URANIUM ATLAS
Facts and Data about the Raw Material of the Atomic Age 2020
Uranium has been extracted from the earth since the 1930s, first in the Belgian colony of Congo, then for decades in South Africa and today in Namibia and Niger. Uranium is used for nuclear power stations, atomic bombs and projectiles that penetrate tanks. Why uranium should remain in the earth is explained on 50 pages of the URANIUM ATLAS. It is a cooperative project and is published jointly by the Nuclear Free Future Foundation, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Beyond Nuclear and IPPNW. The German edition was published in September 2019.

Published: July 2020
Publisher: L Nuclear Free Future Foundation, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Beyond Nuclear, International Physisions for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Authors: Thorben Becker, Claus Biegert, Dr. Horst Hamm, Günter Hermeyer, Manfred Kriener, Winona LaDuke, Linda Pentz Gunter, Mia Pepper, Mycle Schneider, Susi Snyder
The Uranium Atlas as online version
Now the Uranium Atlas is also available as an online version.
The Uranium Pathway: From out of the Ground to a Legacy of Waste
Uranium has been extracted from the earth since the 1930s. It has left a lethal trail of radioactive contamination and radioactive waste.
Read moreHealth: Deadly Ore
The uranium extraction process alone costs human lives. Uranium mining also causes serious health effects for all those exposed.
Read moreHistory: Colonial Heritage
Until the 1970s, military demand was used to justify uranium mining. It had negative health impacts from the start, on local populations, but especially on Indigenous societies.
Read moreAfrica: Supplier for the wealthy North
For many decades, South Africa was the main uranium supplier on the African continent. Today, Namibia and Niger have taken its place.
Read moreCANADA: RADIOACTIVE HUNTING GROUNDS
The subarctic peoples, on whose territories the mines are located, were never informed about the hazards and risks involved. The consequences of mining continue to pose a severe threat to their health.
Read moreUSA: FIRST PEOPLES, LAST TO BE PROTECTED
The story of the Atomic Age began on the homeland of the Indigenous people of North America. From uranium mining to atomic bomb tests to the perpetual search for radioactive waste storage sites, the primary target remains native lands.
Read moreASIA: SECRET ORE
Das Land der indigenen Völker war von Anbeginn im Fokus der Nuklearindustrie. Nur so wurden Kanada und die USA die historisch größten Uranproduzenten
Read moreAUSTRALIA: Ancient Warnings
The first peoples of the continent considered themselves the guardians of the treasures beneath the Earth’s surface. Their descendants continue to speak truth to power when taking on uranium companies.
Read moreEUROPE: For the Bomb and Beyond
At the start of 2020, there were still 124 nuclear power plants in operation in the EU, making it the world’s largest consumer of uranium.
Read moreURANIUM INDUSTRY I: SUCCESSFUL RESISTANCE
The price of uranium has been languishing at rock bottom for years, and with it the entire industry. At the same time, opposition to the environmentally destructive practice of uranium mining has been growing steadily.
Read moreURANIUM INDUSTRY II: A “WHO’S WHO” OF URANIUM MINING
The ten largest mining corporations are responsible for 87 percent of worldwide uranium production. They dominate the market and exploit Indigenous peoples.
Read moreCLEANUP: A RESPONSIBILITY ABANDONED
Uranium mining leaves behind radioactive and toxic waste with decay products that are even more hazardous than the mined uranium. However, there is virtually no management of these abandoned mines.
Read moreNUCLEAR DISASTERS: FROM MAYAK TO CHURCH ROCK TO FUKUSHIMA
Nuclear meltdowns and ruptured dams, reactor fires and explosions: disasters that should never have happened.
Read moreIAEA AND EURATOM: A QUESTION OF POWER
The World Health Organization is guided by the IAEA on all health matters relating to nuclear issues. And under the EURATOM treaty, the European Union is obligated to promote nuclear energy.
Read moreNUCLEAR ARSENALS: THE NEW ARMS RACE
A nuclear war would have no victors. Nevertheless, the nuclear-weapon states are modernizing their arsenals and developing “small nuclear weapons”.
Read moreNUCLEAR BOMBS TESTS: BANNED SINCE 1996
The first nuclear bomb was detonated on July 16th, 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. A devastating 2,057 additional tests followed, the most recent one by North Korea in 2017.
Read moreURANIUM WEAPONS: DU - SHORT FOR “WAR WITHOUT END”
Uranium-238, a waste product of uranium enrichment, has been diverted into tank-piercing projectiles. Depleted uranium, known as DU, has an extremely high penetrating force – and fatal consequences.
Read moreNUCLEAR WASTE I: FINAL DISPOSAL SITE - THE OCEANS
Between 1946 and 1993, several countries – most notably the UK and the Soviet Union – dumped their nuclear waste into the sea. This even included high-level radioactive waste, before a ban in 1975.
Read moreNUCLEAR WASTE II: DESTINATION UNKNOWN
Worldwide, there is only one final high-level nuclear waste repository under construction – in Onkalo, Finland. Meanwhile, more than 350,000 tonnes of high-level radioactive waste has already been generated globally.
Read moreENERGY INDUSTRY: GAME OVER FOR NUCLEAR POWER
For decades, the nuclear industry boasted of a “nuclear renaissance”. But the reality turned out to be very different: losses running into the billions, delays, and competition from renewable energy sources.
Read moreGLOBAL WARMING: THE MYTH OF CLIMATE-FRIENDLY ENERGY
The nuclear industry is scrambling to deliver a so-called fourth generation reactor while using the crisis of climate change as an excuse to expand nuclear power. However, there are faster, cheaper and less dangerous options.
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