Niger has one of the worlds largest uranium deposits and is also one of the poorest nations in the world. Over the past decade, Niger has hoped that the former could simultaneous jump start the local economy. However, the increase in uranium production has facilitated the change in Nigerien policies and law to accommodate foreign investors more than the people. The increase in uranium production has lead to an increase in the marginalization of the local population. 

The mineral mining industry in Africa is a sector that has in the previous decades been rapidly privatized.This has allowed for the resource-endowed countries to benefit more than the underdeveloped countries housing the depositories. The growth and development of the uranium mining sector is led by foreign direct investment and transnational companies despite the native countries being  characterized by dysfunctional internal processes, infrastructure, and governing bodies. 

    Niger’s modern mineral policy reforms are due to the changing nature of the global mineral industry as well as the liberalization of African economies through the development programs of international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the context of the latter economic environment, Niger uranium mining has been monopolized by the French AREVA company. This  is due in part to the special privileges that France receives from being the former colonial power. France’s large appetite for nuclear fuel is due to the fact that the country is dependent on nuclear energy as their source of electricity. The country currently has 58 nuclear reactors generating almost 75 percent of its electricity. It is the second in the world for nuclear power generation and is one of the major energy exporter in Europe. 

    The increase in uranium mining  has seen a wave of privatization in Africa and also changes in the global minerals industry. The new development programs are aimed at establishing stabilization and adjustment policies in African countries, have been promoted by international organizations and also a global movement within the mineral mining industry that advocates the abolition of  state controlled mines to those run by the private sector in order to    increased minerals exploration, activity, exploitation, and the lack of  regulation.

    These privatization policies have been justified under the false pretense that the mineral mining industry can help African countries, such as Niger, to develop. Yet if the sector is monopolized by foreign companies, the profits go to specifically allocated hands and not directly to the native country. 

    The individuals who are paying a high price for Niger’s lucrative uranium mining are not global companies but rather the people who work in the mines or who simply live in the mine’s proximity. The AREVA majority-owned mine called COMINAK (Mining Company of Akouta) is based in the north of Niger in the France constructed and developed town of Arlit.  The Paris-based Commission of Research and Independent Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD) has written of “serious safety lapses” in and near AREVA mining sites in Niger.     

    In 2007 CRIIRAD produced a report that described how locals in the Arlit region sell contaminated scrap metal from the mining sites. These materials are then eventually used in housing construction, kitchen utensils and tools. In 2003, CRIIRAD reported on similar events and recommended that AREVA identify and dispose of contaminated metals. However, AREVA has yet to establish an efficient clean up policy of such disposed material.  

    This radioactive waste may be the cause for the abnormally high levels of radiation. According to CRIIRAD’s 2007 report, researchers discovered that in front of the AREVA founded hospital, which is located in the vicinity of the COMINAK mine, there existed radiation levels that were 100 times above average.

    This higher than average radioactive levels are likely to be responsible for the mysterious health conditions that many of the mine workers and their families housed in the region suffer from. The AREVA mine of COMINAK commissioned an environmental study of its operations in Arlit in 2006, which reported that the number of deaths linked to respiratory infections was twice as high in the mining town (16 percent) as in the rest of the country.

    It is also important to note that the regions that are affected from the uranium mining depositories are not isolated solely to the area surrounding the site. An article entitled “Niger: Desert residents pay high price for lucrative uranium mining” by IRIN: Humanitarian News and Analysis, describes the latter phenomenon by stating the results found in the COMINAK’s environmental study that,  “the wind carries dust contaminated with the long-lasting radium [time required for it to lose toxicity is more than 1,600 years] and lead…Samples taken from 5km within site…Sandstorms [and] atmospheric waste from mines could be aggravating factors for pulmonary [illnesses] in the region,”.    

    The increase in demand for uranium nuclear fuel, whether it is for nuclear energy programs, medical isotopes programs  or nuclear weapon programs has lead to the Niger’s government’s policy of privatization of mineral mining in the region.  Niger’s new development strategy intended to guide international development cooperation has alternatively produced health problems, environmental contamination, and has not provided lucrative profits for the native population. 

    It was reported that the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Niger in the weekend of  April 13, 2013 to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations and it is speculated that Iran wanted to cultivate ties in order to purchase uranium for its controversial nuclear program. It is unclear whether these talks between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and  Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou cultivated a progress towards a Nigerien-Iranian uranium relationship. Yet one thing  that is for certain is that more oversight in the privatization of Niger is indispensable for not just the Nigerians but also for the world at large. 

Gabriella Nolan
Fellow

Imagine living in a regular suburban neighborhood, where every house on your block has an individual suffering from a rare form cancer. Now imagine that the cause of this rare form of cancer could be traced back to something that upon first appearance was so safe and quotidian, but yet something was so terribly wrong. The source, tap water with traces of radioactivity from a leakage in a nearby nuclear laboratory. This experience was not only documented but explored by Kelly McMasters memoir of growing up in the nuclear reactor community of Shirley, Long Island.  Such a story and numerous other such circumstances are described in the documentary The Atomic States of America. 
    
    The Atomic States of America, directed by Don Argott and Shenna M. Joyce, is an emotional account of the safety of the numerous nuclear reactor sites in the United States. The documentary begins by describing the experience of Kelly McMasters  living in Shirley, Long Island which is also the location of a nuclear reactor in the Brockhaven Laboratory. The documentary describes the McMasters investigation and conclusions in regards to the the spill of radiation in the drinking water for almost 40 years. The documentary then explores  other recounts of individuals and communities affected by radioactive waste in the Northeast section of the United States, an investigation of the general safety of nuclear reactors across the country, and the inner workings of the United States National Regulatory Commission, Congress and ultimately the government’s lack of ability and initiative to provide a radioactive waste free environment surrounding many of  these sites.

    In 2010, the United States government proclaimed its intention to begin the construction of the countries first new nuclear power plant in 32 years. However, a year later, the 9.0 magnitude Japanese earthquake caused leakage of nuclear material into the surrounding community. This tragedy initiated the public debate about the safety of nuclear reactors. It is in this context, in which the documentary sets forth to explore the safety of nuclear power and unfortunately discovered that America’s need for power may unfortunately overlook the necessity of adhering to safety procedures.
  
      The majority of the United States’ commercial reactors were built in the 1950s and 1960s. These plants were structurally only suppose to last for 20 to 30 years. However, despite taking the durability of the sites into consideration, the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) re-licenses such plants for thirty more years despite the aging internal structures of the reactors. Such an unfortunate phenomenon is due to the close relationship between Congress and the NRC. The documentary uncovers that the only instance in which the NRC did not re-license a nuclear reactor plant, in retaliation, the Congressman from the district in which the plant was located was instrumental in cutting the organization’s budget for the following year.

    The documentary brings to light that this is not a dying issue, in which the public unfortunately regards as being  irrelevant to our daily lives, simply because it is not projected as so through the different media platforms. The Atomic States of America exposes the truth and myths of the safety of nuclear reactor sites, the inside connections between Congress and the NRC, as well as the government's denial of possible disasters at nuclear sites. The documentary concludes with a rally in regards to the need of change in which safety is the top priority. As Kelly McMasters states, “We all live downstream from something.” It is for this reason in which every individual on the planet, must remember that they are not immuned from a possible nuclear reactor leakage and thus more must be done in order to protect not just Americans but whole world.

            -Gabriella Nolan

Do you want to affect change directly and not wait until re-election obsessed politicians might potentially engage in a bill that may or may not relate somehow, shape or form to the issues that you hold close to your heart? Don’t fear, you can not just promote change but initiate it with the establishment of your own nongovernmental organization. The initiation of a NGO, yeah it may take time, dedication, money, sleepless nights, endless requests for money (aka grant writing, donations, etc...), decision making, less than minimum wage paychecks if any in the beginning, but all of the latter would simply be as significant as ripples in the ocean if you are truly passionate about the topic, whatever that might be. 


Step one:

Before creating a mission statement, one should decide on an issue that they are not just adamant about but is also intertwined in ones heart. One should ask themselves, what am I deeply passionate about, what issue do I think about most, what strikes emotions within me whenever I hear unfortunate news regarding the latter, to what circumstance in the world would I like to dedicate 100% of myself? The answer to these questions should not arise from hours of research and a pro and con list, but rather should arise a second after you say only one of these questions to yourself. It is this answer that is on the top of your tongue and not composed through dissecting the meaning from the chicken scratch from numerous pages on legal pads. Through these techniques, you will find a mission that will inspire you during the hard, difficult, and demanding times during the beginning and at every other stage in which they might arise. 

By: Gabriella Nolan