Mounana is a town in Gabon. It lies on the N3 road and from 1958 until the 1990s was a major uranium mining centre. The mine is now closed due to studies on the health conditions of the mine workers. Ironically, due to the closure, the company ceased to pay the medical bills for their ex-workers, who now cannot seek medical assistance due to lack of funds. Experts predict that there will be severe cases of lung cancer in the coming years.
Soil samples in the area of the former Mounana uranium mine revealed nuclear waste dumped in the forest with elevated radioactivity of up to 50 times the natural radiation levels. Approximately 4000 people still live in Mounana, half a kilometre away from mine shafts and waste dumps, drinking water from a contaminated river.