Journal
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY
Volume 64, Issue 2-3, Pages 175-193Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S0265-931X(02)00048-6
Keywords
uranium; depleted uranium; uranium mining area remediation; natural abundance; health effects
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The Erzgebirge ('Ore Mountains') area in the eastern part of Germany was a major source of uranium for Soviet nuclear programs between 1945 and 1989. During this time, the former German Democratic Republic became the third largest uranium producer in the world. The high abundance of uranium in the geological formations of the Erzgebirge are mirrored in the discovery of uranium by M. Klaproth close to Freiberg City in 1789 and the description of the so-called 'Schneeberg' disease, lung cancer caused in miners by the accumulation of the uranium decay product, radon, in the subsurfaces of shafts. Since 1991, remediation and mitigation of uranium at production facilities, rock piles and mill tailings has taken place. In parallel, efforts were initiated to assess the likely adverse effects of uranium mining to humans. The costs of these activities amount to about 6.5 10(9) Euro. A comparison with concentrations of depleted uranium at certain sites is given. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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