IT IS NOT JUST THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WE SHOULD FEAR
• GLOBAL NEWS
Global news infrastructure and the burning of thousands of hectares of forests – will have significant impact on the global climate ).
The Ukrainian environmental NGO EcoAction has tracked these incidences on the interactive ‘ war map ’ that monitors environmental damage ( https :// en . ecoaction . org . ua / warmap . html ). It shows that thousands of missiles fired by Russia not only caused immediate destruction but also resulted in ocean and landscape pollution with toxic substances such as lead , mercury and depleted uranium and explosive materials such as TNT , RDX and HMX . Such contamination will have global consequences .
UKRAINE :
IT IS NOT JUST THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS WE SHOULD FEAR
By Francesca de Gasparis , SAFCEI and Dzvinka Kachur , Ukranian Association of South Africa ( UAZA )
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put the risk of nuclear war on front pages around the world , raising the risk to levels “ not seen since the height of the Cold War ”, according to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres .
While the risk of a nuclear strike is of grave concern , often overlooked are the environmental impacts that a nuclear incident of any kind could inflict on the planet . Already , this war has caused close to 1 000 recorded cases of serious incidents of environmental damage ( many of which – such as the destruction of industrial
It is an issue that needs to be exposed and brought to public attention – and to this end , Ukrainian and South African civil society organisations convened to discuss the environmental consequences and risks brought to the fore when nuclear safety is at risk .
The Just Peace dialogue : nuclear safety and environmental consequences of the Russian invasion The Just Peace dialogue was organised by the Southern African Faith Communities Environmental Institute ( SAFCEI ), The Koeberg Alert Alliance ( KAA ), the Ukrainian Association of South Africa ( UASA ), and Ukraine-based NGOs EcoAction and Resilient Ukraine .
The dialogue brought together people with radically opposite opinions on nuclear technology . Participants ranged from a highly specialised operator of a nuclear power plant with over 30 years ’ experience , who strongly believes that nuclear is our future ; to anti-nuclear activists who believe that nuclear is too dangerous and believe we should be decommissioning plants rather than expanding nuclear power .
Despite differences in opinion , some clear points of consensus were reached , and similarities between the South African and Ukrainian nuclear situations emerged .
Konstantin and Vlada Liberov
A cemetery of Russian shells and missiles launched on the city of Kharkiv .
10 • African Mining • July 2023 www . africanmining . co . za