Uranium in the environment resulting in workers exposed to high levels of radiation. Conventional uranium ore treatment mills create radioactive waste in the form of tailings, which contain uranium, radium, and polonium. Consequently, uranium mining results in "the unavoidable radioactive contamination of the environment by solid, liquid and gaseous wastes". Inhalation of radon gas caused sharp increases in lung cancers among underground uranium miners employed in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1940s and 1950s, uranium mill tailings were released with impunity into water sources, and the radium leached from these tailings contaminated thousands of miles of the Colorado River system. Between 1966 and
Pitchblende (band) Pitchblende (band) Pitchblende was a four-piece art punk band from Washington, D.C., composed of Justin Chearno on guitar, Scott DeSimon on bass guitar, Patrick Gough on drums and Treiops Treyfid on guitar. Between 1991 and 1995, the group recorded three full-length albums and several singles for the independent labels Cargo, Jade Tree, Matador Records and Simple Machines. Although based in Washington, Pitchblende's dense, angular sound was commonly thought to be closer in style to the contemporary music scenes in New York City and Chicago than what was heard on the DC-based post-punk labels at the time. Central to Pitchblende's approach