Uranium is one of the minerals listed on the periodic table and found all over the world. Since its discovery, it has been used for many purposes. Today it is generally used in the military, medicine, and for electrical power. In its natural state, uranium poses little threat to the environment. After uranium is taken from the ground and enriched, the radiation from the mineral can cause problems for human health and the environment. While it is invisible, the radiation can last in the body and the environment for a long time.
             Uranium is the heaviest metal in nature. This silvery metal carries the atomic number 92. It is "radioactive," which means it breaks apart or decays at the atomic level. When uranium decays, bursts of energy called atomic radiation is given off. That break down of atoms changes uranium into other radioactive elements. Called radioactive decay, the process results in the emission of alpha or beta particles from the nucleus. They usually are given off with gamma radiation, which is like x-rays. This means that they transform into other elements by emitting particles. Most of the by-products are radioactive solids but one, radon is a radioactive gas. The radiation that the uranium emits can be harmful. Uranium is usually found as an ore body in hard rock or in sandstone. Uranium can be found everywhere in small amounts, but large deposits, can be found in the U. S., Canada, Australia, Europe, Russia, South Africa, and Niger. The best uranium ores have been found in Saskatc!
             hewan, Canada and it is now known to be the uranium capital of the world. New Mexico also has a uranium reserves in the Grants Mineral Belt in the western part of the state.
             Uranium was first discovered by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, in 1789. The German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, in 1938, showed that uranium could be split to give off energy in various forms. Albert Einstien, Madam Curie, a...