Uranium is a chemical element with symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium radioactively decays by emitting an alpha particle. The half-life of this decay varies between 159,200 and 4.5 billion years for different isotopes, making them useful for dating the age of the Earth. The most common isotopes in natural uranium are uranium-238 and uranium-235. Uranium has the highest atomic weight of the primordially occurring elements. Its density is about 70% higher than that of lead, and slightly lower than that of gold or tungsten. It occurs naturally in low concentrations of a few parts per million in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.
Yellowcake is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. It is a step in the processing of uranium after it has been mined but before fuel fabrication or uranium enrichment. Yellowcake concentrates are prepared by various extraction and refining methods, depending on the types of ores. Typically, yellowcakes are obtained through the milling and chemical processing of uranium ore, forming a coarse powder that has a pungent odor, is insoluble in water, and contains about 80% uranium oxide, which melts at approximately 2880 °C.
Uranium in the environment is a global health concern, and comes from both natural and man-made sources. Mining, phosphates in agriculture, weapons manufacturing, and nuclear power are sources of uranium in the environment.
Paladin Energy Ltd is a Western Australian based uranium production company.
Fábio Villela Barreto Borges was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and film producer. He was best known for directing O Quatrilho and Lula, o filho do Brasil, a biography based on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's early life, which had been the most expensive film in the history of Brazilian cinema upon its release. Barreto slipped into a coma in 2009 after being involved in a car accident in Rio de Janeiro and, in August 2014, was reported to be in a minimally conscious state. He died on November 20, 2019, after almost 10 years in a coma.
Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. Although New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state in the United States, no uranium ore has been mined in New Mexico since 1998.
The Return of Navajo Boy is a documentary film produced by Jeff Spitz and Bennie Klain about the Cly family, Navajo who live on their reservation. Through them, the film explores several longstanding issues among the Navajo and their relations with the United States government and corporations: environmental racism, media and political representation, off-reservation adoption, and denial of reparations for environmental illnesses due to uranium mining in Monument Valley, Utah, which was unregulated for decades. Bill Kennedy served as the film's executive producer; his late father had produced and directed the earlier silent film The Navajo Boy (1950s), which featured the Cly family.
The Church Rock uranium mill spill occurred in the U.S. state of New Mexico on July 16, 1979, when United Nuclear Corporation's tailings disposal pond at its uranium mill in Church Rock breached its dam. The accident remains the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history, having released more radioactivity than the Three Mile Island accident four months earlier.
In the 1950s, the Navajo Nation was situated directly in the uranium mining belt that experienced a boom in production, and many residents found work in the mines. Prior to 1962, the risks of lung cancer due to uranium mining were unknown to the workers, and the lack of a word for radiation in the Navajo language left the miners unaware of the associated health hazards. The cultural significance of water for the Navajo people and the environmental damage to both the land and livestock inhibits the ability of the Navajo people to practice their culture.
The uranium mining debate covers the political and environmental controversies of uranium mining for use in either nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
The World Uranium Hearing was held in Salzburg, Austria in September 1992. Anti-nuclear speakers from all continents, including indigenous speakers and scientists, testified to the health and environmental problems of uranium mining and processing, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear tests, and radioactive waste disposal.
Events in the year 1955 in Brazil.
Márcia Pinheiro de Oliveira was a Brazilian performer and visual artist. Her performances, videos and installations deal with themes of sexuality, eroticism, consumerism, childhood and religion, often using sex toys, children's toys and religious artifacts.
Sarah Luísa Lemos Kubitschek de OliveiraGCC • GCIH, known as Dona Sarah Kubitschek was a Brazilian charity worker and First Lady of Brazil from 1956 to 1961, wife of President Juscelino Kubitschek.
The Rio de Janeiro gubernatorial election of October 2018 was for the election of the Governor and Vice Governor of Rio de Janeiro and 70 State Deputies. People also voted for 2 of 3 Senators of the state representation in the Federal legislative power, with 45 federal deputies representatives of the Rio de Janeiro State. A second round was held after no candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the Governor votes.
Anna Letycia Quadros was a Brazilian artist and educator.
Wanda Pimentel was a Brazilian painter, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her work is distinguished by "a precise, hard-edge quality encompassing geometric lines and smooth surfaces in pieces that often defy categorization as abstract or figurative. “My studio is in my bedroom,” Pimentel said in an interview. “Everything has to be very neat. .. I work alone. I think my issues are the issues of our time: the lack of perspective for people, their alienation. The saddest thing is for people to be dominated by things.”
Marcia Grostein Marcia Grostein is a Brazilian-American artist known for using various mediums across public art, sculpture, painting, video art, photography, and portable wearable art/jewelry. She was the first contemporary Brazilian artist to be acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the 20th Century Collection by the curator Lowery Sims.
Oskar Metsavaht is a Brazilian artist, academic degree in medicine, fashion designer environmental activist and Amazon guardian. Oskar's work expresses the theme of preserving the forest, water and the empowerment and protection of the peoples of the forest, as an artist, designer and activist. He is founder and creative director of Osklen, a Brazilian fashion brand, recognized as one of the forerunners of the New Luxury concept that strives for the fusion between ethics and aesthetics and advocates conscious fashion through the adoption of sustainable practices. Creative Director of OM.art studio, where he hosts his art studio, an exhibition space and the studio for the development and production of art projects. Metsavaht serves as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Creator of Janeiro Hotel, located in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro. He is also on the advisory board of the Inhotim Institute and board member of Museum of Modern Art (MAM) of Rio de Janeiro. In 2014, Oskar Metsavaht was awarded as Knight of Ordem do Mérito Cultural medal from the Ministry of Culture (Brazil) an honorary order granted by the Federal Government to personalities and institutions that make relevant contributions to Brazil's culture.
Vinni Corrêa is a Brazilian poet, visual artist, and erotologist.
