April 27, 2004

Radioactive contamination around Jadugoda uranium mine in India
Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University
Hiroaki KOIDE

1. Introduction - The uranium mine of India
India is the big nation where population exceeded 1 billion in May 2000. The land area is 3,290,000km2. GNP is
340 dollars (1995) per person. The ratio of agriculture, forestry, and fishery worker is 61.6% (1995). A life expectancy is 60 years old of men and 61 years old of women (1992-1993). It has also severe caste system and there arestill many poor people. And some people named “Untouchable” are set-aside even from the caste system. Although Gandhi called them "Hari Jean (Child of God)", they have the history of distress. Moreover, there are people with more distress history in this country. They are the aborigines (Native Indian). Many of them have lived in
Bihar state of eastern India, especially in Jharkhand of Bihar. Jharkhand won the independence from Bihar in2000 and 28% of its population is aborigines. It is a mineral rich state and the iron ore brought the first full-scaleindustrial city in India “Jamshedpur (Tatanagar)".
The nuclear test named "Smile of Buddha" was succeeded in 1974. Meanwhile, India has made efforts for the development of the nuclear power generation in order to utilize the rich thorium resources. Though it is 1957 that thenuclear reactor becomes criticality for the first time in Japan, the nuclear reactor becomes criticality in 1956 inIndia. It was the first nuclear reactor in Asia. Now 14 nuclear power plants are under operation and the total generating power is 2.72GW. Two reactors are boiling water reactor plants introduced from U.S.A. And two are
CANDU reactors introduced from Canada, and then 10 of the remainder are the heavy water boiling reactors of
the original development. In addition, 9 nuclear power plants are under construction including 2 Russian typepressurized water reactors. In India only Jharkhand
has uranium mine, and it has contributed to both ofthe development of nuclear weapon and nuclear
power plants. The map of the nuclear related facilities in India is shown in Figure 1, and the railroad
map of Jharkhand is shown in Figure 21).
Figure 3 is an artificial satellite photograph thatshows the position of Jamshedpur (Tatanagar) anduranium mines around Jadugoda. The position of
the central part of Jadugoda is east longitude
86-degree 20 minutes, and north latitude 22-degree
40 minutes. The distance from the Tatanagar station
to Jadugoda is 24km in a straight line. The areaaround mines is mountainous land where the abo-

Figure 1 Nuclear colossus, India

rigines have lived. Aborigines were deprived of1their own land because uranium is
discovered their land and they were
polluted with radioactivity. They had
to have a distress history for it. Uranium was discovered in many aborigines' lands like in the U.S.A. andAustralia.
The population of Jharkhand is about
100 million and 1 million people live
in its capital, Ranchi.

There is West

Bengal State on the east side andOrissa State is located on the south.
Jharkhand state has the long slenderarea called "East Singhbhum" whichlies between West Bengal and Orissa.

Figure 3 Satellite Photograph around Tatanagar and Jadugoda

2Tatanagar and three uranium mines, Narwapahar, Bhatin and Jadugoda, are located in this area. These uranium
mines are managed by UCIL (Uranium Corporation of India Limited), the government enterprise of India. The
distance from Narwapahar to Jadugoda is only 10km. In Jadugoda, uranium ore from these three mines has beenprocessed in a smelter. In addition, mill-tailings have been thrown away into three tailing ponds. The uranium got
as a product is packed in the drum can and transported from the Rakha-mine railway station.
Though India has the rich thorium resources, it does not have the uranium almost. The grade of the uranium ore
dug in these uranium mines is remarkably low. The average grade is about 0.06%. Ability of the smelter in
Jadugoda is the ores of 1000 tons per day2). And the amount of uranium is only 600 kg per day, namely 200 ton
per year. In the meantime, mill-tailings after uranium was removed reaches 300,000 ton per year. It has been
thrown into tailing ponds by pipeline in liquid form. Besides, the mine-tailings also occur, and the quantity
reaches 10 times of the mill-tailings. They are left in surroundings without any countermeasure.
The video movie “Buddha weeps in Jadugoda”3) which received the grand prize in the global environment image
festival 2000 taught me Jadugoda problem. The movies showed that there are 15 colonies within 5km around
Jadugoda, about 30,000 people live, and much health disturbance on children of the nearby colony is being generated.

2. The investigation method
The main component of natural uranium is U-238, and its half-life is 4.5 billion years that are almost equal to theage of the earth.

U-238 itself is a radioactive nuclide and the generated nuclides are also radioactive and repeat

to decay one after another. It finally becomes a lead (Pb-206) after changing 14 kinds of radioactive nuclides.
Those radionuclides were called as “daughters” or “progenies”. As the decay scheme is shown in figure 4, among
the daughters some nuclides have unique danger such as radium and radon.
The uranium is a natural radionuclide and is notproduced by human beings. So human beings

93

have been exposed from uranium itself and its

92

daughters. In addition, the exposure is added if

91

protoactinium

90

thoriumthe surface by the artificial action of the mining.
Such exposure is called as TENR (Technologically Enhanced Natural Radiation and artificiallyraised natural radiation) and recently United Na-

Atomic Number

the uranium is dug out from deep underground touranium

4.5G
Y

1.2
m
80k
Y

24
D

89
88

radium

1.6k
Y

87
radon

86

3.8
D

85

tions Scientific Committee on the Effects of

84

140
D

0.2m
s

3.1
m

Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) and International

83

5
D

20
m

Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP)

82

22
Y

27
m

bithmus
lead

would be taking up such exposure.

81

There are following three types exposure paths in

245k
YStablepolonium

alpha
decay
beta
decay

206 210 214 218 222 226 230 234 238
Mass Number

the surroundings of the uranium mine.

Figure 4 Decay scheme of uranium series.

31. The gamma-ray exposure by approaching tailing ponds or mine-tailings.
2. The internal exposure by taking water or food contaminated by uranium and the daughters.
3. The internal exposure by inhaling radon in the air.
I carried out following three type investigations in order to consider such exposure.

A.

Measurement of gamma radiation dose

TLDs (Thermo Luminescence Dosimeter: Matsushita Electric Co.Ltd., type UD-200S and UD-110S) were placedin the field, and they were recovered after 3 months. A cumulative dose was measured by the TLD Reader (Matsushita Electric Co. Ltd., UD-5120PGL) of KURRI (Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University). The exposure
dose under transportation of TLDs was corrected using the dose data of control samples and dose rate data in theaircraft anticipated generally. Beside, the direct measurement in the field by the survey-meter (Horiba Ltd.,
PA-100, ORIENT Co.Ltd., PSD06021 and Belarusian PDM-2) was also carried out. Both measurement results
showed the approximately good coincidence.
The location of the villages around Jadugoda is shown in Figure 5. The measurement result by the survey meter
and TLDs are shown in Table 1 and Figure 6. Although not shown in this table, measurements by survey meters
have been performed at many places in villages. The dose rates are in 0.1-0.2 µSv/h anywhere except Dungridih,
and this is the background value of the air-gamma dose in this area. The measured value by PDM-2 gives a little
higher value than real. Therefore, its value shown in Table 1 approaches the usual background value in Japan etc.,
0.05µSv/h. However the report4) ofGreen Peace indicated that the background of this area to be 0.08-0.14µSv/h, so the background of this area isconsidered to be little higher than thatof the usual area in the world. However,even if they are high, they are doubleor three times at most. The dose limit
for the public from the artificial causes
is determined as 1 mSv/y (0.11 µSv/h).
In Jadugoda, there are places where theexternal gamma dose due to only natural radiation exceeds this limit. This,
however, occurs in the natural course,
so we cannot avoid it. On the other
hand, the artificial source of exposure
exists in Jadugoda and it can be
avoidable. The most remarkable causeof exposure lies in tailing ponds where

4the air-gamma dose exceeds 10mSv/y (1.1µSv/h). UCIL enclosed this area by the barbed wire. But this area had
been farmland or village of residents and even now it is the place of their everyday life. When I entered into atailing pond and collected the sample, two women were crossing a tailing pond putting firewood on their head.

Table 1

The result of the measurement on Air-gamma dose rate

Point (remarks)

Survey Meter

TLD

µSv/h

µSv/h

Dec,2001,

Apr.2003,

2000/9/10-20

2003/4/13-20

PDM-2

PM-10000/12/7

03/8/15

1m

1m

1m

Surface

0.84-

Tailing Ponds
a

No.1

b

No.1

0.79

0.9

0.8

c

Boundary of No.1

0.71

0.83

0.4

0.47

d

No.2

1.1

1.2

0.7

0.91

path to No.2e0.02-0.04

No.3

0.73

0.83

Villagef

Entrance

0.13

-

g

Center

0.17

-

h

Fence

0.34

-

i

Former mine tailing pond

0.39

-

j

Dungridih 1

Dungridih 2klmChatikochanoTilaitand

Entrance

0.36-

Center (beside a dam)

0.3

-

Back

0.16

-

Back (beside a dam)

0.2-

Sideway

0.13-

Garden (Mr. Biluri's house)

0.12

-

p

Field (near a school)

0.13

-

q

Backyard (Mr. Biluri's house)

0.13

-

Field

0.14

-

Garden (once used mine tailings)

0.16

0.21

r

BhatinstGarden

0.12

0.12

u

Pond

0.13

-

0.08-0.09
0.24

0.06-0.08
0.11
0.02-0.03

0.14
0.1

0.071

0.04-0.06

0.04-0.05

0.11
0.086

Mecuwa0.05-0.06

Kuldiha0.05-0.06

0.088Road Sidev

Bhatin0.22-w

Micuwa (mine tailings)-

0.7

Near cupper mine

0.2

0.22

x

Entrance to Tilaitand

0.22

-

y

Main Crossing Road near Shidhu Kanu Chowk

-

-

z

Rakha Mine Station

0.21

-

Scheduled site of Shelter

0.14

0.16

Ranchi (garden of Mr.Shriprakash's house)

0.25

0.3

KURRI（Kumatori, Japan）

0.08

0.04-0.05

0.14

0.15

Control
Dhirol(another Tilaitand)

0.16

5

0.04-0.06

0.11
0.23

0.03-0.04

0.046

0.047

[μSv/h]Germanium semiconductor detector (EG&G, reverse electrode type, relative efficiency: 34%,
half-width 1.8keV) in KURRI. Total 42 samples
were measured and the result of these measurements is reported.

a. Contamination unrelated to uraniummine
At first, the concentration of radioactive nuclides

Vill;ages

Rakha Mine Station
Scheduled Shelter Site
Ranchi
Kumatori(JAPAN)

gamma-ray spectrometry using the High-Purity

ControlRoad Side

2001. The radioactive nuclide was measured by

Tailing Ponds

Bhatin

1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

of 2000. Next, I collected samples at the end of

Dungridih–2
Chatikocha
TilaiTand

At first residents collected soil samples in autumn

Dungridhi–1

B. Radioactive concentration in soil

Figure 6 Air–Gamma Dose around Jadugoda and cotrols

unrelated to the uranium mine are shown in Table
2 and Figure 7. The concentrations of typical radioactive material in the crust are almost same in Jadugoda and in
KURRI. However, in Ranchi the concentration of K-40 and thorium is remarkably high. The reason that the sample of Ranchi contains much K-40 and thorium will be based on the character of the local crust.
The U.S.A., U.S.S.R. and few other countries conducted the atmospheric nuclear test more than 500 times in the
1960s. Many fission products polluted all over the world. However, since many of nuclear test sites were locatedin the Temperate Zone of the Northern Hemisphere, this area has been received especially high contamination.
Japan belongs to this area and India does not.
Therefore, it was expected that the concentration

Ranchi[Bq/kg]of Cs-137, which is main fission products, in Japan is higher than that in India. The measurement
result here has supported this fact. That is, Cs-137

3

10

K–40

concentration in the soil in KURRI is several
times higher than that in Jadugoda. However,2

10

Cs-137 concentration of the sample collected in
the No.1 tailing pond is several times higher thanTh–series

1

10

that in KURRI. Its value is 10 or more times

Cs–1370

10

is reported that the radioactive waste from various
parts of India has been carried and abandoned–1

into the tailing pond of Jadugoda. Unusual contamination of Cs-137 in No.1 tailing pond is considered to show this fact.

10

No.1 tailing Pond

KURRI(JAPAN)

higher than that of other samples in Jadugoda. It

Figure 7 Concentration of unrelated Nuclides with Uranium

6Table 2

Concentration of unrelated Nuclides with Uranium
Th-series
Bq/kg SD

Bq/kg

K-40
SD

Bq/kg

Cs-137SD

Rakha Station
2 Railway station Rakha mines
106 Rakha Mine Station

53
55

2.3
1.1

550
600

1.2 ND
0.6
0.43

Around tailing ponds
Near tailing pond
Near tailing pond
Near tailing pond
Tailing Pond No.1 entrance
Tailing pond no. 1
Tailing Pond No.1
Tailing pond no. 2
Tailing Pond No.2
Tailing pond no. 3
Tailing Pond No.3

31
23
25
40
30
21
15
27
84
30

1.9
2.8
2.4
3.3
1.6
5.1
2.8
3.5
1.8
3.9

540
510
520
530
350
480
420
590
530
420

0.8
1.2
1.1
2.6
1.1
2.6
1.2
1.6
1.7
2.6

9
10
107
108
11
109
Un04
Un01
12
13
112
113
un03
14
20
un02
15a
16

Villages
Chatikocha near ratan's house
Chatikocha near ishwar's house
Chatikocha, front of Tailing Dam
Chatikocha, field in the village
Mechuwa (Dungridih) near prabhat baske's house
Dungridih, back in the village
Dungridih, entrance to the village
Dungridih, old tailing pond
Mechuwa (tuare Dungridih) near futani tati's house
Mechuwa (tuare Dungridih) near tati's house
Dungridih 2, back in the Village
Dungridih 2, entrance
Dungridih 2, most backTilaitand near pulin banra's house
Tilaitand near tapash's house
Tilaitand, school
Mecuwa near mirja shoren's house
Bhatin near gundi hembrom's house

12
14
9
14
46
48
39
30
34
41
46
88
34
29
60
7
42
53

1.4
1.7
2.3
2.1
0.9
1.1
1.1
2.5
1.1
1.0
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.0
0.6
2.2
0.9
0.7

310
360
200
380
400
430
330
850
490
590
790
630
380
360
390
260
380
620

0.6
0.7
0.9
1.7
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.1
0.6
0.5
0.7
1.1
1.1
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.5

104
105
17
18
19
21
22
23
un05
120

Road or River Side
Mecuwa Road Side
Mecuwa Road Side (Mine tailing)
Near high school Jadugoda
The main crossing road near jagdish bastralaya
The main crossing road near shidhu kanu chowk
Gura river near lord shiva temple
Gura river near the big dam
Near the nala along the road side
Tailing Pond No.1 outlet stream at Dungridih 2
UCIL Outlet

27
44
33
27
41
28
39
15
26
38

2.4
2.1
0.7
1.4
1.1
1.5
0.8
4.6
1.6
2.3

590
350
680
350
570
370
420
480
510
410

1.0
2.1
0.4
0.9
0.5
1.1
1.1
1.3
0.7
2.0

210
24

0.4
1.0

1800
430

3
4
5
115
6
116
8
117
7
118

Control
24 Ranchi
25 KURRI, JAPAN

7

22

1.2

27

11

2.2

1.9

30

0.42
0.60
0.47
1.7
0.86

12
12
13
13
17

1.9

5.9

1.2

7.2

0.70
0.87
1.2

9.1
11
8.2

1.1
0.79

11
24

0.4 ND
0.6
3.60

2.6

ND
ND
ND
ND
ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND
ND
ND
ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND
ND

ND
ND
ND
ND

b. Contamination related to uranium mine
Of course, the index of the contamination related to uranium mine is uranium. And it can be proved physicallythat the radioactive intensities of uranium and its daughters become the same if all these nuclides remain in thesame place. Such a state is called "radioactive equilibrium". For example, when uranium exists in a deep underground, such a state establishes. Radium tends to solve into water compared with uranium, and radon is the gaseous nuclide that belongs to the rare gas. Therefore, when a uranium ore is taken out to surface of the earth, they
move from the place easily. Moreover, if uranium is smelted, it will move to a product and will decrease in tailings.
Then, in analysis of the uranium in soil, following three kinds of radioactivity was determined. 1: From uranium-238 to thorium-230. 2: Radium-226. 3: The daughter nuclide below Polonium-218. The result is shown in
Table 3 and Figure 8. The value in KURRI was shown in the right end, and it is a value without contamination of
uranium mine. There are samples in the village, road and riverside of the Jadugoda that show the almost samevalue as the sample of KURRI. This shows that in Jadugoda there is the place that has not contaminated by a uranium mine. However, also in the same village, the same road and the riversides, some soil samples have extraordinarily high uranium concentration. Moreover, uranium concentration in the tailing pond is remarkably high. In
almost all samples, the concentration of uranium, radium and daughter nuclides is same and does not move greatly
from the state of “radioactive equilibrium".
The only exception is the sample collected at the[Bq/kg]Rakha mine station; in this sample only uranium
existed by remarkably high concentration.

5

10

Tailing Ponds

In order to see this point in detail, figure 9shows only the measurement result of tailingRoad or River Side

4

10

Villages

ponds and Rakha Mine Station. While in thesample around tailing ponds the concentrationof uranium, radium and daughter nuclides show

3

10

almost same value, only in Rakha Mine Station
sample only uranium concentration is extremely210high compared with radium and other daughter
nuclides. This shows that the uranium obtained1by smelting fell around the station and extended

10

a big difference in uranium concentration in two

RANCHI

Rakha Mine Station

contamination. In addition, the fact that there is

Kumatori(JAPAN)

010samples collected in the station shows that theactual shipment work has been done in the restricted area.

Figure 8 Concentraion of Uranium
and its Daugher Nuclides；U–2388；Ra–226；Doughters

Table 3

Contamination related to uranium mine
U-series
Bq/kg
SD

Ra-226
Bq/kg

Daughter
Bq/kg
SD

SD

2
106

Rakha Station
Railway station Rakha mines
Rakha Mine Station

64000
1200

0.1
0.5

940
25

0.2
2.4

30
44

3.0
0.7

3
4
5
115
6
116
8
117
7
118

Around tailing ponds
Near tailing pond
Near tailing pond
Near tailing pond
Tailing Pond No.1 entrance
Tailing pond no. 1
Tailing Pond No.1
Tailing pond no. 2
Tailing Pond No.2
Tailing pond no. 3
Tailing Pond No.3

1900
1700
1710
1200
840
1300
540
1200
6500
790

0.7
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.0
3.0
1.7
1.4
0.7
3.0

3400
1800
2700
2600
640
1300
2700
1400
3100
1100

0.5
1.0
0.8
1.3
1.4
3.7
1.0
2.3
0.7
3.1

2600
1400
1900
1700
690
1100
2000
1100
7300
1100

0.1
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.1
0.3
0.1
0.4

9
10
107
108
11
109
un04
un01
12
13
112
113
un03
14
20
un02
15a
16

Villages
Chatikocha near ratan's house
Chatikocha near ishwar's house
Chatikocha, front of Tailing Dam
Chatikocha, field in the village
Mechuwa (Dungridih) near prabhat baske's house
Dungridih, back in the village
Dungridih, entrance to the village
Dungridih, old tailing pond
Mechuwa (tuare Dungridih) near futani tati's house
Mechuwa (tuare Dungridih) near tati's house
Dungridih 2, back in the Village
Dungridih 2, entrance
Dungridih 2, most backTilaitand near puling banra's house
Tilaitand near tapash's house
Tilaitand, school
Mecuwa near mirja shoren's house
Bhatin near gundi hembrom's house

20
34
18
26
140
590
160
1200
210
350
450
560
370
58
130
12
85
62

4.1
5.5
16.0
2.2
1.9
5.1
2.1
1.3
1.4
1.1
1.2
2.3
1.8
43.0
2.0
4.6
1.9
19.4

23
19
12
12
91
210
88
1200
150
260
340
480
310
28
84

13.0
14.0
19.0
25.0
5.9
3.6
5.7
1.8
2.9
2.0
2.4
4.0
3.3
9.6
6.5

63
34

7.3
12.0

14
23
17
22
65
190
88
1300
130
250
340
540
420
26
72
4
52
26

1.1
1.0
1.1
2.2
0.7
0.4
0.5
0.2
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.8
0.5
3.6
0.7
0.9

104
105
17
18
19
21
22
23
un05
120

Road or River Side
Mecuwa Road Side
Mecuwa Road Side (Mine tailing)near high school Jadugoda
the main crossing road near jagdish bastralaya
the main crossing road near shidhu kanu chowk
Guar river near lord Shiva temple
Gura river near the big dam
Near the nala along the road side
Tailing Pond No.1 outlet stream at Dungridih 2
UCIL Outlet

960
610
67
790
250
970
56
1300
810
860

1.1
2.1
18.0
0.7
1.3
0.9
22.0
1.7
0.9
3.1

840
200
23
580
160
2000
35
2400
950
2000

1.7
6.9
11.0
1.4
3.8
1.8
12.0
0.9
1.3
1.2

940
330
21
640
190
1100
21
2820
1000
61

0.2
0.6
0.9
0.2
0.3
0.1
1.1
0.1
0.1
0.3

Control
RanchiKURRI, JAPAN

210
29

1.2
6.8

76
19

9.2
15.0

49
12

0.8
1.5

24
25

9

[Bq/kg][Bq/kg]

5

10

3

10

Rakha Mine Station

Tilaitand
Chatikocha

4

10

Mecuwa

2

10
3

10

near
ponds

No.1 No.2 No.3

Dungridih2

2

10

1

10

Dungridih
Bhatin1

10Figure 9 Concentraion of Uranium and its Daugher

Figure 10 Concentraion of Uranium and its Daugher

Nuclides (in and around tailing ponds)；U–238；Ra–226

Nuclides ( in and around villages)；Doughters；U–238；Ra–226；Doughters

theJadugoda,

theuranium[Bq/kg]Highschool, Jadugoda

concentration in Dungridih-1 and Dungridih-2 is highand it is clear that these villages were contaminatedby tailings. In addition, there are big differences in theuranium concentration in other villages. This fact

3

10

shows that the tailing is carried into the village, which
has not been contaminated originally, as construction

clearer if we check about the sample along a road.

2

10

Mecuwamaterials of houses or roads. This will become still

Figure 11 shows the data of the soil of the road, theriverside and the brook that flows from a tailing pond
and UCIL. The value of samples of Ranchi and
KURRI (Japan) is also shown in this figure as control.
It turns out that uranium concentration is remarkably
changed in the sample of the same road or the river.

1

10

UCIL Outlet
RANCHI
Kumatori(JAPAN)

ofnear the nalaTailing Pond No.1 outlet

villages

main crossing

theGura River, near lord shiva temple
Gura River, near the big dum

Figure 10 shows only the data related to villages. In

Figure 11 Concentraion of Uranium and its Daugher
Nuclides (Road or River Side and Controles)

This shows that whether tailings were used or not for；U–238；Ra–226

the construction materials of the road and the bank ofriver has great influence. Moreover, the water that has
flowed out of a tailing pond or UCIL is polluted with uranium, so a river is also contaminated.

10；Doughters

C.

Radon concentration in air

The method of radon measurement that I am using con-Table 4sists of the following processes. First, activated charcoal

Place

Radon Concentration in Air.
Radon Concentration [Bq/m3](Tsurumi-coal Co.Ltd., TC-2GS) sample is arranged in
the measurement point. Second, activated charcoal ad-

First Measurements：

sorbs radon while it is being left for about one day. Third,

Measurements in December, 2001

samples are collected, and radioactivity is measured by

Tailing Pond No.1, Inner

260

gamma ray spectrometry. We have to perform the meas-

Village, Tilaitand45

urement in KURRI with special measurement apparatus.

Bhatin Gallery

2400

Radon is the radioactivity of the comparatively short

Second Measurements:

half-life 3.8 days. If samples were mailed, Radon would
be lost before measurement. Therefore, I went to
Jadugoda by myself and returned to KURRI immediately
after the collection of radon.
In the first measurement done on December 2001, threesamples were preliminary analyzed. The result showedthat the radon concentration at the tailing pond is high as
was expected and moreover extremely high at the ventilation outlet of Bhatin mine. The cool air from deep un-

Measurements in April, 2003
Tailing Ponds
No.1 entrance

65

No.1 Inner

59

No.2 entrance

20

No.2 Inner80

No.2 path

15

Villages
Dungridih 1

26

Dungridih 2

24

Chatikocha, Dam Side

8

Tilaitand

23

Bhatin, entrance

23

Bhatin, inner

16

environment is about 10 Bq/m3, the radon concentra-

Micuwa, entrance

13

tion in the village of the Jadugoda has been some-

Micuwa, Inner

12what high.

Rakha Mine Station

9derground was thrown out there, so residents gathered
there in hot summer5). In the second measurement, 14
samples were analyzed. Both first and second measurement results were shown in Table 4, and they indicated asfollowings.
① Since the radon concentration of the usual outdoor② The value in tailing ponds is dozens times, and it
seems that the contamination of radon has spread

Normal Environment

3〜20

from the tailing pond into villages.
③ Moreover, the value in the exhaust gallery of a Bhatin mine is further 10 times.
④ But except tailing ponds and exhaust outlet, the radon concentration in Jadugoda area is not too high. Exposure of the laborers who work in an underground tunnel is anxious. Especially it is said that the digging tunnel
that was a depth of about 500 to 600m at the beginning has now become no less than 1000m depths underground. The biggest healthy problem that the residents of Jadugoda are faced is exposure of mine laborers.

11

3. Conclusion --- Serious Problem
A. Contamination exists
Contamination surely exists around Jadugoda uranium mine. If uranium is exploited and is left on the surface ofthe earth, there is no reason in which the pollution is not generated. Moreover, if unmanageable tailings are positively used for the construction materials of the building or the road, contamination will be expanded further. According to the request of JOAR (Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation), the Environment Committee of the
Bihar Legislative Council was installed. The committee issued the last report in December 1998 after investigating the circumference over two years. The report indicated, "There should be no village up to at least 5km., fromthe dumping ground area." However, according to my investigation, contamination centering on tailing ponds
seems to have not spread yet broadly. Since two villages, Dungridih-1 and Dungridih-2, are in contact with thetailing pond, soil is polluted and the air-gamma dose is also high. On the other hand, in the villages including Tilaitand those are not directly in contact with tailing ponds the air-gamma dose is not high. In addition, the soils ofthese villages were not contaminated by tailings, either.
The result of this investigation is summarized below.

1. The contamination from the uranium mine has spread in Jadugoda.
2. The amount of air-gamma dose exceeds 1 mSv/y in the villages, and reaches 10 mSv/y around the tailing ponds.
3. The circumference of tailing ponds is polluted with uranium. The strength of the pollution in the tailingponds is 10 to 100 times higher than the place without contamination.
Since the uranium content of uranium mine around Jadugoda is low, the air-gamma dose rate and uranium
concentration of a tailing ponds are not extremely high. As long as tailing is abandoned, it is reasonable thatthe air-gamma dose rate and the uranium concentration in soil in tailings ponds are high. In addition, the radon concentration in the air is also high. As shown in Table 1, the dose rate reaches 1µSv/h and tailing ponds
should be managed as a controlled area of the radiation. However, when I entered into the inside of a tailingpond in order to collect the soil samples for radioactivity measurement, two women were crossing a tailingpond putting firewood on their heads. For a long time, residents have been nestling up to nature. Tailing pond
were built where the place of a daily life of the residents. As the Environmental Committee of the Bihar Legislative Council has already pointed out, the tailing pond is the place of an every-day life of residents. Even
now, they cannot but enter into tailing ponds in order to live. Residents receive excessive exposure by the
gamma ray from the ground only by entering into these tailing ponds, and they receive further exposure byinhaling the radon that escapes from the ground and by making tailings adhere to the body. Tailing ponds are
dangerous places and the measures that prohibit the inhabitant to enter into the tailing ponds must be taken.
Now, the barbed wire stretched around tailing ponds is cut everywhere. At first, it is necessary to stretch
barbed wire again. An essentially required thing, however, is telling residents about the danger of tailingponds. In addition, it is necessary to make the conditions that the inhabitant would also live on not entering

12tailing ponds.

4. No.1 tailing pond has contamination of cesium. This fact shows that radioactivity was brought fromanother polluted source that was not uranium mine.

5. Especially Dungridih that is in contact with the tailing pond has high contamination. However, othervillages have not contaminated seriously yet.
The villages of Dungridih and Chatikocha are directly under tailing dams. In order to make tailing ponds, land
was taken and residents settled there reluctantly. The water from tailing ponds flows there in the rainy season.
And tailings that became a fine particle carried there by the wind in the dry season. Especially the uranium
concentration in soil in Dungridih is high (cf. Table 1) and therefore the rate of air-gamma dose rate is alsohigh (cf. Table 2). Residents have better be emigrated another villages if tailings will be throw away into tailing ponds.

6. Radon emanated from tailing ponds etc spreads contamination.
As already mentioned, residents had gathered at the exhaust outlet in the summer. I visited there on December 2001. Although there was no roof in order to blow out the air, there was enclosed by concrete building. I
jumped into inside from the upside opening in order to install the activated carbon sample for radon collections. Cold damp air was violently blowing off there. Although it was too late, installation of a concretebuilding was the needful measure. However, from the tailing ponds, radon is spreading now and its behaviour
should be monitored.

7. Mine-tailings used for construction material spreads pollution
There is a shade of uranium contamination in a same village, as high contamination has been measured at
Tilaitand or other village. This cause is because tailings were used for the building materials. There areplaces where uranium concentration is high at the road or the riverside, and it is thought that tailings are used
for construction material too. Residents testified followings. When they told UCIL that they wanted construction materials, UCIL carried mine-tailings by dump trucks. It must be immediately stopped to bringtailings into villages and to use it for construction materials.

8. Product uranium is dealt with carelessly and has fallen in environment
While it is important to prevent the pollution of mill and mine-tailings, product uranium has also been dealt
with carelessly. At the Rakha Mine station, the soil is severely polluted by only uranium. Its concentration isremarkably high. This shows that the product uranium obtained by smelting fell and extended contamination.
Table 5 shows the measurement result of two samples collected at Rakha Mine station. The concentration of
Ra-226 and other daughter nuclides are extremely low compared with the concentration of uranium. This factindicates that the condition of the radioactive equilibrium was not established. The product uranium (Yellow

13

cake) gotten through the process of digging and milling is put in adrum and conveyed from Rakha Mine station. However, the holehas opened a part of drum can by the corrosion, the yellow cakespills from the inside and scatters to the circumference. While suchan act makes uranium wasted, it also becomes the cause of contaminating residents.

Table 5

Concentration of

U-Series Nuclides in the Samples of Rakha Mine Station.
Nuclides

Bq/kg

Bq/kg

U-238

64000

1200

Ra-226940

25

Daughters

30

44

9. The concentration of Natural Radionuclides is high in Ranchi
As is shown in Table 2, in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state, the concentration of natural radionuclides
such as K-40 and Thorium in the soil is high. In addition, Table 3 shows that not only K-40 and thorium but
also uranium concentration is high in Ranchi. It, however, is generated from the natural cause and therefore it
cannot be avoided.

B. About the construction of Shelter
Due to the native abnormalities are occurring frequently in children in Jadugoda, the support organization "thefund of Buddha’s sorrow" born in Japan is constructing a "shelter" in the place about 20km away from Jadugoda,
and is planning to evacuate Jadugoda children into it. As the amount of air-gamma dose in that place was alreadyshown in Table 1, it does not change with the ordinary village in Jadugoda except Dungridih-1 and Dungridih-2.
Therefore, exposure cannot be reduced even if the children of villages other than Dungridih were accommodated
in the shelter. Jadugoda is not the society where everyone can use cars like of Japan. Then, is it good to accommodate children in the shelter far distant from the place of their life? Ranchi, Jharkhand state’s capital, has thehigh concentration of the natural radionuclides with the origin in earth crust and the amount of air-gamma dose ishigh as shown in Table 1. Therefore, if the shelter for the children is built in Ranchi and children are accommodated there, exposure of children will increase rather.
However, efforts of the aborigines to construct the shelter are already progressing with involving in much villages
and residents, and become the big power for building aborigines' solidarity.

C. Structure of discrimination
Jadugoda was an aborigines' land originally. However, uranium was exploited and residents were deprived of land.
The residents, who were deprived of the farmland or the village itself, live in the village of Dungridih or Chatikocha. When I visited Dungridih, one resident came and told us something by the angry face. I heard later that hehad said, "I understand that this village is dangerous. However, where we can live really?"

D. We should avoid the exposure without a reason.
Even if the radiation dose may be very low, it accompanies risk. However, since there is the natural radioactivity
on the earth and radiation such as a cosmic ray, we cannot escape the exposure completely. There is also an area
where the content of the uranium or thorium in soil are high, and peoples are received exposure of 10 or more14

times in such a place compared with other areas. There is no other way but to accept. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is one of such the places.
On the other hand, man's act may also induce exposure. One example is going on in Jadugoda. Moreover, the aborigines who are prevented even from caste are having the exposure forced.
The aborigines of Jadugoda were destroyed their life by depriving of their land. They were destroyed their healthby becoming the laborers of a huge government enterprise. Moreover, radioactivity is thrown away into the placeof their every-day life and they have been exposed further.

E. The abolition of the nuclear development
The energy density of nuclear fission is high. Therefore, the quantity of the fuel carried into nuclear power plant isless than that of the fossil power plant. The nuclear promoter has asserted that it is the advantage in utilizing thenuclear energy. As shownin Figure 12, however, thequantity of mine- and milltailings

isMine Tailing:Mine

2,400,000ton

tremendous.

The uranium which failed
to separate in the smelting,the

Uranium

Resource, Energy

Th-230with

Uranium Ore: 130,000ton

Mill Tailing: 130,000ton

MillingResource, Energy

Uranium Waste

thehalf-life 80000 year andNatural Uranium: 190ton

all of the daughter nuclides after Th-230 are

Resource, Energy

Enrichment

Depleted Uranium: 160ton

Fablication

Uranium Waste

contained in mill-tailings.
Becausetheuranium

concentrationofmine-tailings

is

lower

Electricity:

Enriched Uranium: 30ton

7 TWh

ReactorResource, Energy

Decommissioning of Reactor

than that of uranium ore,
it is abandoned. Never-Spent Fue: ､30tontheless, it surely contains
the uranium and all of its

Low Level Waste: 1000 Drum

Spent Fuel: 30ton

Reprocessing

Low & Medium
Level Waste

Resource, Energy

High Level Waste:

daughter nuclides.

30 solidified bottle

It is the most important
not to leave them in the

Waste

Resource, Energy

Disposal

Plutonium: 300kg

environment. But theseradioactive

wasteshas

been left in the environ-Figure 12 Process flow and radioactive disposals
produced from 1000Mwe･y nuclear power generation.

ment in anywhere aroundthe world. Besides, it is15not avoided that the inhabitant gets exposure, if the appropri-

Mining &Milling2700

ate management does not be done.
The exposure by the utilization of nuclear energy is generated
in here and there. As the evaluation by the United Nations
scientific committee6) is shown in Figure 13, almost 25% of
total exposure which the mankind received in a past occurs

Fuel
Reprocessing
Reactor
4600
Operationfrom the pollution in the uranium mine which is uppermost

3700

stream of utilization of nuclear energy. Besides, this pollution
becomes largest exposure source for the long-term exposure ofhuman beings, since it occurs from the uranium of half-life of
4.5 billion year.
I want to add again that the exposure of labors in the mine,
including Jadugoda, will be the largest problem. I hope that in

Figure 13 The committed dose equivalent from the use of nuclear power generation up to the present estimated by
UNSCEAR6).
Unit of the figures is person・Sv.

the future the sufficient investigation will be done and the result will be fully announced, and then the necessary relief measures will be taken.

Acknowledgment
I thank for Mr. Shriprakash, the director of the video “Buddha weeps in Jadugoda”, Mr.Buruli, the Representativeof JOAR (Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation), and others peoples who cooperated with this investigation.

References
1) http://www.mapsofindia.com/
2) Scott Ludlam, Nuclear India, A Report on the No Nukes Asia Forum 1999 (March, 2000)
3) KRITIKA,”Buddha weeps in Jadugoda”(2000)
4) Greenpeace, “Jadugoda research”, The Paper for Trial
5) Sk.Azizur Rahman, Living in Death’s Shadow, SUNDAY 4-10 April 1999, p32-43 (1999)
6) UNSCEAR 1993 Report, “Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation”(1993) ANNEX B Table 58
See also following URL. http://www-j.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/NSRG/genpatu/india.htm----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hiroaki KOIDE
Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University
Asashiro-nishi 2-1010, Kumatori-cho, Sen'nan-gun, Osaka, JAPANphone & fax : +81-724-51-2458
fax: +81-724-52-8193

e-mail: koide@rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp

URL: http://www.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/NSRG/

16