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Bruno Chareyron, Nuclear Physics Engineer, Director of the CRIIRAD laboratory .

Independent monitoring of the radiological impact of Uranium Mining (Example from Africa : Niger ) CRIIRAD / EJOLT Project / RIO. Bruno Chareyron, Nuclear Physics Engineer, Director of the CRIIRAD laboratory . Mail : bruno.chareyron@criirad.org. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron. June 2012. 1.

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Bruno Chareyron, Nuclear Physics Engineer, Director of the CRIIRAD laboratory .

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  1. Independent monitoring of the radiological impact of Uranium Mining (Example from Africa : Niger )CRIIRAD / EJOLT Project / RIO Bruno Chareyron, Nuclear Physics Engineer, Director of the CRIIRAD laboratory. Mail : bruno.chareyron@criirad.org CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron June 2012 1

  2. 1 / CRIIRAD mission to Niger / December 2003 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 2

  3. ARLIT and AKOKAN cities = 80 000 inhabitants Niger : is one of the poorest country in the world (IDH PNUD : 174 sur 177) Uranium = one third of exports u = 190 millions Euro in 2007 = 5 % GDP CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron June 2012 3 Source : AREVA 2005

  4. Open pits at SOMAÏR uranium mine (AREVA) Crédit photo : AREVA CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 4

  5. Underground uranium mines COMINAK (AREVA) CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 5 Crédit photo : AREVA

  6. Since the end of the 60’s : more than 100 000 tons of uranium have been produced in Niger Compared to 76 000 tons extracted from 1946 to 2000 in France (about 200 uranium mines / all closed) Source AREVA dossier de presse 2005 et site web 2009 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 6

  7. M Almoustapha ALHACEN, président of an NGO in Niger : AGHIR IN MAN asked for CRIIRAD support in 2003 Crédit photo : CRIIRAD, déc 2003 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 novembre 2010 7

  8. Immediately after landing at Niamey airport (Niger), CRIIRAD professional monitoring equipment was confiscated by the police CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 8

  9. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 9

  10. Niamey, National Radiological Protection Center Crédit photo : CRIIRAD, déc 2003 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 10

  11. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 11

  12. 2 / Niger : radioactive scrap metal from the mines and mills is sold on the market CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 12

  13. December 2003. CRIIRAD performed gamma radiation measurement with a Geiger Muller counter in the streets of ARLIT City (Niger / Africa).On the pipe below, gamma radiation was 10 times above natural background The CRIIRAD laboratory analysed a few grams of radioactive crust from the pipe (Uranium 238 = 10,000 Bq/kg, Radium 226 = 240,000 Bq/kg). These are tailings from the SOMAÏR uranium mill (AREVA subsidiary). Sept 2011

  14. In ARLIT (Niger) people commonly re-use scrap metal for their everyday life Sept 2011

  15. Crédit photo : CRIIRAD, déc 2003 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron novembre 2010 15

  16. Radioactive pipes used for drilling in ARLIT (Niger) Radiation control made by AGHIR IN MAN : radiation level was 49 times above natural value (year 2009) Novembre 2010 Picture provided by AGHIR IN MAN June 2009 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 16

  17. In 2009 the local NGO (AGHIR IN MAN) discovered on the market place (Niger) radioactive liners thatwereformerlyused for the radioactive effluent’s ponds of AREVA mills (radiation level more than 100 times above normal) Crédit photo : AGHIR IN MAN Juin 2009 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 17

  18. 3 / Niger : radioactive waste rocks from the mine have been used for road construction (and even in dwellings) CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 18

  19. Waste rock dump SOMAÏR mine / Niger Crédit photo : CRIIRAD, déc 2003 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 19

  20. Gamma radiation on contact of the soil (100 times above normal) 19 000 c/s CRIIRAD wrote to AREVA’s CEO Mrs Lauvergeon in May 2007. CRIIRAD got no reply According to AGHIR IN MAN : the removal of radioactive rocks took place in 2008. GREENPEACE mission November 2009, other radioactive places detected NIGER / COMINAK-AREVA Hospital in Akokan city Crédit photo : C. Chamberland et M. Roche, 2007 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 20

  21. 4 / Uranium mining is releasing radioactive liquid effluents and contaminates underground waters, rivers and lakes during and after mining operations

  22. Contamination of underground water tables (ex : Arlit, Niger) • ARLIT : water is pumped from a non renewable resource at a depth of 150 m. About 275 millions m3 pomped from 1969 to 2004 (40 % is used for industrial process) • AREVA press release (December 2003) : “no contamination” of water • In fact CRIIRAD showed that COGEMA-AREVA subsidiaries were giving water to the population and workers with Uranium and decay products contamination above WHO standards. • Some of the drills have been closed since CRIIRAD and SHERPA press conference

  23. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 23

  24. 5 / More than 35 million tons of radioactive waste (tailings) are stored in the open air close to the cities of Arlit and Akokan

  25. Radioactive tailings from COMINAK mill (AREVA subsidiary) in Niger 50 hectares / 10.5 million tons. : Activity above 500,000 Bq/kgTailings are « stored » in the open air : No confinment of radon gas and radioactive dust. What about the powerfull winds of the desert and the proximity of the cities (a few kilometers away) ? CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Sept 2011 25

  26. Storage of radioactive crushed uranium ore in the open air Crédit photo : AREVA CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 26

  27. L’étude d’impact environnemental pour l’extension de l’exploitation Afasto-Ouest (COMINAK) précise : « Les affections respiratoires du fait notamment du climat caractérisé par une persistance des vents de poussières, occupent la première place à Arlit et Agadez… »./ . « en terme de morbidité…/… à Arlit, les infections respiratoires occupent la première place »…/… « Impacts sur la Santé : apparition ou recrudescence éventuelles d’affections ORL et Ophtalmologiques liées à la production continue de poussières et de bruits du fait des activités minières ». Le taux de mortalité lié à des infections respiratoires aiguës serait de 16,19 % à Arlit, contre 10,95 % à Agadez et 8,54 % au niveau national. L’étude précise : « Les vents de sable, les rejets atmosphériques des usines minières pourraient être des facteurs aggravants sur le plan pulmonaire dans cette localité ». Pourtant les filiales d’AREVA continuent à entreposer à l’air libre les tas de minerai et les millions de tonnes de résidus radioactifs produits par les 2 usines. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 27

  28. 6 / People exposure to Radon (a carcinogenic radioactive gas produced by uranium) is exceeding the maximum annual dose limit of 1 milliSievertin the suburbs of Akokan city

  29. Radon concentration in the air discharged by the underground mine vents is about 3 600 Bq/m3 to 18 000 Bq/m3, according to the company One Becquerel Bq = 1 disintegration per second Crédit photo : C. Chamberland et M. Roche, 2007 CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 29

  30. 7 / Hazards connected to the transportation of uranium concentrate (yellow cake)

  31. Transportation of « yellow cake » : 1 600 km by road to : Parakou (Benin) Train : 400 km to Cotonou (BENIN) Boat to a harbour in France / One shipment per month Train to the conversion plant in Narbonne (south of France) Crédit photo : AREVA Citizens where sitting on the radioactive drums on the trucks. AGHIRIN MAN complained about the bad condition of the tyres of the trucks and low wages of the truck drivers CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 31

  32. Crédit photo : CRIIRAD, déc 2003 January 2004 / Truck accident (5 people died). Yellow cake was disseminated on the road. Despite requirements by the National Radiological Protection Center in Niamey, it took one month for the Company to decontaminate the place. CRIIRAD measurements showed that the uranium contamination of the soil was 1 000 to 10 000 times above natural figures CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 32

  33. AREVA conversion plant near Narbonne (France) : = 14 000 tonnes d’Uranium / an (UF4) Uranium is stored in drums CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 33

  34. CRIIRAD / B. Chareyron Novembre 2010 34

  35. 8 / Radiological contamination of soil and water begins since the first step of uranium mining : uranium prospection

  36. AREVA planed to drill 100 km per year till 2010. 50 m * 200 m grid / 48 km2. Crédit photo : C. Chamberland et M. Roche, 2007

  37. Gamma radiation rates are 5 to 9 times above normal on the radioactive mud left by the drillers Crédit photo : C. Chamberland et M. Roche, 2007

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