Last update:
2015-02-09

Uranium Mining in Jadugoda, Jharkhand, India


Description:

Jadugoda, is located in Singhbum district of Jharkhand. Uranium mining activity in the region started way back in 1967[1]. Now the place is one of the major sources of Uranium in India. Due to the proximity of the mine, a large number of villagers suffer from cancer, skin diseases, physical deformities, blindness, brain damage, disruption of menstrual cycle or loss of fertility. Villagers are mainly adivasis (indigenous population), the Santhal, Munda and Ho tribes, evicted from their lands, work as miners and are exposed to a heavy dose of radiation. Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a government owned corporation is responsible for the mining refutes the allegations. However, independent researchers believe that the radiation causes severe damage to human health environment [2]

Basic Data
Name of conflict:Uranium Mining in Jadugoda, Jharkhand, India
Country:India
State or province:Jharkhand
Location of conflict:Jadugoda
Accuracy of locationHIGH (Local level)
Source of Conflict
Type of conflict. 1st level:Nuclear
Type of conflict. 2nd level:Mineral ore exploration
Landfills, toxic waste treatment, uncontrolled dump sites
Mineral processing
Nuclear waste storage
Uranium extraction
Specific commodities:Uranium
Project Details and Actors
Project details

The mines, set up four decades ago, employ around 5,000 people [3]. The UCIL has seven uranium mines - Jadugora, Bhatin, Turamdih, Bagjata, Narwapahar, Banduhurang and Mahuldih - in operation in Jharkhand [4].

Type of populationRural
Affected Population:50
Start of the conflict:1995
Company names or state enterprises:Uranium Corporation of India Limited from India
Relevant government actors:Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation (JOAR), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Communist Party of India Marxists Leninist, Indian Federation of Trade Union, Human Right Law Network, All Jharkhand Student Union
Conflict & Mobilization
IntensityHIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)
Reaction stageMobilization for reparations once impacts have been felt
Groups mobilizing:Farmers
Indigenous groups or traditional communities
Industrial workers
Local ejos
Landless peasants
Local government/political parties
Neighbours/citizens/communities
Social movements
Local scientists/professionals
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
Communist Party of India Marxists Leninist
Indian Federation of Trade Union
Human Right Law Network
All Jharkhand Student Union
Forms of mobilization:Blockades
Boycotts of official procedures/non-participation in official processes
Community-based participative research (popular epidemiology studies, etc..)
Development of a network/collective action
Involvement of national and international NGOs
Objections to the EIA
Public campaigns
Street protest/marches
Strikes
Impacts
Environmental ImpactsVisible: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Genetic contamination, Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Waste overflow, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Mine tailing spills
Health ImpactsVisible: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Other environmental related diseases
Socio-economical ImpactsVisible: Displacement, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Violations of human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place
Outcome
Project StatusIn operation
Conflict outcome / response:Compensation
Environmental improvements, rehabilitation/restoration of area
Institutional changes
New legislation
Technical solutions to improve resource supply/quality/distribution
New Environmental Impact Assessment/Study
Proposal and development of alternatives:Protesters under the banner of Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) with their constant agitation the following demands were met :
1. Getting UCIL to cover open trucks used to carry ores.
2. Earlier Mine tailing was given to people to build their houses, roads, boundaries, and compound walls. Today that practice has been stopped.
3. Earlier miners used to bring home their clothes and women used to wash them. They don t anymore.
4. Before the tailing pipe burst, till around 2006-07, water used by people used to be ground water or surface water. But after the disaster the company took the responsibility of providing pipe water.
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:Not Sure
Briefly explain:Although mines are still operating, lots of improvements have been obtained through the agitations. Protesters under the banner of Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) with their constant agitation the following demands were met :
1. Getting UCIL to cover open trucks used to carry ores.
2. Earlier Mine tailing was given to people to build their houses, roads, boundaries, and compound walls. Today that practice has been stopped.
3. Earlier miners used to bring home their clothes and women used to wash them. They don t anymore.
4. Before the tailing pipe burst, till around 2006-07, water used by people used to be ground water or surface water. But after the disaster the company took the responsibility of providing pipe water.
Sources & Materials
References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

Assessment of environmental radioactivity at uranium mining, processing and tailings management facility at Jaduguda, India
[click to view]

Natural radioactivity in roadside soil along Jamshedpur-Musabani road: a mineralised and mining region, Jharkhand and associated risk
[click to view]

VEIN TYPE URANIUM MINERALISATION IN

JADUGUDA URANIUM DEPOSIT, SINGHBHUM, INDIA

Study of radon exhalation rate and natural radioactivity in soil samples collected from East Singhbhum Shear Zone in Jaduguda U-Mines Area, Jharkhand, India and its radiological implications
[click to view]

Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation studies of rock samples from Surda Copper deposits in Singhbhum shear zone
[click to view]

Radiation dose to members of public residing around uranium mining complex, Jaduguda, Jharkhand, India
[click to view]

TYPE U MINERALISATION at Jaduguda, INDIA _Extended ABSTRACT_.pdf
[click to view]

Measurement of natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate from rock samples of Jaduguda uranium mines and its radiological implications
[click to view]

Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network

Buddha Weeps in Jaduguda Jharkhand
[click to view]

Meta information
Contributor:Sohan Prasad Sha & Swapan Kumar Patra
Last update18/08/2019
Conflict ID:956
Comments
Legal notice / Aviso legal
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