The Curse of Uranium – Part 1

Nuclear power could help reduce global warming, but are the environmental costs of uranium mining in places like Niger too high?

Every year Niger in West Africa produces thousands of tonnes of uranium – mostly for use in French nuclear power stations.

The Macron administration insists these are going play a vital role in France’s fight against carbon emissions and global warming.

But critics say extracting the radioactive mineral poses significant health risks to the population, both near the mines in African countries and around purification and storage facilities in Europe.

So a team of French filmmakers set out to investigate possible contamination levels at both ends of the uranium trail. This is the first of two reports about their deeply disturbing results.