The government proposes an expansion of nuclear power in Sweden, which in turn would lead to an increased consumption of uranium – a radioactive substance found in Swedish rocks but which we still import.
– Many of the arguments for not mining uranium are that it is so environmentally dangerous. So we send that problem to other countries instead – and that, I would say, is a moral problem, says Pär Weihed, professor of ore geology at Luleå University of Technology.
“People can get very sick”
In 2018, the Riksdag decided to ban Swedish uranium mining, among other things, because mining can lead to the release of radioactive, dangerous substances which, according to experts, can lead to cancer, fertility problems and organ failure, among other things.
– People can get very sick. Especially if they live downstream or in the windward direction of a mine that has not taken care of the poisons connected to the extraction, said Julie Michelle Klinger, one of the world’s most famous researchers in geology, when TV4 Nyheterna met her last fall.
Kazakhstan is the country that mines the most uranium for Sweden right now. In the EU, most uranium comes from the African Niger. Only 1.36 percent of the EU’s uranium is mined on EU soil, according to figures from the Euratom Supply Agency, ESA.
According to Pär Weihed, Sweden has the technology and competence to mine uranium in a good way.
– I think we have a responsibility to take care of the entire value chain ourselves, he says.
Watch the full feature in the player above.