Uranium threat

Dear Editor,

I HAVE read with dismay the news in your reputable Daily Nation newspaper regar ding the dange r facing vi llage rs near a Uranium mine in Siavon ga from uranium side effects.

According to the article, the villagers are experiencing strange illnesses which include cases of both men and women facing fertility problems.

This seems to be a very serious threat on the lives of the people which needs urgent attention.

The question that one needs to ask is whether the Zambia Environmental Agency (ZEMA) has conducted an assessment exercise before giving a go ahead to the mine owners to conduct mining activities.

According to my research, exposure to uranium can result in both chemical and radiological toxicity. The main chemical effect associated with exposure to uranium and its compounds is kidney toxicity.

This toxicity can be caused by breathing air containing uranium dusts or by eating substances containing uranium, which then enters the bloodstream.

Once in the bloodstream, the uranium compounds are filtered by the kidneys, where they can cause damage to the kidney cells.

Very high uranium intakes (ranging from about 50 to 150 mg depending on the individual) can cause acute kidney failure and death.

At lower intake levels (around 25 to 40 mg), damage can be detected by the presence of protein and dead cells in the urine, but there are no other symptoms.

Also, at lower intake levels, the kidney repairs itself over a period of several weeks after the uranium exposure has stopped.

Several possible health effects are associated with human exposure to radiation from uranium. Because all uranium isotopes mainly emit alpha particles that have little penetrating ability, the main radiation hazard from uranium occurs when uranium compounds are ingested or inhaled.

So with these side effects, it is important that Government lends a listening ear to this threat which one can best describe as a time bomb.

Nicholas Zulu.