KHADC panel declares uranium issue ‘dangerous’

MAWKYRWAT, Dec 2: An end to the speculation over threats posed by the uranium effluent tanks in Nongbah Jynrin, South West Khasi Hills, is still far off as the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Committee (KHADC) has now declared the storage of the uranium wastes to be unsatisfactory and dangerous for the people.
The declaration comes after the House Committee of the Council inspected the concrete tanks on Tuesday in the presence of Lamphrang Blah, Mawphlang MDC, Carnes Sohshang Mawkyrwat MDC and village leaders from the area.
Chairman of the Committee and Deputy CEM of the KHADC, Gigur Myrthong, informed that the Committee has discovered cracks and radiation leakages from the two-decade-old uranium tanks, which were recently repaired.
Bindo M Lanong, a member of the Committee, raised concerns over the “unsatisfactory” storage of uranium wastes.
“We will take the issue seriously as the way they dumped and stored the uranium wastes was not satisfactory. I have been to Jaduguda (in Jharkhand) and observed the way they store wastes using proper fencing, underneath the earth and declared as a ‘Protected Area’ barred from public reach,” he said.
Lanong further informed that the House Committee along with the Executive Committee of the Council will write to the state government, Atomic Minerals Division (AMD) and the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) on the unsatisfactory storage of uranium wastes unlike places like Jaduguda.