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Yellow Cake - The Clean Energy Lie - Part 1 and 2

June 23, 2014

The sort of catastrophic chain reactions that can occur in a nuclear power plant are well known, at least since the disaster at Chernobyl. But hardly anyone talks about the mining of uranium ore and its associated risks.

https://p.dw.com/p/1C7ek
Image: aeoi.org.ir

The initial link in the nuclear chain is a sort of terra incognita. Since the end of World War II, uranium mining has been hidden under a global cloak of secrecy and disinformation. Even after Chernobyl and Fukushima, its devastating consequences play virtually no role in public perception.
Germany in particularhas every reason to find uranium mining a touchy subject: the regions of Saxony and Thuringia are closely linked to its history.

Until German reunification, they were the world’s third largest source of uranium. It was mined by the German-Soviet joint-stock company WISMUT, which provided 220,000 tons of radioactive material to the Soviet Union before it was closed down in 1990. Between 1946 and 1990, nearly 800 miners lost their lives 1946-1990 whilst working for WISMUT.


And manyformer WISMUT workers are now sick from lung cancer or silicosis. Theprecious raw material used in making nuclear fuel rods is called Yellow Cake. Only 0.1 percent of the ore is used to make Yellow Cake - the remaining 99.9 percent is useless but still highly toxic and radioactive. Huge waste dumps and radioactive sludge tanks mean serious environmental damage is almost inevitable. Safe storage of waste is still one of the big unresolved problems of uranium production.


The two-part documentary follows the largest redevelopment project in the history of uranium mining over a five-year period - a project that has hardly been noticed by the West German and international public. It takes the viewer on a journey that leads from the former East German states of Thuringia and Saxony to the biggest uranium mines in the world in Namibia, Australia and Canada.

23.06.2014 DW FEATURE Yellow Cake 4
There’s more in this tank than initially meets the eye: highly radioactive sludge.
23.06.2014 DW FEATURE Yellow Cake 1
A precious and extremely dangerous substance: Yellow Cake.
23.06.2014 DW FEATURE Yellow Cake 6
Lung and bronchial cancer are not uncommon among miners.





Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW

TUE 01.07.2014 – 22:15 UTC
WED 02.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC
WED 02.07.2014 – 13:15 UTC
WED 02.07.2014 – 17:15 UTC
THU 03.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC
THU 03.07.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

WED 02.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC
WED 02.07.2014 – 17:15 UTC
THU 03.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC
THU 03.07.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4

DW (Arabia)

WED 02.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

WED 02.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

Part 2:

DW

TUE 08.07.2014 – 22:15 UTC
WED 09.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC
WED 09.07.2014 – 13:15 UTC
WED 09.07.2014 – 17:15 UTC
THU 10.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC
THU 10.07.2014 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

WED 09.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC
WED 09.07.2014 – 17:15 UTC
THU 10.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC
THU 10.07.2014 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +4

DW (Arabia)

WED 09.07.2014 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

WED 09.07.2014 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3