From The Telluride Watch:
Unlike studies of the past that tended to focus directly on the impacts to uranium miners and others in the industry, the newer studies are beginning to look at what might happen to wider sections of the population as a result of genetic and reproductive defects developed after living in proximity to the industry. “It’s at least enough to be concerned that something similar might happen in humans,” [Doug Brugge, PhD, an assistant professor of public health and community medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston] said…
A 2007 study at Northern Arizona University, one that actually gave small doses of uranium to mice in order to mimic the comparable levels found in drinking water on the Navajo Nation, discovered that uranium is a potentially estrogenic compound. At the lowest levels, exposure appeared to cause similar defects to diethylstilbestrol – or DES – a synthetic estrogen originally prescribed between 1938 and 1971 for women who experienced miscarriages or premature deliveries. While it was initially believed to be safe for both mother and child, it was later discovered to increase the mothers’ risk for breast cancer and the risk for a rare vaginal cancer in her female offspring, and non-cancerous testicular cysts in male offspring. “To find that uranium did something [in mice] very similar [to DES], I think is particularly concerning,” said Brugge…
Studies in Nambia and India in the mid-1990s found increases of chromosomal aberrations in workers in uranium mines, as did a 1995 study in Texas that also looked at nearby communities. “[That study] suggests the potential for genetic damage is not just to the miners but [also] for people living . . . in the immediate proximity,” said Brugge…
One unpublished study done on the Navajo Nation may suggest a correlation between proximity to uranium mines, or tailings, and hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease. “I think there’s growing evidence for kidney effects,” said Brugge. “There’s growing evidence around reproductive harm, especially if this estrogenic thing plays out. It’s a significant concern.