In the north of Canada, whose name is now almost forgotten; but there is a ‘ghost city’ that still has life in it. This ‘city’, named Uranium City, is a bitter proof of how living spaces can be built and destroyed in an instant.
Over the years for various reasons all over the world ‘ghosted’; There are countless towns abandoned by life. Some of these are wars, some unproductive lands, some nuclear crises, some empty places after mining activities.
The town we will visit in this article. Uranium City is included in the last group. While it was a ‘tent city’ where the locals lived, miles away from civilization, it was transformed into a giant mine of a big company, deteriorated and then founded. a fast-destroying city. Let’s take a look at the story of the founding and destruction of Uranium City.
Uranium City was originally a quiet and peaceful village inhabited by locals.
On the shore of Lake Athabasca, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, above where the northern lights dance, surrounded by lush forests; a place where fish roam in its fertile lakes… This area, which is now known as Uranium City, used to be such a quiet village where the days passed slowly and without fuss.
The natives of this region; It was a group of people who lived in tents, hunted deer and fished, gathered berries from the forests, and could be called a large family. to the region There was no land transportation. in other words, the people here were living a life completely disconnected from the ‘world’.
In the 1950s, mineral explorations began in the area.
While the local residents continue their lives in peace, World War II is over; the world was shaken, and the effects of the tension of the post-war period unfortunately hit even these distant lands.
In fact, it had been known since the 1930s that uranium mines existed in the vast territory of the state of Saskatchewan. However, with the start of the Second World War, the Canadian government brought a special exploration ban for mineral exploration activities. For this reason, no mining work was done in the region for many years.
But again, during and after the war, countries such as the USA to develop nuclear weapons As we entered the 1950s after increasing uranium studies, Canada also decided to reconsider its steps in this regard. After the war, mining bans were lifted, and with the growing interest in uranium ore, an intense search for mines began in the state of Saskatchewan.
During these searches, mineral deposits were discovered in a rich and extensive area around Lake Athabasca. Brapid transformation in the region has also begun. The company named Eldorado Mining & Refining started to carry out all mining works in the region.
Uranium City, built from the ground up
After the rich mineral deposits around the Athabasca lake, state government to support mining operations decided to mobilize the region. The region, which later became the Uranium City, rapidly ‘urbanized’. Of course, when we say urbanization, we should not think of today’s giant cities.
However, the region, where a group of locals, which was not very crowded, lived, suddenly ‘grew up’. With the arrival of the miners; Uranium City at once the fastest growing place in the state transformed. In a short time, the state exceeded the 5,000 people required to have the title of ‘city’.
In the city, hotels, schools, hospitals, bars that turned into a large gathering area in the center, brand new houses were built. maybe in between 3 – 4 years laterUranium City has grown into a bustling big city with uranium mines at the bottom.
It is no longer fathers fishing by the lake and children running in the forests in these enchanting lands; working in the mine for hours, maybe even unconsciously. exposed to high levels of radiation workers were roaming.
The end of the rapidly rising city came just as quickly.
Uranium City, which was established, grown and suddenly ‘developing’ since the beginning of the 50s, was at the beginning of a rapid end in the 60s. Recession in uranium ‘market’, Canada’s ‘market’to be used in the military field Eldorado Mining & Refining has decided to make some ‘cuts’ due to reasons such as the decision to stop its uranium sales.
In fact, interest for uranium increased for a while in 1967 – 68, but this increase increased the amount of mining in the region. not high enough to ‘absorb’ uranium. As such, in 1969, the first cut decisions were announced for the mines around Uranium City.
In the mid-1970s there was a new era of mobility; even so that the company mining operations in the northern part of the state It also announced some expansion programs, including Steps were taken, such as renovating the facilities. But none of these steps prevented the impending end.
When the calendars showed 1982, the company ‘increased costs’, ‘declining ore quality‘ and ‘declining uranium market’, announced that it would abruptly cease all operations in the region.
A whole city that was built disappeared with a single explanation
Almost all of the Uranium City residents, except for a small number of locals living in the area, had come here purely for mining work. The city built from scratch for these people, It was almost destroyed by a single statement.
After this news, thousands of workers and their families living in the region were forced to leave the region, while there were also those who remained behind. However, the number of these people decreased to 50 over time. Life is getting harder and harder for these few people left behind. Because all the businesses ‘in the city’ were closed one by one; Places such as schools and hospitals also stopped serving.. After that, the infrastructures in the whole city became inoperative. So actually, Uranium City was left to die in 1982, after 30 years of life.
Radioactive waste, garbage and traces of a decaying city are left behind.
of Uranium City 30 years of history We looked together. But in fact, the most impressive part of the story is the devastation it caused, more than anything I’ve told so far. Because Uranium City is not only remarkable because of its spooky photos and its ‘ghost town’ title.
The area has now turned into a giant garbage dump. The mine pits around the city were filled with water, these waters overflowed into the lake and the soil, and radioactive wastes were released to the whole nature. Numerous talks have been held over the years to clean up the radioactive waste in the region and to ‘eliminate’ millions of tons of rocks. However, the resulting huge ‘cleaning budgets’This has led to the almost complete oblivion of the now-destroyed city in this secluded corner.
Besides the radioactive waste, every building in the city is now almost rotten; abandoned vehicles aroundRemnants of buildings and facilities blend into nature like a giant stinking dump in the middle of a forest.
Human stories are just as serious as pollution.
After all these years, a forest fire that took place in the region in 2016 caused this region to be forgotten by both the world and Canada. renaming provided. The painful scenery revealed by the visits to the region brought with it painful stories.
In the interviews held with the friends and relatives of many people who worked there as miners in the past, the same information was always given; None of the uranium mine workers remained whom they knew. Because many they had died from the invisible poison they had inhaled into their lungs…
In fact, it is known that mining activities cause damage because uranium is a radioactive element. However, in those years, as if this was not enough, there was another problem. allegedly. According to these claims, false information was causing fatal damage to the miners. If the wrong information that aluminum powder is good for silicosis disease that damages the lungs was. But in fact, aluminum dust can cause death by causing many diseases from cancer to early dementia.
Life was tough for the locals too
Of course, workers were not the only victims of this devastating transformation in the region. The people living in the region and suddenly their villages were almost invaded. locals who had to get used to a completely different lifeWhen the company left, they were left with a pile of garbage in their palms. The region, which was almost destroyed by a mining operation, caused the local people to lose their own texture and natural life.
A local woman, who has been living with her family in a tent near the lake since she was born, tells how they were surprised by the first ‘white person’ who came to the region and how a dream-like life ‘ended’. He referred to the first ‘white person’ who came to their village as ‘the devil’…
‘But uranium is used for clean energy’
The number of nuclear power plants is increasing in many parts of the world as a ‘less polluting’ alternative to energy production. What makes it stand out so much ‘clean energy’. But when we look at the back of the story, we see the huge wound left by the mining activities of the element uranium, which is one of the most important components of nuclear power plants.
Yes, nuclear power can be ‘cleaner’ than most. However, except in cases such as leaks and accidents, even the mining process alone can use this energy. to say ‘clean energy’ I think it would not be wrong to say that it is an obstacle.
Uranium City isn’t actually ‘special’. Because just because of mining activities in all four corners of the world there are many ‘cities’ built and destroyed. But Uranium City gives us a better understanding of the gravity of the situation, with the damage it inflicts on local people, workers and nature in a short time.
What’s left of Uranium City…
