Accident at Jadugoda
Demand Full Investigation and Remediation
On December 24, 2006, one of the pipes carrying radioactive wastes from the uranium mill to a storage dam had burst, discharging highly toxic wastes into a nearby creek. When released into the environment in such a hazardous manner, the radioactive wastes are deadly to the people living in the surrounding area as well as their land and water.
The accident occurred in Dungridih – a small village near Jadugoda inhabited largely by displaced families whose lands were acquired to construct two of the three storage dams, also known as tailings ponds. The tailings ponds store all the radioactive wastes generated by the milling of uranium ore in Jadugoda. Based on the experience of similar accidents in other countries, however, the negative effects on human and environmental health will impact communities living downstream, perhaps even hundreds of kilometers away. Therefore, it is imperative that the Uranium Company of India Limited (UCIL) – the owner and operator of the uranium mine, mill, pipes, and tailing ponds in Jadugoda – immediately inform downstream communities of the disaster and prevent them from using the creek water until it is certifiably safe. Until the creek is safe to use, UCIL should supply water to the impacted communities so that they can continue their necessary activities such as bathing and washing clothes. Also, UCIL may need to provide compensation for families living downstream whose livelihoods depend upon the stream, a tributary to the Subarnarekha River, either for irrigation or fishing.
It is troubling that UCIL did not have its own alarm mechanism to alert the company in cases of such a disaster. Rather, the villagers that had arrived at the scene of the accident soon after the pipe burst informed the company of the toxic spill. Even more reprehensible is the fact that the toxic sludge spewed into creek for nine hours before the flow of the radioactive waste was shut off. Consequently, a thick layer of radioactive sludge along the surface of the creek killed scores of fish, frogs, and other riparian life.
According to reports in local Hindi newspapers, UCIL has begun repairing the pipe and removing sludge from the creek. This is an important step, but there must be a comprehensive remediation plan for cleaning up the affected sites in Jadugoda and elsewhere. Based on the experience of remediation efforts in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, some of the major action items that must be included in the plan are to:
- thoroughly investigate the causes and impacts of the disaster, involving UCIL, appropriate state agencies, and representatives of local community organizations such as JOAR (Jharkhand Organization Against Radiation);
- compensate the people harmed by the radioactive waste that has been accidentally discharged into the environment;
- decontaminate the soil and streams that have been affected by the bursting of the pipe;
- create and establish inspection mechanisms and procedures to routinely monitor the quality and safety of UCIL’s equipment;
- regularly measure and monitor the exposure of workers and area residents to the radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants that are generated by the mining and milling of uranium;
- create and establish emergency response programs in order to ensure the safe, effective, and timely response to possible disasters; and
- fully disclose to area residents UCIL’s progress in its clean-up of the disaster as well as reports of its inspections and monitoring programs.
