# Uranium: Impact on nature

Low carbon, but tailings and spent fuel linger

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/nature/

What this tab covers What taking energy from this source does to land, water, air and climate, wildlife and ecosystems, with life-cycle emissions and land use where measured.

Fission has among the lowest life-cycle emissions and land use of any source. Its burdens are radioactive: mill tailings and mine water at the front end, and long-lived spent fuel at the back end.
 Life-cycle emissions 5.1-6.4 g CO2e/kWh^[11](https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/LCA_3_FINAL%20March%202022.pdf) Life-cycle range, UNECE (2021/22). IPCC AR5 gives a median of 12 with a range of 3.7-110 (source 15); its range is wider because it pools older studies with more energy-intensive enrichment Land use 7.1 (median) ha per TWh per year^[14](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources)

#### Effects on nature

| Area | Effect | Size | How it is reduced |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Climate** | Emissions come mainly from mining, milling, conversion and enrichment^[11](https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/LCA_3_FINAL%20March%202022.pdf) | 5.1-6.4 g CO2e/kWh (UNECE 2021) | Low-carbon electricity for enrichment (centrifuges rather than diffusion) |
| **Mining waste** | Mill tailings keep 80-90% of the ore's radioactivity (radium and its decay products) plus process chemicals^[12](https://epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-waste-uranium-mining-and-milling) | More than half of the small abandoned mid-20th-century uranium mines on Navajo lands in the US still have their wastes in place | Engineered tailings impoundments, covers and long-term monitoring |
| **Groundwater** | In-situ leaching pumps chemicals into aquifers to dissolve uranium^[6](https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/world-uranium-mining-production) | 55% of world uranium came from in-situ leaching in 2024 | Restoration of aquifers after mining, confined ore horizons |
| **Air (radon)** | Radon gas from radium decay accumulates in underground mines^[12](https://epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-waste-uranium-mining-and-milling) | Low risk at open pits and leaching sites where it disperses | Mine ventilation, dose monitoring |
| **Spent fuel and high-level waste** | Highly radioactive, long-lived waste requiring isolation for millennia^[13](https://world-nuclear.org/nuclear-essentials/what-is-nuclear-waste-and-what-do-we-do-with-it) | About 450,000 t of used fuel produced since the 1950s; under 3% of waste volume but 95% of radioactivity | Deep geological disposal; reprocessing |
| **Land** | Very small footprint per unit of energy^[14](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources) | Median 7.1 ha per TWh per year, the lowest of all sources | Not usually needed |

Most of the physical disturbance from fission happens at the mine, which is small per unit of energy because so little fuel is needed. The distinctive problem is long-lived radioactivity. Spent fuel is small in volume but must be isolated for many thousands of years. Finland granted the world's first operating licence for a deep geological repository, at Olkiluoto, on 22 October 2026, with disposal awaiting final regulatory tests. Accidents, though rare, can contaminate large areas, which is a separate matter from routine environmental impact.

#### Sources

1. [World Uranium Mining Production](https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/world-uranium-mining-production) World Nuclear Association, 2025
2. [Carbon Neutrality in the UNECE Region: Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources (executive summary: nuclear 5.1-6.4 g CO2 eq./kWh)](https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/LCA_3_FINAL%20March%202022.pdf) United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), 2022
3. [Radioactive Waste From Uranium Mining and Milling](https://epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-waste-uranium-mining-and-milling) US Environmental Protection Agency (RadTown), 2024
4. [What is nuclear waste and what do we do with it?](https://world-nuclear.org/nuclear-essentials/what-is-nuclear-waste-and-what-do-we-do-with-it) World Nuclear Association, 2025
5. [What are the land-use intensities of different energy sources? (summarising Lovering et al., PLOS ONE 2022)](https://thebreakthrough.org/blog/whats-the-land-use-intensity-of-different-energy-sources) The Breakthrough Institute, 2022

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/index.md)
- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/resides/index.md)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/abundance/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/geography/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/overview/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/links/index.md)