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WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION |
Doug Brugge is with the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass. Jamie L. deLemos is with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, Mass. Cat Bui is with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Boston.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Doug Brugge, 136 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111 (e-mail: dbrugge{at}aol.com).
ABSTRACT
The Three Mile Island nuclear release exemplifies why there is public and policy interest in the high-technology, highly visible end of the nuclear cycle. The environmental and health consequences of the early steps in the cycle—mining, milling, and processing of uranium ore—may be less appreciated.
We examined 2 large unintended acute releases of uranium—at Kerr McGees Sequoyah Fuels Corporation in Oklahoma and United Nuclear Corporations Church Rock uranium mill in New Mexico, which were incidents with comparable magnitude to the Three Mile Island release.
We urge exploration of whether there is limited national interest and concern for the primarily rural, low-income, and American Indian communities affected by these releases.
More attention should be given to the early stages of the nuclear cycle and their impacts on health and the environment.
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