>
Title : Situation arising out of opencast Uranium mining at Lambapur, Peddagattu and Seripally plateau region by UCIL.
SHRI SURAVARAM SUDHAKAR REDDY (NALGONDA): Sir, this is about the Uranium Projects. Can I lay my paper?
MR. CHAIRMAN: Yes.
*SHRI SURAVARAM SUDHAKAR REDDY : I am raising an important issue of uranium project in my Parliamentary Constituency.
Uranium is the deadliest metal on earth because of its Radioactivity. It is responsible for introducing into the human environment a tremendously large range of radioactive materials, which are all very inimical to biological organisms.
The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL), a Government of India Undertaking, proposed to undertake opencast Uranium Mining in Nalgonda district at Lambapur and Peddagattu plateau regions, with elevations varying between 340 to 240 mRL, right above Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir limits, with maximum water level of 180 mRL.
The general drainage of the area is from all sides is towards Nagarjuna Sagar. Therefore there is every possibility of the radiation contaminated storm water runoff from the opencast Uranium mines spread over vast area, finding its way into Sagar reservoir.
This is likely to have serious adverse impacts on the entire down stream Krishna River basin covering about one third of the total population of the State – Nalgonda, Khammam, Kistna, Guntur and Prakasam Districts – and the food chain in this area, in addition to Twin Cities and part of Ranga Reddy district, which are being supplied drinking water from Nagarjuna Sagar.
If the Uranium mining starts, daily some 125 truck loads of 10 ton capacity (1250 tons per day) will be mined and brought to Seripally, 54 KMs away, and after extracting half ton of required grade Uranium, the remaining 1249.5 tons of Uranium ore and tons of chemicals and three times contaminated water will be dumped into the tailings pond to the tune of 4 lakh tons per year and at the end of the 20 year period, the dangerous radioactive waste generated would total nearly 80 lakh tons.
The tailings pond having radio-active waste emits colorless and odorless Radon Gas which can travel hundreds of kilometers with the wind and can cause severe health problems when inhaled or enters into the human body through food are water.
The Uranium Processing Plant, which was originally proposed to be located at Mallapuram, falling within 10 km radius of Nagarjuna Sagar/ Akkampalli Reservoirs the drinking water sources to Hyderabad City, is now proposed to be relocated at Serepally near Devarakonda, keeping in mind the Supreme Court judgement regarding drinking water sources.
The Expert Committee constituted in 1976 regarding augmentation of Water Supply to Twin Cities is reported to have been not in favour of tapping Krishna waters, in view of their possible contamination at Somsila with Radio Activity from then proposed Nuclear Power Plant, which was subsequently dropped.
The Uranium Mining should not be permitted at Lambapur and Peddagattu as it will contaminate Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir.