Soil contamination survey to occur at Mariano Lake
By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, Aug. 4, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it reached an agreement with Chevron USA Inc. to investigate soil contamination at an abandoned uranium mining site in Mariano Lake, N.M.
The agreement is one of the latest efforts by EPA and the Navajo Nation EPA through California Sen. Henry Waxman's five-year, multi-agency plan to address the legacy of uranium mining contamination on the Nation. The plan is in its fourth year.
"This investigation is part of EPA's commitment to help the Navajo Nation deal with the significant impacts of historic uranium mining," said Jared Blumenfeld, administrator for the EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. "We are working to make sure that every responsible party takes the steps needed to protect Navajo families from radioactive contamination."
Under the agreement, Chevron will cover EPA's oversight costs and conduct a radiological survey of the 31-acre Mariano Lake Mine site and surrounding area, including 10 residences and two nearby water wells.
Chevron, which took over the Mariano Lake Mine from Gulf Mineral, is required to post signs, lock gates and prevent livestock from entering known areas of contamination, prior to the cleanup. The former Gulf Mineral Mine operated from 1977 and 1982, and includes one 500-foot shaft, waste piles and several surface ponds.
Chevron is the fifth company EPA has required to take action to cleanup former uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.
Navajo EPA's role in this process would be the same as it has for the cleanup efforts at the Northeast Church Rock mine site, which means working step-by-step with EPA on oversight of Chevron's investigation.
"The costs for assessing, characterizing and cleaning up an abandoned uranium mine can be very high," said Stephen Etsitty, executive director for NNEPA. "So we are looking to the private companies, such as Chevron, that are still in existence today that owned and operated some of these mines to return to help finish cleaning up the remaining radioactive waste materials that were left behind."
Etsitty said he hopes the efforts by the Navajo Nation's Department of Justice, U.S. DOJ and EPA to identify additional private companies will continue to help cleanup the 520 abandoned uranium mines across the Navajo Nation, and any land and ground water resources that may be contaminated by past mining and milling processes.
If cleanup efforts at Church Rock are any indication, EPA and Navajo EPA will take initial action to completely fence the Mariano Lake site and apply a sealant over contaminated soils where people live, work and play during the investigation.
Thereafter, removal of contaminated soils would begin. Following that, EPA will conduct a study to determine the best approach for long-term cleanup.
To date, EPA and Navajo EPA have removed over 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils at the Church Rock mine site.
"Uranium mining adds to the burden of health risks that the community already has," said Chris Shuey, a researcher with the Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque.
"Therefore, these agreements lead us to the point of what to do ... We need industry and government to remove the waste," he said.
Shuey said his research indicates that the closer people live to uranium sites, the more likely they are to suffer from diseases including anemia, cataracts, fractured teeth, and cancer.
At the community level, Mariano Lake Chapter is waiting to hear back from both EPA agencies and Chevron on what steps the chapter will need to take.
"We're waiting on Chevron, and once we get an understanding of what to do, we're going to do whatever we need to do to cleanup the mess," said Chapter President Anthony Begay, adding that a meeting with Chevron is pending to determine the community's next move.
According to Begay, Chevron has conducted a survey that determined the mine site is radioactive and the two-and-half mile road to it is highly radioactive. There are 12 homes showing high levels of radioactivity, Begay added.
In addition, Begay said the Navajo Nation Institutional Review Board has granted approval for the Diné Water Project and University of California at Los Angeles students to conduct studies on the physical affects of uranium mining in the Mariano Lake region.
"Families what to know how they're impacted," Begay said. "These companies neglected to cleanup their mess, and now families are paying the price."
Larry King, a member of Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, said the Mariano Lake Mine was one of the many unclaimed uranium sites on the Nation.
"This should be another eye opener for our Navajo Nation government to say 'no' to uranium mining, especially to Hydro Resources Inc.," King said.
On July 15, ENDAUM filed a suit against the New Mexico Environment Department in the Santa Fe District Court for granting HRI permission to start leach mining in Church Rock and Crownpoint. The state has yet to file its response.
King said based on the Church Rock community's experience, there is a high possibility of Chevron finding very high levels of contamination at the abandoned uranium site.