Uranium mining spreads radioactive materials through underground and surface water and through the air. Leaks are common and accidents happen – just like in any other business or family. In the largest radioactive accident in U.S. history, a dam broke at a retention pond at a uranium mill. The radioactive materials were detected 50 miles downstream only 3 hours later.

When mining is happening in an area, dangerous cargos are also transported on the roads. There have been a number of traffic accidents involving nuclear materials. In the early 1980s, a truck carrying “yellowcake” uranium collided with a train, spilling radioactive materials. The driver was killed, the truck wasn’t marked, and no one knew what it was carrying. Before people figured out that there was a danger, over 40 first responders and citizens had been exposed to the truck’s cargo.

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