Question

How does uranium mining contribute to climate change?

Answer 1

Hint: Uranium is an element of f-block, whose atomic number is 92 and mass number is 238, and it is a radioactive element and it is used for the conversion of other elements by alpha-decay, beta-decay, etc. We get uranium from inside the earth.

Complete answer:
Uranium is an element of f-block, whose atomic number is 92 and mass number is 238, and it is a radioactive element and it is an element of Actinides group because the last electron enters the 5f orbital. Since it is an actinide, it is a rare earth metal and a radioactive element. It is used for the conversion of other elements by alpha-decay, beta-decay, etc. We get uranium from inside the earth. So, the uranium is mined from the earth by many processes like surface mining, heap leaching, underground mining, etc.
As we know that uranium is not a greenhouse gas but while mining a very less amount of carbon dioxide is released, so there would be very less impact on climate change. But there is an environmental impact of the mining of uranium.
While mining uranium, there is tailing that is generally disposed of near the surface of the earth, and these tailings cause serious environmental and health hazards. Heavy metals like arsenic get dissolved in the water.

Note: There is much research going on for the management of waste that is produced from the mining of uranium. The half-life period of uranium is 703.8 million years, so it is one of the most stable radioactive elements.