A report for those really interested. Not sure how conclusive it really is. 130 odd pages. Need to be a die hard to read it all. A lot may have changed since then too.
http://www.risoe.dk/rispubl/reports/ris-m-2875.pdf
This report was prepared in 1983 as part of the documentation for the Kvanefjeld Uranium Project funded by the Danish Ministry of Commerce• By this publication the report is made available to a broader audience.
Risø-M-2875
Preliminary Environmental Impact Statement for the
Kvanefjeld Uranium Mine
Kim Pilegaard
Abstract.
The sources of pollution from a proposed uranium mining and
milling complex at Kvanefjeld in South Greenland have been
evaluated. The environmental impact assessment was part of a pre-feasibility study. The main aims of this study have been to identify potential pollutants and critical pathways, to evaluate the environmental impact of technical alternatives,and to provide guide-lines for pre-operational environmentalstudies.
The study has identified the open pit, waste dump and tailings impoundment as the most important sources of pollution. The mobility of non-radioactive elements was lower in the tailings than in the ore, whereas the reverse was true for the radioactive elements.
The potential pollutants include: Be, F, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co,
Ni, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Nb, Zr, Mo, Cd, Sb, REE, Hg, Pb, Th, U,
Ra-226, Pb-210 and Po-210. This list was based on abundance
and mobility in the ore and tailings and general toxicity of the elements. Fluorine is the most mobile of the elements in both ore and tailings. The concentration in ore and tailings may be up to 1% and in combination with its high toxicity, F can then be regarded as the most serious pollutant.
September 1990
Risø National Laboratory, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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