The many human health risks of uranium exposure, exploration, and mining

CAPE Nova Scotia argues that uranium exploration and mining pose severe health risks, including kidney failure and cancer, and warns that Nova Scotia's high population density and precipitation make it unsuitable for such activities compared to Saskatchewan.

• Uranium is both chemically toxic and radioactive, with exposure linked to severe health outcomes such as kidney failure, diminished bone growth, organ and genetic damage, infertility, birth defects, increased infant mortality, and lung cancer.
• Nova Scotia is uniquely vulnerable to uranium mining risks due to its high population density (18.4 persons per km2) and high annual precipitation, which is more than three times that of northern Saskatchewan, increasing the risk of uranium mobilization as the metal is highly soluble in water.
• Existing groundwater contamination is already a concern in Nova Scotia, with Department of Natural Resources data indicating that up to 6.5% of the population (approximately 25,100 people) who rely on private wells have dangerous levels of uranium in their water.
• The document disputes the claim that uranium mining is necessary for medical isotopes, stating they are now produced in research reactors and cyclotrons that do not require uranium mining.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2025). The many human health risks of uranium exposure, exploration, and mining. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Open-letter-to-Premier-Houston-on-dangers-of-uranium-June-11-2025.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. The many human health risks of uranium exposure, exploration, and mining. 2025. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Open-letter-to-Premier-Houston-on-dangers-of-uranium-June-11-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=The many human health risks of uranium exposure, exploration, and mining |date=11 June 2025 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Open-letter-to-Premier-Houston-on-dangers-of-uranium-June-11-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2025many, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{The many human health risks of uranium exposure, exploration, and mining}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Open-letter-to-Premier-Houston-on-dangers-of-uranium-June-11-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }