Uranium mining and the Navajo people
Prior to 1962, the risks of lung cancer due to uranium mining were unknown to the workers, and the lack of a word for radiation in the Navajo language left the miners unaware of the associated health hazards.
Rob Goble from the National Library of Medicine explain that "After its initial dependence on foreign sources, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) announced in 1948 that it would guarantee a price for and purchase all uranium ore mined in the United States.
Disregarding the known health risks of exposure to uranium, the private companies and the United States Atomic Energy Commission failed to inform the Navajo workers about the dangers and to regulate the mining to minimize contamination.
Pressure for uranium mining increased in the postwar years, when the United States developed resources to compete with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
[26] In 1951, the US Public Health Service began a massive human medical experiment on approximately 4000 Navajo uranium miners, without their informed consent.
In 1955, USPHS took active control of Native American medical health services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the experiments on nuclear radiation continued.
[34] Concerned over the adverse health consequences which Europeans experienced from uranium mines, William Bale and John Harley conducted an independent study.
Bale and Harley's studies focused on identifying the level of radon in mines and assessing any correlation with disease, specifically lung cancer.
A 1995 report published by American Public Health Association found: excess mortality rates for lung cancer, pneumoconioses and other respiratory diseases, and tuberculosis for Navajo uranium miners.
A study was conducted by the National University of General Martín, Avda Gral Paz to review the cellular consequences of the inhalation of uranium compounds.
[24] In 1989, Orrin Hatch, supported by fellow Utah Representative Wayne Owens (D-UT), sponsored the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on October 15, 1990.
"[42] The United States Department of Justice established regulations for implementing the act, related to individuals eligible for payment, and guidelines for identification, including marriage licenses, birth certificates and official documents, some of which the Navajo did not possess.
[24] With additional data from the studies by the Public Health Service (PHS), in 2000 the act was amended to correct shortcomings: "The RECA Amendments of 2000 broadened the scope of eligibility for benefits to include two new occupationally exposed claimant categories (uranium mill workers and uranium ore transporters), expanding both the time periods and geographic areas covered, and adding compensable diseases, thus allowing more individuals to be eligible to qualify.
The EPA has entered into enforcement agreements and settlements valued at over $1.7 billion to reduce the highest risks of radiation exposure to the Navajo people from AUMs (Abandoned Uranium Mines).
According to the NNEPA website, their mission is: "With respect to Diné values, to protect human health, land, air and water by developing, implementing and enforcing environmental laws and regulations with a commitment to public participation, sustainability, partnership, and restoration.
NNEPA helps the EPA in assessing and deciding which contaminated structures should be demolished and which water sources should be deemed a human health risk.
On March 31, 2012, The New York Times published an article entitled "Uranium Mines Dot Navajo Land, Neglected and Still Perilous"[59] by Leslie MacMillan.
David Shafer, an environmental manager at the United States Department of Energy, has said that questions of whether current uranium problems are due to past mining or to the naturally occurring mineral are delaying the process of cleaning up.
On December 30, 2010 Scientific American published an article entitled "Abandoned Uranium Mines: An 'Overwhelming Problem' in the Navajo Nation"[60] by Francie Diep.
MacMillan spoke with a Navajo hotel manager near the Skyline Mine who expressed hesitation about the EPAs remediation, stating, "That's what they want you to see: something that's all nice and cleaned up."
New Mexico's KUNM radio station reported on May 9, 2012 that Uranium Resources Incorporated has expressed interest in starting production near Church Rock by the end of 2013.
[23] The state of Utah did not recognize radiation exposure at the time as a category of illness, making workers compensation unattainable for many of the sick Navajo (Dawson and Madsen 2007).
[63] Navajo workers and residents have felt betrayed as the results of the studies became known, as well as the long delays by companies and the US government to try to prevent the damage, and to pay compensation.
They explain that "The President of the Navajo Nation, Russell Begaye, has announced that he intends to take legal action against the EPA, which has taken full responsibility for this spill.
This project helps regions impacted by nuclear waste from uranium mining by visiting communities and gaining first hand accounts from victims.
[26] Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines with exposed tailings remain unremediated on the Navajo Nation area posing a contamination hazard.
[81] A 1995 report published by American Public Health Association found: "excess mortality rates for lung cancer, pneumoconioses and other respiratory diseases, and tuberculosis for Navajo uranium miners.
Additionally, livestock's dependency on clean food and water sources that are being slowly lost, and that may not recover, casts uncertainty on the continuity of the Navajo's pastoral lifestyle.
[87] The EPA is targeting 500 abandoned uranium mills as another part of their five-year cleanup plan, with the goal of ridding the area of nuclear waste.
[94] In the 2020s, reggae rock band Tha 'Yoties (led by Hopi/Tewa edutainer Ed Kabotie) performed and released music about uranium mining on Navajo lands during their national tours.
