Hyderabad, Aug 11: Dispelling fears over radiation due to proposed uranium mining and processing plant in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) today assured there was absolutely no danger of radio-active contamination nor would there be any adverse impact on public health. "All operations will be carried out with zero discharge concept. We have taken enough care to ensure that mining and processing activities will not cause any adverse effect on the environment and public health," chairman and managing director of UCIL R Gupta said.

In the backdrop of growing resistance to the project led by environmentalists and NGOs, a battery of senior executives from the Department of Atomic Energy held a press conference here seeking to straighten the record and address public concerns over the Rs 600 crore project with the help of 'scientific facts'. In a point-by-point clarification on the issues raised by environmentalists, Gupta and his colleagues said there was no danger of the water from mining area reaching Nagarjuna Sagar, a major reservoir of the state located nearby, due to 'impervious granite rock formations' in the bedrock.

Since the tailings pond, where uranium waste would be dumped, was at a lower elevation than the reservoir and the natural drainage system, there was no question of the water reaching Akkampally reservoir, which is a drinking water source for the state capital, the officials said.

Bureau Report