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Transcript of 1 Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project Report to the Navajo Nation Council Resources Committee...
![Page 1: 1 Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project Report to the Navajo Nation Council Resources Committee Church Rock Chapter House October 14, 2004 PROJECT RESULTS,](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062717/56649e2b5503460f94b1989c/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project
Report to theNavajo Nation Council Resources Committee
Church Rock Chapter HouseOctober 14, 2004
PROJECT RESULTS, 2003-2004
Community Involvement
Environmental Health Monitoring
Uranium Mining Impacts
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Presentation Outline
• CRUMP Goals, Collaborators
• Church Rock uranium history
• Radiation monitoring program– Gamma radiation surveys– Indoor radon monitoring
• Air particulate monitoring
• Water quality results
• Threat of new uranium mining
• RecommendationsHead frame, waste piles at uranium mine in early 1960s
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CRUMP Goals, Collaborators• Assess contaminants in water, air and land in residential
areas near abandoned uranium mines– Establish human exposures for future health studies– Educate, involve community members
• Supported by private grants, in-kind contributions• Collaborators:
– Church Rock Chapter– Diné College UEP– Navajo AML, NNEPA, NNDWR– NM Environment Department– Southwest Research & Information Center– TAMS Center, UNM/CEHP, USEPA Las Vegas Lab
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CR Uranium Mining History:
50 years of impacts
• Uranium mining occurred early-50s through mid-80s (map, top right)
• 16 abandoned mines, 1 closed uranium mill that’s a federal Superfund site (photo, bottom right)
• Little environmental monitoring in last 20 years
• No health studies ever conducted in community
United Nuclear Corp. uranium mill tailings impoundment (left), Pipeline Arroyo in
middle
Grants Mineral Belt uranium mines, deposits
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CR Uranium Mining History (cont’d)
UNC Tailings Dam Failure, 7/16/79
Dam breach: 75 ft. high, 35 ft. wide
Livestock tracks in Puerco River 3 days after spill
Spill deposited yellow salts on Puerco R. bank
20+ miles downstream
near Manuelito; warning signs posted along
river; local Navajos said, “Our animals
can’t read!”
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Radiation Monitoring Program
• Measure gamma radiation along roads, near homes in former mining areas
• Measure radon — an colorless, odorless radioactive gas — in homes near mining areas
• Understand natural radiation sources: sun, elevation above sea level, soils, rocks
• Study Area A — Pipeline, Water Pond roads• Study Area B — Old Churchrock Mine area• Study Area C — Springstead Estates site
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Study Area A
Study Area B
Study Area C
Church Rock Uranium
Monitoring Project,
2003-2004Chapter House
Church Rock Chapter
Coyote Canyon ChapterNahodishgish, Standing Rock Chapters
Pinedale Chapter
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Gamma Radiation Monitoring
• Roads, housing areas near abandoned uranium mining and milling sites prioritized
• Surface gamma radiation measured with hand-held instruments, USEPA “Scanner Van”, October 2003
• 20+ people from Church Rock Chapter, Navajo Nation, SRIC, TAMS Center, USEPA participated
• Data compiled, analyzed, mapped
Carl Holiday, Perry Charley and Edith Hood (background) conduct gamma radiation monitoring
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Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Instrumentation
Hand-held Ludlum-19 detectors (above) loaned by NNEPA Superfund.
USEPA Las Vegas Lab loaned CRUMP its gamma radiation “Scanner Van” and two technicians for 3+ days. Sodium iodide (NaI) detectors (above right, in cylinder)
measure radiation levels within 200’ of van (top middle). On-board computers record and map radiation levels as the van travels at 5 mph. Use of van valued at >$15,000.
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Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
“Hot Spots” Identified
• Both sides of Hwy 566 from Old Church Rock Mine north past UNC tailings pile
• Both sides Pipeline Road through tailings area
• Water Pond Road past UNC, Kerr McGee mines
• Arroyo downstream of UNC Northeast Church Rock Mine
CRUMP technicians discuss radiation levels at base of UNC Northeast Church Rock Mine waste dump
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Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Water Pond Road Area
• 6 Navajo homes are located <1,200 feet from an unreclaimed uranium mine abutting the Navajo Reservation
boundary in Church Rock and Coyote Canyon chapters
• CRUMP studies detected gamma radiation levels 5x to 10x greater than background in sands in arroyo in middle of
photos; local kids played in this sand
Uranium mine waste dump
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Gamma radiation levels at the base of this mine-waste pile ranged up to 20 times background at the Reservation line.
Approximate Navajo Researvation
boundary
Uranium mine wastes at abandoned UNC Northeast Church Rock Mine
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In the Water Pond Road area, 16 Navajo
residences are sandwiched between two large abandoned
uranium mines; gamma radiation levels >2x
background shown by red dots and lines; map
prepared by NNEPA Superfund staff using
radiation data from hand-held instruments
and Scanner Van.
Map of Gamma Radiation Levels
Mine site
Mine site
Navajo Reservation boundary
Map by J. Begay, NNEPA/Superfund
Water Pond Road
Hwy. 566
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Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Springstead Estates Area
• Scanner van, hand-held meter surveys limited to roads, arroyo through Springstead property
• Majority of radiation levels within background– small piles of red-pink
stones had slightly elevated gamma levels
• More extensive studies needed before 900-unit housing complex is built
Springstead was site of mobile home park for miners in 1960s-early 1980s
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Indoor Radon Monitoring
CRUMP Radon Team: Gerald Brown, Vivian Craig, Alta Yazzie, John Plummer
• 7-day radon canisters placed in 139 homes in Feb.-March ’04
• 34 homes had radon levels greater than the USEPA “action level” of 4 pCi/l-air*
• Homes with high Rn in 1st test: – Uphill Road– Lime Ridge Road– Happy Valley– Old Churchrock Mine Road– Red Top Road, Becenti Trail
*8-hr exposure = smoking 1-2 packs cigarettes per day
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Indoor Radon Monitoring (cont’d)
• Re-tests done in June-July– 3 Lime Ridge homes > 4pCi/l– Happy Valley homes tests
invalid; new tests needed
• Gamma radiation surveys did not reveal contaminated building materials
• High Rn levels may be from rocks, abandoned mines
• Mitigation measures will be researched, recommended
John Plummer, NNEPA Radon Program, shows Pipeline Road
resident Alta Yazzie the charcoal inside a radon canister
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Air Particulate Monitoring• Tiny dust particles in the air
• Dust irritates lungs, makes breathing problems worse
• Dust may be contaminated with radioactive elements
• People living near uranium mine wastes more likely to be exposed
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Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
• Two monitoring sites selected near abandoned mines– Pipeline Road– Water Pond Road
• Using continuous, high-volume air samplers loaned by Tribal Air Monitoring Support (TAMS) Center
• Electric connections to 2 residences paid by CRUMP
Annabelle Allison, TAMS Center, explains air sampler
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Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
Installation of Samplers
• Each platform was built by CRUMP and CR Chapter staff• Outer security fence protects sampler• Electric lines buried, connected to nearby homes
The Boss The Crews
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Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
Operations, Expected Results
• 1 year of air quality data
• USEPA-LV lab to test filters for particulates
• Results compared with federal Clean Air Act maximum dust limits
• USEPA-LV lab will test radiation levels on about 10% of samples
• Exposures to people calculated
This is a typical two-sampler array; single samplers will be installed on CRUMP platforms
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Water Quality Survey
• Field reconnaissance of water sources in Church Rock area, July-August 2003
• Water assessment team sampled 13 “unregulated” water sources in August, October 2003– Water sources that are not
regularly tested or treated
• Water tested at USEPA, NTUA, NMSLD labs for:– radionuclides, heavy metals,
general chemistry
CRUMP water team members collect samplers from a developed
spring in Pinedale Chapter
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Water Sources, Uses
• Unregulated water sources: hand pumps, springs, windmills
• Uses: human drinking water, domestic uses, livestock water, irrigation
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Water Quality Results
• 2 wells exceeded drinking U.S., Navajo drinking water standards for U, Ra– NNEPA recommends closure of
these wells
• ALL but 1 well had salty, hard water unsuitable for human consumption
• Wells not tested for bacteria• high cost of hauling water
Public water supply source at Crownpoint Chapter House
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Threat of New Uranium Mining• 4 uranium in situ leach
mines proposed, 2 in Church Rock, 2 in Crownpoint
• Would contaminate portions of Westwater Canyon Aquifer, the principal source of high-quality drinking water in the Eastern Agency
• Processing plants would be built in Church Rock, Crownpoint
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Threat of New Mining (cont’d)
Navajo communities say “Łeetso Dooda”
• Communities oppose new uranium mining
• Church Rock Chapter: resolutions in June 2000, July 2003
• New mining is environmental injustice
• Church Rock Chapter supports ENDAUM
• Compensation, cleanup, health studies needed
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Recommendations
• Reclamation of UNC NECR Mine should include off-site contamination– Residents, Chapters, Navajo Nation need involvement in
state-ordered reclamation plan
• More extensive gamma surveys needed along Hwy. 566 and north of UNC tailings dump on TNN land
• Long-term radon monitoring needed in some homes; re-tests of some homes fall-winter 2004
• Navajo Nation should inform, involve Church Rock Chapter in environmental studies at Springstead
• Navajo Nation should oppose new uranium mining