arge bomb detonated offsite can cause enough damage to lead to a deadly release of radiation or even a meltdown!The release of radiation can come from different areas in the nuclear cycle. One of the biggest radiation threats is uranium mill tailings. After the uranium ore is separated, the tailings are left behind. Tailings contain radioactive thorium which remains dangerous for over 100,000 years (Nuclear Waist: The Big Picture, 2). Thousands of tons of uranium mill tailings are being produced each year. Abbots and Nader comment that uranium mill tailings is a byproduct of the enrichment process. Less than one fifth of the amount of potential uranium is extracted in a given amount of rock or sand. (90) This leaves four fifths of the uranium that was inside the rock deep in the earth, on top of the ground in the form of sand. This sand can blow across large amounts of land. By 1986 2.7 billion cubic feet of tailings were blowing in the wind, damaging native crops and human life (Nuclear Waist, the Big Picture 2). This is one of the biggest environmental hazard that we face today. Expressing their concern about uranium dust, Nader and Abbotts write :Uranium dust represents a respiratory hazard to mine and mill workers, but most of the problems with uranium mining and milling are associated with uranium's decay products. They present a much greater radiation hazard. Through a series of nuclear reactions, uranium undergoes radioactive decay to radium, which in turn decays ro radon gas. The radon gas in turn decays to isotopes which in turn can cause serious biological damage, particulary when inhaled. (82 - 84)The serious results of having mill tailings open to the environment are just being felt now. Since the beginning of the nuclear age to the late 1960's there has been no official record kept on where mill tailings have been stored. Many towns in the middle of the United States have been built on mill tailings. Some pe...
