Uranium mining produces toxic tailings that are radioactive and may contain other toxic elements such as radon. Dust and water leaving tailing sites may carry long-lived radioactive elements that enter water sources and the soil, increase background radiation, and eventually be ingested by humans and animals. A 2013 analysis in a medical journal found that, "The effects of all these sources of contamination on human health will be subtle and widespread, and therefore difficult to detect both clinically and epidemiologically." A 2019 analysis of the global uranium industry said that the industry was shifting mining activities toward the Global South where environmental regulations are typically less stringent; and that people in impacted communities would "surely experience adverse environmental consequences" and public health issues arising from mining activities carried out by powerful multi-national corporations or mining companies based in foreign countries.