There is no strong evidence that radiation exposure at the Rössing Uranium Mine increased the risk of cancers for the mine’s workforce. This is according to a study conducted by the University of Manchester that concluded radiation exposure for workers at the uranium mine apparently appears to be low. 

The University of Manchester was appointed in 2015 to conduct an independent study to investigate if working at the mine is linked with a higher risk of developing cancer.

The study was based on samples of all employees who worked at the mine for at least 12 months between 1976 and 2010. The findings of the long overdue study were presented by the university during an online press briefing held last week. 

The study specifically focused on workplace exposure to radiation, occupational exposure to silica, acid mist and diesel engine exhaust and comparable occupational exposures. The university focused on the potential link between radiation and other occupational exposure and the risk on lung cancer, cancers of other parts of the airways, leukaemia (cancer of the blood), kidney cancer and brain cancer developing in the workforce at the mine.

According to Manchester University’s Richard Wakeford, no association was observed between cumulative total radiation dose and the risk of cancer. “Subsequent analyses showed some associations with lung cancer for gamma radiation and long-lived radioactive dust, but the evidence was not strong and based on the data provided by the mine the radiation doses were assessed to be low,” said Wakeford during the conference. He added that the specific study does not provide strong evidence that radiation or other exposure at the Rössing mine caused an increased risk of cancers in the workforce.

“Although we can never exclude the possibility that for some cancer patients the mine environment may have contributed to the development of their disease, this study does not provide strong evidence that radiation or other exposures at the mine cause an increased risk of cancers in the workforce,” Wakeford stated. Rössing’s CEO Johan Coetzee in a statement also said the research team carried out statistical analyses to determine whether there are any relationships between occupational exposure and the selected cancers of interest.

“These analyses showed that there is no strong evidence that total radiation exposure, or other exposures at the mine, have caused an increased risk of cancers in the workforce. No evidence of carcinogenic effects at these levels has been found in other studies too,” he said.
Rössing has operated since 1976 and its workforce is exposed to radiation directly from radioactive materials in the rock, but may also breathe in radioactive dust and radon gas which can escape from the rock. 
-edeklerk@nepc.com.na