranium mining included. The mining activities even require external audits. There is no question that mining will have adverse effects on the environment but it seems as if it is a necessary to sacrifice a little to gain a lot.

Link:
http://www.themoreyoudig.com/?p=1731
http://www.indiatalkies.com/2011/05/meghalaya-dithers-uranium-mining.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-01/uranium-miner-fights-floods-skepticism-as-stockpile-dwindles.html