Taking the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to task for gross negligence and endangerment of public safety and environment, two US based organizations-Friends of South Asia (FOSA) and Association for India's Development (AID) – have submitted a strongly worded petition to the UCIL and the Department of Atomic Energy seeking accountability and transparency in uranium mining operations. This petition, signed by hundreds of individuals from around the world, raises concerns about the way a recent radioactive spill in Jadugoda, Jharkhand was handled by the UCIL and demands a full investigation into this accident and the subsequent clean-up.

Jadugoda, located in the tribal district of East Singbhum in Jharkhand, is the site of the oldest uranium mine in India. All of India's uranium comes from a few miles around Jadugoda, and is mined by the UCIL under the Department of Atomic Energy. For years, the local population has suffered from the extensive environmental degradation caused by the mining operations, which are also responsible for the high frequency of radiation related sicknesses and developmental disorders found in the area. UCIL has repeatedly refused to meet the villagers' demands of a safe, healthy and radiation-free environment, and has failed to conduct independent population health surveys and environmental studies.

The callous attitude of UCIL towards the villagers was further evidenced on Dec 24th, 2006 when a pipe carrying radioactive wastes from the uranium mill operated by UCIL in Jadugoda to a storage dam burst, discharging highly toxic wastes into a nearby creek. This creek feeds into the Subarnarekha River, an important water source in Eastern India which drains into the Bay of Bengal, and can potentially cause serious contamination of water resources of communities living hundreds of kilometers downstream.

Ghanshyam Biruli, president of Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation and a resident of the area, reports that even when the villagers and local activists who discovered the accident informed the company of the toxic spill, it took UCIL nine hours to reach the site of disaster and turn off the radioactive waste from spewing into a creek. Consequently, a thick layer of toxic sludge along the surface of the creek killed scores of fish, frogs, and other riparian life. Based on the experience of similar accidents in other countries, the negative effects of the radioactive and toxic pollutants on human and environmental health can be expected to be felt not just in Jadugoda, but all the communities living downstream, perhaps even hundreds of kilometers away. The most well-known such accident occurred in Church Rock, New Mexico, USA in 1979. Within 18 months, the radioactive and toxic pollutants had penetrated more than 30 feet under ground, threatening two vital aquifers. The people in the affected areas continue to pay a price in terms of deaths due to cancer, lung disease, and birth defects.

This incident is only the latest in a long line of accidents and oversights that exposes communities living in Jadugoda to radioactive and hazardous materials everyday. The residents tell of overloaded trucks spilling radioactive mill waste on to their roads, of inadequate fencing around toxic tailing ponds, and of schools located right next to areas of high level hazardous waste. Local organizations such as Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) have been raising many of these concerns with concerned authorities but have only been met with denial and indifference.

It is in this context that FOSA and AID, two US based groups who are in solidarity with JOAR in its struggles for the rights of impacted communities, started an online petition to draw the international community's attention to this disaster. To date, the petition has attracted more than 400 signatures from over two dozen countries all over the world, including India, US, Japan and Germany. The petition demands that there must be a comprehensive disaster recovery and remediation plan for cleaning up the affected sites in Jadugoda and elsewhere. Just as importantly, there have to be comprehensive monitoring, alerting and reporting procedures in place in order to prevent such incidents in the future. The petition also demands full compensation and rehabilitation for affected families and regular monitoring of the exposure of workers and area residents to radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants generated by the mining and milling of uranium. The petition has now been submitted to the officials at UCIL and DAE, with copies to local and national legislatures.

It is ironic to note that the news of the radioactive spill in Jadugoda came barely a month after the Congressional approval of the US-India nuclear deal, which was celebrated uniformly in the major media as a victory for India. But amidst all this celebration, there was barely any mention of the accident except in local newspapers in Jadugoda. As India rejoices in its acceptance into the elite club of nuclear weapon states, it is left to the impoverished villagers of Jadugoda to remind the country of the tremendous human cost at which this new-found status is achieved. According to Prasad Boddupalli, an activist with AID, "The impacted village communities are challenging the nation's conscience in driving such a Faustian bargain. As signatories to this petition, we are saying that we support them."

For more information, including a backgrounder on uranium tailings and other hazards associated with uranium mining, information on similar disasters in other parts of the world, news reports of this disaster etc., please visit http://www.jadugoda.net.

Please also visit the 2 January NFFA-news report from Jadugoda, which contains photos of the radioactive spill.

You can also contact:
Friends of South Asia www.friendsofsouthasia.org
P.O. Box 64389
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-4389
email: mail@friendsofsouthasia.org
phone: +1 408-480-5805

Association for India's Developmen
t P.O Box "F"
College Park, MD 20741-3005
email: priya@aidindia.org

Petition to Ramendra Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of UCIL and Anil Kakodkar, Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy

RADIOACTIVE WASTE LEAK IN DUGRIDIGH –
WE DEMAND FULL INVESTIGATION AND REMEDIATION

Mr. Ramendra Gupta
Chairman and Managing Director
Uranium Corporation of India, Limited

Dr. Anil Kakodkar
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) &
Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India

We, the undersigned, express our deepest concern at the leak of toxic radioactive waste in Jadugoda (Jharkhand State, India), as a result of an accident at a facility owned and operated by UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Limited).

According to news reports - on December 24, 2006, one of the pipes carrying radioactive waste from the uranium mill operated by UCIL in Jadugoda to a storage dam burst, discharging highly toxic wastes into a nearby creek. When released into the environment in such a hazardous manner, the radioactive and chemical wastes are deadly to the people living in the surrounding area as well as their land and water.

The accident occurred in a small village 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, the negative effects on human and environmental health will impact not just Jadugoda, but several communities living downstream, perhaps even hundreds of kilometers away.

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 toxic sludge along the surface of the creek killed scores of fish, frogs, and other riparian life.

According to local news reports, UCIL has begun repairing the pipe and removing sludge from the creek. This is an important step, but far from adequate. There must be a comprehensive disaster recovery and remediation plan for cleaning up the affected sites in Jadugoda and elsewhere. In addition, comprehensive monitoring, alerting and reporting procedures must be introduced in order to prevent such incidents in the future.

WE DEMAND:

1. Full disclosure by UCIL of all facts about the accident, and corrective measures taken thus far.
2. A thorough, independent investigation of the causes and impacts of the disaster, involving UCIL, appropriate state and non-governmental agencies, and representatives of local community organizations such as JOAR (Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation)
3. Decontamination of the soil, streams and riverbeds that have been affected by the bursting of the pipe
4. Provision of alternate sources of clean and usable water for communities that are dependent on water from the contaminated creeks
5. Adequate compensation for the people who have been harmed and whose livelihoods have been affected by the hazardous discharge of the radioactive waste into the environment
6. Regular, independent monitoring of the quality and safety of UCIL's sites, processes and equipment
7. Regular monitoring of the exposure of workers and area residents to the radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants that are generated by the mining and milling of uranium
8. Creation and establishment of emergency response programs in order to ensure the safe, effective, and timely response to such disasters in the future

cc:
Mr. A. Raja, Union Minister of Environment and Forests
Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Mr. Madhu Kora, Chief Minister of Jharkhand

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