Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KOLKATA167
2008-06-06 09:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:
TRIBES NEAR INDIA'S URANIUM MINES SUFFER FROM CONGENITAL
how-toVZCZCXRO2838 PP RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHCI #0167/01 1580904 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 060904Z JUN 08 FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2017 INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0024 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0110 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0157 RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2465
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000167
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENGR EMIN PGOV PHUM ELAB SENV TRGY ASEC IN
SUBJECT: TRIBES NEAR INDIA'S URANIUM MINES SUFFER FROM CONGENITAL
DEFECTS, CANCER, AND TUBERCULOSIS
REF: 07 KOLKATA 0215
KOLKATA 00000167 001.2 OF 002
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000167
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENGR EMIN PGOV PHUM ELAB SENV TRGY ASEC IN
SUBJECT: TRIBES NEAR INDIA'S URANIUM MINES SUFFER FROM CONGENITAL
DEFECTS, CANCER, AND TUBERCULOSIS
REF: 07 KOLKATA 0215
KOLKATA 00000167 001.2 OF 002
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jadugoda, located in the mineral-rich Singhbum
district of Jharkhand in Eastern India, supplies much of India's
uranium needs. Mining uranium there, however, comes at a
significant human and environmental cost according to a recent
study by the non-government organization (NGO) Indian Doctors
for Peace and Development (IPDP). Indigenous groups -- the
Santhal, Munda and Ho tribes -- living close to the mines
reportedly suffer high-rates of cancer, physical deformities,
blindness, brain damage and other ailments. There have been
repeated leakages from pipes carrying radioactive tailing
residues, exposing villagers to significant radiation levels.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL),which operates
the mines, refutes the contamination allegations and refuses to
acknowledge these issues. Post contacts, citing independent
research, say that it is difficult to point out any reason other
than radiation for the apparent human and environmental problems
at Jadugoda. The Indian nuclear establishment will have to
adopt more transparent safety policies and procedures if it
seeks to expand its capacity. END SUMMARY
--------------
Accidents Happen
--------------
2. (U) India's major uranium mining facility at Jadugoda is
located in Jharkhand, 185 miles Southwest of Kolkata and 15
miles southeast of Jamshedpur. The UCIL mines there produced
1,200 ton of uranium ore per day when they were first
inaugurated in 1967. Since then, older sites have been shut
down and four new sites added, increasing Jadugoda's production
capacity to 2,090 tons per day in 2007. The growth in
operations has also increased the number of accidents and
leakage of radioactive material, the last one reported as
recently as February 2008 when a pipe carrying radioactive
slurry to a reservoir burst, exposing villagers to radiation.
3. (U) The media reported earlier that on December 24, 2006,
another pipe carrying radioactive sludge from the uranium mill
to a storage dam had burst, discharging its contents into a
nearby creek (reftel). The accident occurred in Dungridih, a
small village near Jadugoda, inhabited by displaced families
whose land was acquired to construct two of the three dams --
known as tailings ponds -- that store this radioactive sludge.
--------------
Safety claims not credible
--------------
4. (U) Apparently, UCIL does not have its own alarm system for
these types of accidents and became aware of the leak from
villagers who gathered at the site after the pipe had burst.
Local contacts told Post that the radioactive sludge spewed into
the creek for nine hours before the flow was shut off. A thick
layer of sludge along the surface of the creek killed fish,
frogs, and other animal life. UCIL did not alert the
communities living downstream about the contamination, and local
newspaper reports said that UCIL quietly repaired the pipe and
removed the sludge from the creek.
5. (U) Frequent leaks in the pipelines are not the only hazard
Jadugoda's tr
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENGR EMIN PGOV PHUM ELAB SENV TRGY ASEC IN
SUBJECT: TRIBES NEAR INDIA'S URANIUM MINES SUFFER FROM CONGENITAL
DEFECTS, CANCER, AND TUBERCULOSIS
REF: 07 KOLKATA 0215
KOLKATA 00000167 001.2 OF 002
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jadugoda, located in the mineral-rich Singhbum
district of Jharkhand in Eastern India, supplies much of India's
uranium needs. Mining uranium there, however, comes at a
significant human and environmental cost according to a recent
study by the non-government organization (NGO) Indian Doctors
for Peace and Development (IPDP). Indigenous groups -- the
Santhal, Munda and Ho tribes -- living close to the mines
reportedly suffer high-rates of cancer, physical deformities,
blindness, brain damage and other ailments. There have been
repeated leakages from pipes carrying radioactive tailing
residues, exposing villagers to significant radiation levels.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL),which operates
the mines, refutes the contamination allegations and refuses to
acknowledge these issues. Post contacts, citing independent
research, say that it is difficult to point out any reason other
than radiation for the apparent human and environmental problems
at Jadugoda. The Indian nuclear establishment will have to
adopt more transparent safety policies and procedures if it
seeks to expand its capacity. END SUMMARY
--------------
Accidents Happen
--------------
2. (U) India's major uranium mining facility at Jadugoda is
located in Jharkhand, 185 miles Southwest of Kolkata and 15
miles southeast of Jamshedpur. The UCIL mines there produced
1,200 ton of uranium ore per day when they were first
inaugurated in 1967. Since then, older sites have been shut
down and four new sites added, increasing Jadugoda's production
capacity to 2,090 tons per day in 2007. The growth in
operations has also increased the number of accidents and
leakage of radioactive material, the last one reported as
recently as February 2008 when a pipe carrying radioactive
slurry to a reservoir burst, exposing villagers to radiation.
3. (U) The media reported earlier that on December 24, 2006,
another pipe carrying radioactive sludge from the uranium mill
to a storage dam had burst, discharging its contents into a
nearby creek (reftel). The accident occurred in Dungridih, a
small village near Jadugoda, inhabited by displaced families
whose land was acquired to construct two of the three dams --
known as tailings ponds -- that store this radioactive sludge.
--------------
Safety claims not credible
--------------
4. (U) Apparently, UCIL does not have its own alarm system for
these types of accidents and became aware of the leak from
villagers who gathered at the site after the pipe had burst.
Local contacts told Post that the radioactive sludge spewed into
the creek for nine hours before the flow was shut off. A thick
layer of sludge along the surface of the creek killed fish,
frogs, and other animal life. UCIL did not alert the
communities living downstream about the contamination, and local
newspaper reports said that UCIL quietly repaired the pipe and
removed the sludge from the creek.
5. (U) Frequent leaks in the pipelines are not the only hazard
Jadugoda's tr