Uranium mining in the Navajo Nation, which covers portions of three states and is the largest tribal nation by area in the United States, is a multifaceted issue with many different aspects and points of view.

Economic action created jobs, health consequences

Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground, and it is used almost entirely as fuel for nuclear power plants, which makes it a national question related to environmental and energy policies. Mining has taken place in several areas of the country, however the sovereign Navajo Nation contains some of the largest uranium deposits in the U.S. and that makes the issue special. More than one half of all U.S. uranium deposits lie under reservation land. The mining has had serious, long-term health impacts and consequences on Navajo miners and families. Nevertheless, there are defenders of mining as well because it has brought jobs and supported the tribal economy.

Health issues are one of the most important questions when discussing the legacy of uranium mining boom during the 1940 to 1950s. Many of the 1,200 mines, though abandoned, have not been properly closed. Pits have been left open, and the tribes have claimed that chronic exposure to radiation has continued for decades. Indeed, the cancer rates started to increase drastically a few decades after uranium mining began in the Southwest, as well as the Great Plains. According to a report by Earthworks, “Mining not only exposes uranium to the atmosphere, where it becomes reactive, but releases other radioactive elements such as thorium and radium and toxic heavy metals including arsenic, selenium, mercury and cadmium. Exposure to these radioactive elements can cause lung cancer, skin cancer, bone cancer, leukemia, kidney damage and birth defects.”

Earlier this year, a historic $600 million settlement agreement was reached by the Navajo Nation, the United States, and two subsidiaries of the mining company Freeport-McMoRan. After 50 years, mining companies will pay for cleanup at 94 abandoned uranium mines within the Navajo Nation. Since 2008, federal agencies have invested $130 million to address this uranium legacy. Through the recent settlement agreement, the United States will contribute about half the cost. It has taken the government and mining companies nearly five decades to make real progress toward resolving these longstanding health and environmental issues caused by uranium.

According to data from the Navajo Nation, a total of 523 abandoned uranium mines exist on the 27,000-square-mile reservation. With the settlement reached in 2017, cleanup efforts are taking place at about 200 of them. It is positive that after several decades, different agencies including the Environment Protection Agency, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Interior and Energy departments, the Indian Health Service, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have collaborated to tackle contamination of Navajo land. The EPA has compiled a list of 46 “priority mines” for cleanup, and it is expected that the cleanup will generate more than 100 jobs for Navajo employees.

A way forward?

The Navajo Nation settlement is a positive sign of cooperation between different organizations, the companies, the U.S. government, and additional actors bearing responsibility. And it may also provide a way forward in other areas and affected communities as well.

For instance, Defenders of the Black Hills have written legislation, The Uranium Exploration and Mining Accountability Act, calling for study and remediation. This legislation proposes to place a moratorium on any processing or approval of new licenses for uranium exploration or mining operations until all abandoned mines in the country have been cleaned up.

The Native communities suffering from the health impacts of uranium mining should be supported, and the health and environmental effects, as well as the profound religious, cultural and identity-specific questions related to the use of the native sacred sites, deserve serious consideration.

At the same time, should natural resource exploitation take place, it must be clearly demonstrated that it will directly benefit local communities.

Sources:

Azcentral.com. Abandoned uranium mines continue to haunt Navajos on reservation. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2014/08/04/uranium-mining-navajos-devastating-health-effects/13591333/

EPA. Navajo Nation: Cleaning Up Abandoned Uranium Mines. October 11 2017. https://www.epa.gov/navajo-nation-uranium-cleanup

Impacts of Resource Development on American Indian Land. Human Health Impacts on the Navajo Nation from Uranium Mining. https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/nativelands/navajo/humanhealth.html

Indian Country Today. Navajo Nation Abandoned Uranium Mines Cleanup Gets $600 Million. February 14 2017. https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/environment/navajo-abandoned-uranium-mines-600-million/

Kline, Curtis. Uranium Mining and Native Resistance: The Uranium Exploration and Mining Accountability Act. https://intercontinentalcry.org/uranium-mining-and-native-resistance-the-uranium-exploration-and-mining-accountability-act/amp/

npr.org. For The Navajo Nation, Uranium Mining’s Deadly Legacy Lingers. April 10 2016. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/10/473547227/for-the-navajo-nation-uranium-minings-deadly-legacy-lingers

NY Times. Uranium Mines Dot Navajo Land, Neglected and Still Perilous. March 31 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/us/uranium-mines-dot-navajo-land-neglected-and-still-perilous.html

Reaching the Sky. Uranium Mining and Native Americans. November 15 2013. https://mettahu.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/uranium-mining-and-native-americans/