What is the effect of uranium in the environment?

Odds are you stand on uranium every day. That's right! Uranium in it's elemental form does nothing at all and can be found in concrete! Now take in mind that the amount of uranium in virtually any rock is a tiny percentage probably less than 1%.

This is due to the fact that the useful Uranium is actually an unusual isotope compared regular Uranium. So once you create an elaborate facility to crush your raw materials, separate uranium, and sort your uranium so that you have useful ones, only then does Uranium 235 pose a threat. To make it simple: nuclear Uranium emits radiation that is harmful to humans and most complex organisms and cause anything from nausea to cancer try searching "Radiation Poisoning" for the side-effects of nuclear fallout. The good news is that the Earth will slowly absorb this radiation back into the Earth, but this process is rather slow. Take Hiroshima and Nagasaki for example: both were exposed to high levels of radiation in 1942 and yet to this day there are still traces of radiation!