Greenpeace has found high radiation contamination levels in the streets of Akokan where children play. What is even more disturbing is that this just year AREVA claimed that those same streets were safe.

It began in 2003 when radioactive contamination was found in towns close to Niger’s uranium mines by the independent laboratory CRIIRAD and local NGO Aghir In’Man.

In 2007 CRIIRAD found dangerous levels of radiation levels near the hospital in the mining village of Akokan. The mine operator, French nuclear giant AREVA, admitted to widespread contamination in the village.

In October of that year, the mining company and AREVA subsidiary COMINAK reported the contamination had been addressed. In September 2009 AREVA confirmed to CRIIRAD that a clean up had been done and the streets made safe.

It is clear that this is not true.

There are still radioactive materials in the street of Akokan. Greenpeace’s findings directly contradict AREVA’s assurances. The people of these villages are being exposed to unnecessarily high levels of radiation. In one area Greenpeace tested, the radiation was almost 500 times higher than normal levels.

This is the hidden cost of nuclear power: innocent men, women and children exposed to radiation, exploitation and danger. It’s something you won’t see in the nuclear industry’s glossy brochures and on its impressive websites.

This is what we must accept if we are to continue using nuclear power for our energy needs. The uranium from Niger is used to keep the lights on in France. Nuclear reactors must have uranium. To obtain that uranium it seems that people must suffer. It is a story told wherever in the world uranium is mined. Ask yourself: would you like to live near a uranium mine?

The nuclear industry does not want you to think about the dust in the streets of Niger. Instead it wants you to think about its so-called clean and safe energy. Are the streets of Akokan clean? Are its people safe?

AREVA has shown it cannot be trusted to take care of this problem themselves. An immediate and comprehensive independent assessment and clean up must be done to ensure that the people of the mining villages are protected from AREVA’s radiation.

(A detailed briefing on Greenpeace’s findings in Akokan can be found here)