Uranium Mining in Egypt is Expanding Despite Water Contamination, Satellite Images Show
Scarce water supplies in a remote part of COP27 host are being poisoned by radioactive runoff.
Egypt’s uranium mining on the Sinai Peninsula has long attracted the curiosity of non-proliferation analysts and scientists studying its environmental impact on groundwater.
Photographer: Planet LabsEgypt’s Allouga uranium mine has been expanding despite evidence that its radioactive runoff is contaminating scarce water resources, according to satellite images captured last month for Bloomberg by Planet Labs PBC.
The uranium mine, located less than 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the ongoing United Nations COP27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, underscores the difficult tradeoffs involved in producing minerals used in zero-emission energy sources such as nuclear power plants.