Death by Uranian

 

Uranium mines and mining has made a significant negative impact on Native Americans of the southwest by exploiting the impoverished residents of the Navajo Nation. Language barriers  undermined their ability to comprehend the considerable danger to their health and environment associated with mining Uranian.  The United States government was culpable as the sole customer of the Uranian product.  The health and welfare of these people was compromised while mining and continued to have repercussions today with hundreds being affected.  Government officials have been aware of the contamination caused by the mining of Uranian but refuse to clean up the affected areas. This neglect and the exposure to the toxins during the mining process represents a form of genocide.

                The use of uranium didn’t begin with the atomic age.  Its use started in the 1500’s as a coloring agent for glass and porcelain by the use of pitchblende obtained from silver mines.  What is now known as Uranium was obtained in areas of Germany and Czechoslovakia which occurred for centuries. By the late 1800’s, scientific papers associated the mining of uranium containing products with lung disease.  By the 1930s lung disease in miners mining uranium was a compensable occupational disease in the aforementioned countries.

                World War II and the Manhattan Project propelled new uses for uranium in the defense and energy industries.  1946 saw the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and passage of legislation which mandated that the United States government was to be the sole purchaser of uranium followed a short time later.  While uranium was being mined in the United States since the late 1890’s in Western Colorado, it wasn’t until the discovery by Paddy Martinez in Grants, New Mexico in 1950 that a mining boom took off in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah (Brugge, D. and Goble, R., 2002).

                Numerous ore deposits were found on the Navajo reservation and surrounding area.  Economic necessity enticed many Native American men to seek work in the mines, hired by private companies which obtained the rights to mine given parcels of land.  Many men were hired without the proper disclosure as to how dangerous the work could be, often due to the language barrier because many only spoke Diné.  Consistent with history, the primary positions filled by Native Americans were general laborers; these were typically the lowest paying positions, they spent the most time in the mines and sustained the most exposure to toxic elements.  These laborers were paid minimum wage or less.  Mines began to develop in numerous areas of the reservation.  Given the times, many men traveled on foot or by horse and wagon so it became necessary to move their families to the areas of employment, often mining camps constructed by the mine.  Often buildings, including homes, were built out of materials withdrawn from the mines such as dirt and ore converted to bricks and adobe.

                In the 1950’s, as time progressed, there was an increase in certain diseases which weren’t as prevalent prior to mining.  Among these were lung cancer, other respiratory illness and renal cancer/failure.  Public Health Service (PHS) studies eventually concluded what European studies had already concluded years earlier, that exposure to ore products containing uranium was hazardous and that personal protective equipment (PPE) along with other steps to reduce exposure was essential for safety.  It still took time for PPE to reach many workers and for proper ventilation in mines to be put in place.

                The impact on health has extended beyond the workers themselves.  Family members and others working in the mining camps who provided secondary services had succumbed to the toxins as well.  Exposure has resulted from contamination of water and water supplies, aerosolized radiation in wind born dust and from soil contamination.  As noted previously, buildings were often built out of mining waste.  Statements have also been made that children would swim in mining holes filled with waste water.  Those being directly exposed aren’t the only victims, there was also a higher incidence of birth defects in children born to higher risk parents.

                In the end, approximately 520 mines were created on Navajo land.  In the mid 1960’s the U.S. government concluded it didn’t need all the uranium being mined and in 1966 allowed some product to be sold to commercial industry.  By 1971, the AEC stopped purchasing uranium.  With this the price dropped, diminished demand and forced the closure of many mines.  Often the companies would go out of business.  It wasn’t uncommon for the mines to be walked away from and abandoned without regard to the danger they presented (Brugge, D. and Goble, R., 2002).

                The United States government had been reluctant to assume full responsibility for the health problems associated with mining operations to miners, those concomitant with the industry such as ore processing and to those suffering from incidental exposure such as environmental exposure.  At times when compensation was authorized, ways to side step payment would be initiated.  One way this was accomplished was deferring payments if the victim indicated they were a smoker, even if the smoking only occurred in a ceremonial setting.  Another method to avoid holding the mining companies accountable was the fact that coverage by worker compensation precluded lawsuits against an employer for health and safety injuries or illness, all the while many were denied claims (Nez, J. and Lizer, M, 2019).

                The Navajo Nation’s leadership have been persistent in its efforts to rectify the problems concerning the health of its membership and the damage to Mother Earth.  Efforts were underway to secure the old, abandoned mines and processing facilities but it has been a costly endeavor and less than half of the mines on the reservation were addressed.  Additionally, with many of the companies no longer in business they can’t be held liable.  It would appear to be a situation where the Navajo were taken advantage of and now no one wants to step up and do the right thing, often the case where Native Americans have been concerned and Uranian mining has served as an unintentional form of genocide reveled by U.S. government officials’ lack of concern for the well-being of the Navajo people.