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What uranium mining and milling have done to Navajo lands

NavajoThe Curse of the Yellow Powder, Bacon’s Rebellion, by Rose Jenkins   December 2, 2012 Is it possible to restore a landscape damaged by uranium? Ask the Navajo in New Mexico. “……There are 520 abandoned uranium mines in the Navajo Nation. Navajo territory extends over 27,000 square miles in the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. In this sparsely populated desert, approximately 30% of the population is not connected to a public water supply, so people drink from the sources available, including springs and private wells.
Out of approximately 375 Navajo water sources tested by various agencies, according to data compiled by SRIC, more than a quarter contain excess levels of contaminants that could derive from uranium operations — including arsenic in 17% and uranium in 10%.
In response, the EPA shut down three of the most contaminated sources. The agency is also working with local partners, including SRIC,to publicize warnings about hazardous water sources and to provide safe drinking water for thousands of homes. That addresses people’s immediate needs, but it doesn’t resolve the underlying problem — the polluted groundwater.
I asked the EPA if there was any chance the groundwater could ever be treated enough to be safe to drink.
“Our first goal is to make sure people are not being exposed to contaminated groundwater,” Rusty Harris-Bishop, an EPA spokesperson, told me………

In Yellow Dirt, journalist Judy Pasternak describes how thoroughly the leavings of uranium operations infiltrated Navajo people’s lives. Pregnant women drank water from lakes left by pit mines. Families built foundations and stucco walls out of the sandy mine wastes. Children played on tailings piles. Livestock grazed around the mouths of unreclaimed mines (and still do, according to a recentNew York Times article). Pasternak chronicles case after case of lung cancer, stomach cancer, children with deformities — death after death.

The Navajo decided that they have reason enough to be done with uranium extraction, at least while so many problems remain. In 2005, the tribe passed the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act, banning uranium mining and milling on their lands. The act states as its purpose: “to ensure that no further damage to the culture, society and economy of the Navajo Nation occurs because of uranium mining… [and] processing, until all adverse environmental, economic and human health impacts from past uranium mining and processing have been eliminated or substantially reduced.”……” http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2012/12/the-curse-of-the-yellow-powder.html

December 3, 2012 Posted by | indigenous issues, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

The cost of cleaning up after uranium mining and milling

dollar-2The Curse of the Yellow Powder, Bacon’s Rebellion, by Rose Jenkins   December 2, 2012 Is it possible to restore a landscape damaged by uranium? Ask the Navajo in New Mexico. “…….The Navajo Nation was the fourth uranium clean-up site I visited in the West.

In Cañon City, Colo., where a uranium mill shut down last year, the state of Colorado has estimated that a clean-up will cost $43 million, but it allowed the Cotter Corporation, which is responsible, to put up less than half of that amount in surety bonds, according to the Denver Post. Unless plans change, groundwater below the site will stay contaminated, leaving many private wells unusable.

Elsewhere in Colorado, the clean-up of uranium mills after the companies went bankrupt has cost taxpayers $950 million, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. At one of these sites, in Uravan, Colo., both the mill and the town around it were dismantled, buried, and permanently fenced off. That clean-up, or eradication, cost taxpayers $120 million.

The Atlas Mill, in Moab, Utah, which closed in 1984, is one of a few sites where tailings are being relocated, because contamination from them was leaching into the Colorado River, the source of drinking water for Los Angeles and other cities. A suitable repository was located just 30 miles away—but the clean-up will still cost taxpayers a solid $1 billion…….” http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2012/12/the-curse-of-the-yellow-powder.html

December 3, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Lynas to meet more opposition to rare earths processing in Malaysia

They will continue to pursue the judicial review cases to get the court to revoke the temporary licence given to Lynas on the grounds that Lynas still has no safe solution to tackle their radioactive waste,’

Lynas plant on line, protests to continue, SMH December 1, 2012 Glenda Kwek A MALAYSIAN environment group says it plans to continue campaigning for the closure of Lynas’ controversial rare-earths processing plant, as the Australian miner announced it had started production. Continue reading →

December 1, 2012 Posted by | Uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium mining a threat to agriculture in Virginia

Farm lobby wants Virginia uranium ban to stay, PilotOnline.com By Steve Szkotak The Associated Press  November 29, 2012 RICHMOND The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is backing the continuation of the state’s 30-year ban on uranium mining, concluding that the mining and milling of the radioactive ore is a threat to Virginia’s multibillion dollar agricultural industry. Continue reading →

December 1, 2012 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium’s radioactive dust – the forgotten pollutant

The problem is, when DU armor piercing projectiles penetrate their targets, they become incendiary spewing radioactive dust

The Toxic Legacy of Depleted Uranium Weapons 11-26-2012, EcoWatch, By Paul E McGinniss “………  how many of us know about the current manufacturing and active use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons? DU (Uranium 238) is a radioactive waste by-product of the uranium enrichment process. It results from making fuel for nuclear reactors and the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.

In a frightening adaptation of the “Cradle to Cradle” philosophy in manufacturing, which seeks to use waste in the manufacturing process to create other “useful” products, militaries around the world have come up with the “brilliant” idea of taking DU and making “conventional” weapons with it.

According to BanDepletedUranium.org, approximately 20 countries are thought to have DU weapons in their arsenals. Nations known to have produced these weapons include UK, U.S., France, Russia, China and Pakistan.
DU is well liked by armed forces Continue reading →

November 28, 2012 Posted by | depleted uranium, Reference, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Call for General Electric to remove uranium processing facility from populated area

“The question is, is this the right kind of operation that should be in the middle of people’s backyards?”

Councillor asks uranium plant to shut down Facility on Lansdowne has been quietly processing nuclear fuel for decades Toronto NOW, 23 Nov 12 By BEN SPURR Amid mounting concerns from his west downtown community, a city councillor is asking controversial uranium plant on Lansdowne Ave. to pack up and move out of his ward.

 In a motion that will go before council next week, Councillor Cesar Palacio is requesting that the city work with General Electric-Hitachi on a five-year plan to phase out the production of nuclear fuel pellets at the company’s Davenport Village facility. Continue reading →

November 25, 2012 Posted by | Canada, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Martinsville City Council to stand against uranium mining in Virginia

City to oppose lifting uranium mining ban , November 22, 2012 Martinsville Bulletin, By MICKEY POWELL – Bulletin Staff Writer Martinsville City Council is ready to take an official stand against allowing uranium mining in Virginia.

The city’s proposed legislative agenda for 2013 asks the General Assembly to continue the current moratorium on uranium mining because allowing mining “would result in highly damaging effects on all other economic development efforts in the region, excluding the jobs created by a mine itself.”
“If it makes us a less attractive community,” said Councilman Gene Teague, the need to keep the mining ban is “something we should weigh in on.” He said residents have asked the council to support continuing the ban.

State lawmakers will reconvene in Richmond in January. The council will consider adopting its legislative agenda at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the municipal building on West Church Street uptown. In 1983, the General Assembly banned uranium mining statewide.
Scientists have voiced concerns that the mining could harm the environment and public health….. http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=35649

November 23, 2012 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Weapons proliferation concern about laser uranium enrichment technology

U.S. approval for laser enrichment – could spur new clandestine research and construction in other nations that might make bomb-building efforts by nuclear-arms aspirants easier to conceal. 

Decision on Proliferation Assessments Pending at Nuclear Agency, Nov. 20, 2012 By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire 
A roadway marker points to nuclear fuel operations at a GE-Hitachi campus in North Carolina. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might soon decide whether to demand proliferation threat assessments from firms seeking licenses for new fuel-making activities, such as a commercial laser uranium-enrichment approach proposed by the energy conglomerate
Continue reading →

November 22, 2012 Posted by | technology, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Obama very close to Honeywell uranium plant chief

In Leaked Documents, Honeywell Cites Obama Ties as Key to Anti-Union Strategy Truth Out , 17 November 2012   By Mike Elk, In These Times  “……Indeed, President Obama and Honeywell CEO Dave E. Cote have a very close relationship. Cote visited with Obama at the White House this past Wednesday to push him to cut budget spending. Cote is considered one of Obama’s closest allies in the business community. In January of 2009, Cote introduced Obama’s stimulus package in a White House speech. Cote was subsequently appointed by Obama to serve on the Deficit Commission. President Obama even flew with Cote to India while a lockout at Honeywell’s Metropolis, Ill. uranium plant was ongoing. Cote returned the favor by giving heavily to the Democratic Party. In the 2010 election cycle when the Met, Honeywell was the top corporate PAC contributor to the Democratic Party…..” http://truth-out.org/news/item/12799-in-leaked-documents-honeywell-cites-obama-ties-as-key-to-anti-union-strategy

November 19, 2012 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Close uranium plant – call from Toronto rally

Large crowd calls for closure of uranium plant, Inside Toronto, 17 Nov 12   The GE-Hitachi facility at 1025 Lansdowne Ave. presses uranium powder into the pellets used to power Ontario’s nuclear reactors. The plant releases tiny amounts of radiation into the air and water each year …by Lisa Rainford
Following a march from the GE-Hitachi uranium plant at Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street, a capacity crowd of protesters filled the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre sanctuary for what organizers are calling the first of many meetings to come about the nuclear facility.

Decked out in costume, the “Raging Grannies,” a group of older women who use song to protest and raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues, kicked off the Nov. 15 meeting that brought out local politicians from all levels of government, as well as several guest experts.  “If you love your neighbourhood, no uranium… Kick GE out for good, no uranium,” sang the trio to rousing applause.
Facilitated by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s Angela Bischoff, the meeting brought together a host of speakers,  Continue reading →

November 17, 2012 Posted by | Canada, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Keep uranium mining ban – Virginia Municipal League and Virginia Association of Counties

2 statewide groups back Va. uranium ban, CBS News 16 Nov 12 RICHMOND, Va. — Two groupsrepresenting hundreds of Virginia cities, counties and towns are recommending that the General Assembly keep a 30-year ban on uranium mining in place. Continue reading →

November 17, 2012 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Legal action against approval of Wyoming uranium mine

Group sues over planned Wyo. uranium mine, Wyoming Business Report By MJ Clark November 12, 2012 — CHEYENNE — The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance filed suit in federal court in Cheyenne last week to contest federal approval of a uranium mine in southwest Wyoming…. Continue reading →

November 15, 2012 Posted by | Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Danger of Kyrgyzstan’s uranium-polluted rivers extends way beyond national borders

the more we delay the process of lands reclamation and conservation, the more risk of trans-border catastrophe we have

 the country has 92 tailing dumps with the total volume of 254.4 million cubic meters (457 billion tons) of mining wastes.

Kyrgyzstan’s uranium-polluted rivers threaten Central Asia
http://en.tengrinews.kz/disasters/Kyrgyzstans-uranium-polluted-rivers-threaten-Central-Asia-14023/ , 30.10.2012, Pollution of Kyrgyzstan’s water resources with the wastes of uranium tailing dumps poses a threat to the whole Central Asian region, KazTAG reports.

“Regional risks of degradation and destruction of the uranium tailing dumps are related to a whole range of factors, especially since many of the dumps are located very close to water resources. Since they are located at the river heads (of the rivers that start in Kyrgyzstan),
the potential catastrophe may cause major mass and ecological disasters and have a long-term effect on health of millions of people in the lower reaches of the rivers,” first Vice-PM of Kyrgyzstan Dzhoomart Otorbayev said at the international conference called
Uranium tailing dumps in Central Asia: Join Efforts on Lowering Risks on Wednesday, October 24. Continue reading →

November 12, 2012 Posted by | Kyrgyzstan, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus – high rates near uranium processing plant

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center sought to explain an excessive number of lupus cases reported in a community five miles from a former uranium plant in Fernald, Ohio

“What prompted us was the knowledge that lupus patients may be sensitive to sunlight and irradiation, in addition to literature hinting that miners may be at increased risk for developing lupus,”

HIGH LUPUS RATES NEAR FORMER URANIUM ORE PLANT, OmGlobe.com, 11/10/2012 – High rates of systemic lupus erythematosus have been linked to living in proximity to a former uranium ore processing facility in Ohio, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Systemic lupus erythematosus, also called SLE or lupus, is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and/or other organs of the body. The most common symptoms include skin rashes and arthritis, often accompanied by fatigue and fever. Lupus occurs mostly in women, typically developing in individuals in their twenties and thirties – prime child-bearing age. Continue reading →

November 12, 2012 Posted by | health, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium mining – a sick industry and getting sicker

Spot uranium price falls below $41/lb U308 on weak demand, good supply Washington (Platts)–6 Nov2012 The spot market price of uranium is now below $41/lb U3O8, according to price publishers TradeTech and Ux Consulting.

And given continued bearish sentiment in the market, some analysts are not ruling out the possibility that the spot price could fall $40/lb before the end of the year. UxC said that the price has not been $40/lb since March 2006.

TradeTech on Friday lowered its weekly spot price to $40.75/lb, down $2.25/lb from its October 26 price. Most of the decline occurred around October 31, TradeTech said, “driven by an increase in the supply” and weaker demand. “Sellers hoping to place material were faced with accepting lower prices well into the first and second quarters of 2013 to conclude transactions,” it said.

TradeTech’s daily price Monday also was $40.75/lb.

UxC on Monday cut its weekly spot price to $40.75/lb, down $1.75 from October 29. UxC said the questions now facing the market are whether the $40/lb support level will be broken and if it holds, what type of rebound in price might the market expect to see.
UxC’s broker average price on Monday was $40.69/lb, down 30 cents from Friday. The BAP bid-offer spread Monday was $40-$41.38/lb. The BAP is based on the price information from Evolution Markets and Armajaro Securities.

The Platts NuclearFuel price range for week was $39.50-$43/lb U3O8….. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8889209

November 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

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