The Environmental, Social and Ethical Consequences of mining,processing and using Uranium

Uranium, an element of the chromium group, never occurs naturally in a free state, although through processes of extraction it can be obtained from rare complex minerals such as pitchblende, carnotite, and uranite. Unfortunately, mining and using Uranium has become an issue that the world must tackle. At every stage of Uranium's life, problems arise and damage our world, whether it is in an environmental, social or ethical sense.
Before the uranium can be used it has to be mined. Pitchblende, a dark mineral that is the chief source of uranium, is "taken from the earth like any other metal,…