Uranium radiation caused severe injuries to dozens of children and youngsters in Madda Walaabu, Bale zone of Oromia regional state, over the past year.
Following complaints from the area, the government deployed experts who afterwards compiled a document dubbed ‘Assessment on the Impact of Radiation in Madda Walaabu’, in November 2021.
According to the highly confidential document seen by The Reporter, dozens of people, especially children and youngsters, sustained severe injuries to their skins, suffered deformities on their noses and other organs, and have partially been paralyzed.
“A private company tried to explore and mine uranium in the area. Some people started mining the mineral in a very traditional and unsafe way,” said an official who spoke to The Reporter on conditions of anonymity.
Heldiana Suleyman, associate researcher at the department of environmental science of Madda Walaabu University, said “There are rumors of a lot of people in the vicinity facing severe health issues but the government has not requested for the help of our department so far.”
Tarekegn Tadesse (PhD), senior geologist and researcher at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), told The Reporter that there is a reserve of uranium in mountains in Harar and Bale.
“Uranium is a strategic mineral. The government will not give the sites to private explorers. The government decided to mine the mineral itself in the near future,” said Tesfaye Megersa, director general of Oromia Mineral Development Authority.
Tesfaye confirmed the radiation has affected local people and that impact assessment is being undertaken.
However, Takele Uma (Eng.), Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas, denied the radiation cases.
“This is a political hoax. First, both federal and regional governments have no mandate to undertake assessment on the impact of uranium radiation. Secondly, there is no Uranium reserve in Ethiopia,” Takele said in a phone call with The Reporter.
A 1954 New York Times report indicated that Emperor Haile Selassie announced on May 15 that year that some of the best Uranium ore in the world had been discovered in Ethiopia.
There were also other media reports of the Ethiopian Geological Survey assessing Uranium deposits in Bale zone in collaboration with the Russian Geological Survey.
