Uranium Contamination Haunts Navajo Country

By DAN FROSCH

Published: July 26, 2009

TEEC NOS POS, Ariz. — It was one year ago that the environmental scientist showed up at Fred Slowman’s door, deep in the heart of Navajo country, and warned that it was unsafe for him to stay there.

The Slowman home, the same one-level cinderblock structure his family had lived in for nearly a half-century, was contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of uranium from the days of the cold war, when hundreds of uranium mines dotted the vast tribal land known as the Navajo Nation. The scientist advised Mr. Slowman, his wife and their two sons to move out until their home could be rebuilt.

“I was angry,” Mr. Slowman said. “I guess it was here all this time, and we never knew.”

The legacy wrought from decades of uranium mining is long and painful here on the expansive reservation. Over the years, Navajo miners extracted some four million tons of uranium ore from the ground, much of it used by the United States government to make weapons.

Many miners died from radiation-related illnesses; some, unaware of harmful health effects, hauled contaminated rocks and tailings from local mines and mills to build homes for their families.

Now, those homes are being demolished and rebuilt under a new government program that seeks to identify what are very likely dozens of uranium-contaminated structures still standing on Navajo land and to temporarily relocate people living in them until the homes can be torn down and rebuilt.

Stephen B. Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, and other tribal officials have been grappling for years with the environmental fallout from uranium mining.

“There were a lot of things people weren’t told about the plight of Navajos and uranium mining,” Mr. Etsitty said. “These legacy issues are impacting generations. At some point people are saying, ‘It’s got to end.’ ”

After a Congressional hearing in 2007, a cross-section of federal agencies committed to addressing the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining on the reservation. As part of that commitment, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Navajo Nation began working together to assess uranium levels in 500 structures through a five-year plan set to end in 2012.

Using old lists of potentially contaminated structures, federal and Navajo scientists have fanned out to rural reaches of the 27,000 square mile reservation — which includes swaths of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — to measure levels of radium, a decay product of uranium that can cause lung cancer. Of 113 structures assessed so far, 27 contained radiation levels that were above normal.

“In these situations, you have contamination in somebody’s yard or in their house,” said Harry Allen, the E.P.A.’s section chief for emergency response in San Francisco who is helping lead the government’s efforts. “To us, that is somewhat urgent.”

Many structures that showed high levels of radiation were vacant; some families had already moved out after hearing stories of contamination in their homes. But eight homes still had people living in them, and the E.P.A. and Navajo officials have worked to convince residents that it would be unsafe to stay.

“People had been told they were living in contaminated structures, but nobody ever did anything about it,” said Will Duncan, an environmental scientist who has been the E.P.A.’s main representative on the reservation. “They would tell us, ‘We don’t believe you are going to follow through.’ ”

But with a budget of nearly $8 million, the E.P.A. has demolished all 27 contaminated structures and has begun building ones to replace those that had been occupied. Typically, the agency pays a Navajo contracting company to construct a log cabin or a traditional hogan in the structure’s stead, depending on the wishes of the occupants. Mr. Allen said the cost, including temporarily relocating residents, ran approximately $260,000 per dwelling and took about eight months.

The agency also offers $50,000 to those who choose not to have an old home rebuilt.

Lillie Lane, a public information officer with the Navajo Nation E.P.A. who has acted as a liaison between the federal government and tribal members, said the program held practical and symbolic importance given the history of uranium mining here.

Ms. Lane described the difficulty of watching families, particularly elders, leaving homes they had lived in for years. She told of coming upon two old miners who died before their contaminated homes could be rebuilt. “In Navajo, a home is considered sacred,” she said. “But if the foundation or the rocks are not safe, we have to do this work.”

Some families, Ms. Lane said, complained that their children were suffering from health problems and had wondered if radiation were to blame.

The E.P.A. has started sifting through records and interviewing family members to figure out whether mining companies that once operated on the reservation are liable for any damages, Mr. Allen said.

On a recent summer day, Fred and Clara Slowman proudly surveyed their new home, a one-level log cabin that sits in the quiet shadows of Black Rock Point, miles away from the bustle of Farmington, N.M., where the family has been living in a hotel.

Mr. Slowman said he suspected that waste materials from a nearby abandoned mine seeped into his house. The family plans on having a traditional Navajo medicine man bless their dwelling before they move in.

“In our traditional way, a house is like your mom,” he said. “It’s where you eat, sleep, where you’re taken care of. And when you come back from the city, you come back to your mom. It makes you feel real good.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/us/27navajo.html?_r=1

Don't Drink The Uranium

August 1, 2009

by Ann Garrison

Havasupai Guardians of the Grand Canyon.
Photo credit: Brenda Norrell

On July 21, 2009, Obama Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a two year "time out" on new uranium mining claims on nearly a million acres of federal land near the Grand Canyon, in response, it seemed, to the protest of environmentalists, and, Native Americans, who still suffer cancers and other illnesses at rates many times higher than the general population, consequent to uranium mining on or near tribal lands.

Cause for celebration? Not in the least. Salazar's announcement is straight out of Orwell's 1984. This two year "time out" is no time out at all, because new mining claims are not the issue. More than 10,000 uranium claims have been staked on federal land immediately surrounding the Grand Canyon in the last three years. According to Roger Clark, Air and Energy Director of the Grand Canyon Trust, if even 1% of these claims become mines, they could seriously contaminate both ground and surface water surrounding the Grand Canyon, which drains into the Colorado River and contributes to the drinking water of 30 million people in the Lower Colorado River Basin, in Arizona, Colorado, and California.

On the day that Salazar announced his faux time out, the Native Havasupai, who make their home at the base of the Grand Canyon's South Rim, began gathering to host a weekend teach-in and speak-out against uranium mining at Red Butte, a Havasupai sacred site they hope to defend from contamination and desecration by Denison Mines' plan to reopen its nearby Arizona One uranium mine. Denison, a collaboration of Dennison Mines, Inc. and Uranium International, was then reported to be only one Arizona air quality permit away from reopening the mine closed 20 years ago.

In November 2008, the Motley Fool stock adviser, in "A Fresh Jolt for Uranium," said that Denison's prospects, like those of other small players in uranium mining were benefiting from increased demand created by uranium mining giant Cameco's ongoing difficulty getting its jet bore uranium mine into operation at Cigar Lake, on Native Canadian land in northern Saskatchewan. In October 2006, while Cameco's Cigar Lake mine was still under construction, a wall of water knocked it into Cigar Lake and adjacent waterways.

The Fool also pointed out that uranium supplies from decomissioned nuclear warheads, a.k.a., "the bomb mine," are running out:

"As it stands, uranium usage routinely exceeds global mine production. We can tap decommissioned warheads and other stockpiles to fill the gap, but that won't last forever. The longer Cigar Lake is delayed, the faster we blow through above-ground supply. That would do wonders for the spot price of uranium."

On July 30th, 2009, nine days after Salazar's announcement, and, four days after the Havasupai concluded their protest, the Motley Fool named Denison as their favorite "penny stock" of the week, meaning, the cheap stock most likely to take off from a very low price. and, maybe even make you rich, on a very small investment:

''Uranium was recently at its lowest price level. With brent price increase, uranium and fossil fuels tend to follow the price increase,'' wrote CAPS investor jajege in June. ''New nuclear power plants are planned and will require more uranium production, especially after the stock of uranium from the nuclear weapons are running out.''

It's still a very risky stock, though, the Fool warned, but only because of its low capitalization of only $2.5 million, its heavy debt load of $100 million, and, the risky nature of mining ventures.

Not because of Interior Secretary Salazar's ''time out,'' and, not because of environmentalist and native resistance, although, in November 2008, the Fool did warn of ''delays in permitting and other pesky problems'':

'None of these companies is immune to mining mishaps. Delays in permitting and other pesky problems have pushed back production schedules pretty much across the board. Still, the growth outlook is very favorable for Denison, which makes it the sort of stock you should own.'

In 2006, the Navajo Nation Tribal Council passed a ban on uranium mining, the first native claim to sovereignty, over natural resources of its kind. Navajo environmentalists have been defending the ban, against enormous pressure, ever since. At Red Butte, members of the Havasupai Tribe said that they hope to enact a ban as well.

As with the Navajo ban, a fundamental question would then be whether uranium mining which endangers the water table well beyond the mining claim itself, violates a Havasupai ban, and/or, the environmental rights of wider communities, including the 30 million people of Arizona, Colorado, and California, who depend on the Colorado River's contribution to the drinking water in the Colorado River Basin.

Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) reported on the gathering at Red Butte, and Censored News writer/editor Brenda Norrell captured video: "Havasupai: Singing away uranium mining."

http://www.examiner.com/x-8257-SF-Energy-Policy-Examiner~y2009m8d1-Uranium-the-Havasupai-and-drinking-water-in-the-Colorado-River-Basin

Navajo Nation Approves First Tribal 'Green Jobs' Legislation

by Laura Shin - Jul 22nd, 2009

While economists bemoan the rising U.S. unemployment rate, nearing 10 percent, there's a part of the country that has long struggled with unemployment many times higher – the Navajo Nation.

The unemployment rate across the sprawling region is 44 percent right now. But on Tuesday, its leaders approved groundbreaking legislation that they hope will bring change for their people.

The Navajo Nation became the first Native American tribe to pass green jobs legislation intended to grow thousands of jobs in ways that follow the Navajo traditions of respecting the Earth. The Navajo Nation Council voted to establish a Navajo Green Economy Commission that will draw on federal, state and foundation funding to pay for green initiatives ranging from farmers’ markets to small-scale energy projects.

“This is huge,” says Wahleah Johns, Field Organizer for Black Mesa Water Coalition, part of the Navajo Green Economy Coalition, which lobbied for the legislation.

“One of the largest indigenous nations in the U.S. is paving a pathway for green jobs development in Indian country. It could be a model for most Indian nations throughout the world.”

The Navajo Green Economy Coalition hopes the initiative will alleviate the area's high unemployment rate. Many employed members of the Navajo Nation, which spans 26,000 miles – about the size of West Virginia – have to travel far to jobs off the reservation. Some 77 cents of every dollar earned on the reservation ends up being spent off of it.

“I think this legislation is really important, because we have a lot of really smart, talented people who go to college and return and can’t find a job. I was one of them,”
says Nikke Alex, a member of the coalition and a recent University of Arizona graduate.

Many of the jobs that are on the reservation are with schools, hospitals and tribal government, or in industries like coal mining, oil drilling and, until a 2005 tribal ban, uranium mining.

The legislation defines "green businesses" as businesses and industries that contribute to the economy with little or no generation of greenhouse gases and/or can counteract the negative effects of greenhouse gases.

“With this green jobs program, we hope we will support existing sustainable practices, like local organic farming that already exists but just needs a good marketing mechanism, and ranching organic meats like sheep and cattle that a lot of folk raise on Navajo reservation that could be made into gourmet foods,” Johns says.

The commission also expects to fund weavers’ co-operatives and wool mills, since shepherding and weaving wool are part of traditional Navajo culture. Energy will be a focus in the form of weatherization, energy efficiency and small-scale solar and wind projects within homes and communities.

“Our government has been relying on dirty energy and it’s time that our tribal government turns to more energy efficient and sustainable jobs,” Alex says.

Johns touted the benefits of the reservation’s sunny location – surrounded by Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, it has more than 300 days of sunlight annually – and its proximity to California, a leader in renewable energy standards that could become buyer if the Navajo Nation produces and sells solar or wind energy.

Rural electrification and rainwater harvesting are also becoming priorities for the Navajo Nation; 50% of the reservation lacks electricity and running water. The legislation will also create green jobs training programs in collaboration with Diné College and Navajo Technical College.

The legislation aligns with Native American cultural values, Johns says:

“All indigenous nations have always had a philosophy of being caretakers of Mother Earth. It’s something our people have been practicing for countless generations and it’s nothing new for our people.”

The newly established Navajo Green Economy Commission will take two years to implement the legislation, spending the first year researching the community’s job needs and applying for funds. The Commission intends to seek funding from various federal initiatives, including the newly established Clean Energy Corps, from state agencies, and from large foundations. The commission will then assess and grant funds for green projects.

The impetus for the legislation came from a grassroots coalition, formed in the spring of 2008, of individuals and the Sierra Club, 1Sky New Mexico, Grand Canyon Trust, Diné CARE, New Energy Economy and New Mexico Youth Organized.

Other Native American groups are also pursuing green opportunities. In South Dakota, two tribes are working on wind power. The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe launched the Sioux Wind company with the goal of building a wind farm on or near the tribe's reservation. The Oglala Sioux tribe approved the creation of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Renewable Energy Development Authority in May to oversee renewable wind power development on the wind-swept Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090722/navajo-nation-approves-first-tribal-green-jobs-legislation

Media Advisory: Grand Canyon Rally to Focus on Uranium Threats

A July 25-26 Gathering at the Sacred Red Butte Will Host Traditional Havasupai Ceremonies, Concerts, and Forums to Stop Uranium Mining Near the Grand Canyon and Havasupai Traditional Lands

GRAND CANYON, Ariz.— Conservation groups today announced support of the Havasupai tribe in its convening of a traditional gathering at Red Butte, a sacred site just south of the Grand Canyon. The gathering will include prayers, ceremonies, concerts, and forums focused on protecting the Grand Canyon and traditional Havasupai lands from uranium mining. Members of the public are invited to attend and add their voice in support of saying no to uranium mining. The media are invited to attend the entire event, which will include a press conference at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 25.

The rally responds to sharp increases in new uranium mining claims, exploration, and permitting to reopen old mines on public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Uranium development threatens to damage wildlife habitat, industrialize iconic wildlands, and contaminate surface water and groundwater feeding regional seeps and springs, including Havasu springs and waterfalls near the Supai Village in Grand Canyon. The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Grand Canyon Trust have mounted legal challenges against new uranium exploration in the area and have urged the Obama administration to protect those lands, which are sacred to the Havasupai and other tribes.

The Havasupai tribe and conservation groups have also been actively opposing efforts of the Denison Mine Company to reopen the Canyon Mine, an old mine located on the Kaibab National Forest near Red Butte, the site of the upcoming rally. Denison is seeking groundwater aquifer permits from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to operate the Canyon Mine and extract uranium. The tribes’ sources for drinking water, as well as sources for other communities along the South Rim and Colorado River, lie directly downstream from the site of these proposed operations.

This gathering will be held south of the Grand Canyon National Park near Red Butte, a sacred site for the Havasupai tribe. On Friday, members of the Havasupai tribe will hold a private ceremony meant to use prayers to focus positive change towards ending uranium mining. On Saturday, members of the public will be invited to join the Havasupai at a free public concert at 6 p.m. with performances by traditional Havasupai, Hopi, and Aztec dancers; bands like Burning Sky, joined by John Densmore, drummer for the Doors; Casper from Hopi Land; and Navajo songwriter Clarence Clearwater.

The media are welcomed to attend at any time during the events on Saturday and Sunday and a news conference will be held Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the conclusion of the private Havasupai ceremony. A map to the gathering can be found at www.arizona.sierraclub.org.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/grand-canyon-rally-7-17-09.html

Nuclear power isn't clean or cheap

BY NIELS S. NOKKENTVED - Idaho Statesman

Published: 07/14/09

An Eagle-based company wants to build a 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant in Elmore County.

The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that proposes the nation build 100 new nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years.

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson has embraced nuclear power, and like others, promotes it as cheap and clean. They argue also that nuclear energy emits no greenhouse gases. But it is unclear which part of the nuclear energy cycle they're referring to. Nuclear power is neither cheap nor clean.

The two main reasons no new power plants have been built in the United States since the late 1970s are the high cost of construction and the uncertainty of the regulatory approval process. Only federal subsidies make nuclear power "cheap."

The nuclear fuel cycle starts with mining, which relies on trains, trucks and heavy equipment that run on diesel fuel. Refining the ore and turning it into nuclear fuel creates large amounts of radioactive and toxic tailings and waste. Uranium, for example, gives off radioactive radon gas, the second leading cause of lung cancer in this country.

And operating a nuclear power plant requires an outside source of electric power. Reactors emit small amounts of radiation and heat in the form of steam or hot water, and they produce waste for which we have no disposal solution.

Uranium mining and milling have a sordid history in the West. In the Southwest, Navajo homes once were built of radioactive mine tailings, and their land is riddled with more than 1,000 abandoned mines. Mining companies hired local residents to work at low wages without telling them of the health risks. When the ore played out, some companies simply walked away.

In one example, Uranium Reduction Co. began processing ore from the Moab area's rich uranium ore deposits in the 1950s. In 1962, the company sold the mill to Atlas Minerals Corp., which ran it until declaring bankruptcy in 1998. The federal government took over the site in 2001.

Today a 94-foot tall pile of radioactive and toxic mill tailings covers 130 acres and holds 12 million tons of radioactive waste - about 750 feet from the third largest river in the West, three miles from Moab, less than a mile from Arches National Park and across the mouth of Moab Wash.

The unlined pile leaks an average of 57,000 gallons per day into the Colorado River upstream of Lake Mead, which supplies drinking and irrigation water to southern California, Las Vegas and parts of Arizona. Similar piles at 38 mill sites in the West - 22 of them abandoned - hold 140 million tons of radioactive tailings.

The story doesn't end with refining the ore. Producing reactor fuel involves a process that concentrates one form, or isotope, of uranium that can sustain a nuclear reaction. The leftovers, known as "depleted uranium," remain radioactive. About 750,000 tons of depleted uranium already awaits disposal. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently issued warnings about disposing of large amounts of this material as "low level" waste - the current proposed practice.

Most industry supporters - who claim nuclear power produces no greenhouse gases - want to ship spent fuel from power plants, mainly in the eastern part of the country, by diesel-powered trains to a proposed waste disposal facility in Jackass Flats, Nev. - a site known as Yucca Mountain.

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Niels S. Nokkentved has degrees in journalism and environmental studies and has worked as natural resource reporter for 20 years, including more than 12 years of covering nuclear waste issues at the Idaho National Laboratory.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/story/832976.html