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MPs Take Petition Aganst Uranium Mining Into Consideration
Thursday 10 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 10 (TASR) - Parliament on Thursday took into consideration a petition against uranium mining that has been signed by more than 113,000 Slovak citizens and 41 local authorities from areas between Nove Mesto nad Vahom (Trencin Region) and Zemplin (Kosice Region).
"We hope that the MPs will take time to deal with the petition and discuss the demands of the petition committee," said Katerina Ventusova from Greenpeace.
The civil initiative against uranium mining is aimed at persuading MPs to take all environmental, health-related as well as economic risks into consideration. It has also prepared proposals for legislative amendments that would widen the access of local governments to information concerning geological research. This would enable local authorities to deal with land planning - excluding the possibility of uranium mining - more effectively.
According to a report from the parliamentary committee for agriculture, the environment and nature conservation, the committee wants to initiate amendments to three laws - mining, geology and construction.
Environmentalists claim that uranium mining brings risks mainly connected to the handling of enormous amounts of radioactive materials. After uranium is separated from its ore, as much as 99 percent remains as waste. Bearing in mind the presence of other radioactive elements, this waste contains as much as 85 percent of the initial amount of radioactivity. Uranium waste rock also contains several toxic substances such as arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.
Several mining companies have been looking for uranium ore throughout Slovakia in recent years. The territory explored has reached 400 square kilometres, with most of the licences controlled by companies from Canada and Australia.
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