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Nuclear Energy, Hazardous Waste, Health, and Environmental Justice in South Africa

The Continuing Legacy of Apartheid

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Abstract

The apartheid system in South Africa, which was dismantled in de jure terms in 1994, represents one of the worst examples of violations of human rights and environmental injustice in human history. Apartheid continues in de facto terms, since whites, who represent 9 percent of the population, still own 80 percent of the land acquired primarily through coercive, brutal, and illegitimate imperialistic means. Africans, who constitute 80 percent of the population and own 13 percent of the land, are often targeted for environmental injustices. Residential segregation, manifested in racial and economic disparities and massive environmental problems, is the observable norm.1

Mashile F. Phalane made a PowerPoint presentation on nuclear energy in South Africa at the Wellesley Symposium on Environmental Justice. Half of the chapter is from this presentation, and the other half is on hazardous waste dumping.

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© 2009 Filomina Chioma Steady

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Phalane, M.F., Steady, F.C. (2009). Nuclear Energy, Hazardous Waste, Health, and Environmental Justice in South Africa. In: Steady, F.C. (eds) Environmental Justice in the New Millennium. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230622531_9

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