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Th~lndependent - GaUup,N.M. - Wednesday, May 18, 2011 '

Navajo ask~fedsfoiritervene againstNRC ,

By Kathy Helms,
Dine Bureau

INDQW ROCK - ill Dine Indian Country in

northwestern New Mexico, suffering is meas-
ured in milligrams per liter, .millirems, and pio-
ocuries - units that measure radiation exposures, accord-
ing to a petition filed with the Inter-American Commission,
on Human Rights on behalf of Eastem Navaj6 Dine,
Against Uranium Mining.
Eric Jantz, lead attorney on t~e New Mexico Env:if<~rt~
mental Law Center's uranium cases, and Larry Kipg of
Churchrock - site of the largest;nuC:)yar~i~aste~iJi) 1W~S.
history - held a press' comereiic€.M@iJ.day at the NIftionaJ
Press Club in Washington to discussthe petition filecl))i~
clay asking the Human Rights Commission to intervene
with the United States to stop uranium mining within the
Navajo Nation. , Indpendsnt file photo
After 16 years of fighting, the Law Center has exhaust- ,In this April tHe photo, Pearl Sloan has blood drawn.by
ed all legal remedies to overturn the mining license granted Jonathan Ara~@n. a research coordinator with Olinical
by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory: Commission.to Hydro , , ;rranslatiooaL~ScieI'lGe center at th.e Jyanbit9 Ct}apter._ •.
House. The ccmmunity \(Vas participatlnqin a uranium
. exp0su~e scr:eening program.

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 The Independent -~ Gallup, N.M. ~ Wednestlay, May-18, 2011 ~ -Page 5

. Continued from Page 1 ties," he said. cultural attitudet'toward ura- -statlsticallysigui1'icant

, "".p Mat Lueras, vice PJe~~s,tmtII }}i~. '~'V'~Y,-, , .:~ ~cteasein .th~risk for kidney
of Corporate .nevelopmenffor ." In tlie Dme world l.v'le,w,i~Als~ase, _(jt.~~tes.,c,hyperten-
Resources.Ins .. --- -- - "",."'-'uraiftum-Resources .c jar.. unmiuin -r~fesemg-a'~p_ e > s,i{)n,and:alltoIDUn:une disease
"I hop~ th~t the U?ited 'ent company of HRI," said, "of how to rliv~ in hafmony 4'rn:
Dille living 'withma ~alf-
States, WhICh holds Itself "Uranium Resources stands" with one's environment. Ura- mile -of abandoned- uranium
U?der .the be~con of. h~~ _behind our permits and licens-: nium is seen as the antithesis mines, the petition stat~s. .
nghts mterna~on~ly, IS ~omo es issued by a variety offeder- of com pollen, a centraJ and. Jantz alleges that the Unit-
to obserye ItS m~e~ational al and state regulatory bodies - sacred substance in Dine cul- ed States, by virtue of the
human nghts obligations at and are confident in our tech- we which is used to bless the authority -exercised by the
home," Jantz said Monday nology and people.. .Iives of _Dine people. Dine- ~C? has failed to protect
afternoon. ~e petItiO? all~ges "We are dedicated to the Tradition says: conditions that promote the
h~an nghts. VIolations welfare of the communities "The Dineh (the people) petitioners' right to .health by
against the Um!.ed. Sta.tes we operate in. We are commit-, .emerged from the third world 19norin~ the impacts of o~go-
based ~n the ~C s hcen~mg ted to the safety of our into the rfeurta and present mg environmental .contar~ll~a-
?furamum mmm~ operations employees, supporting the world and 'were given a tion fr~~ past m:amum ~ll~g
ill Crownpomt and communities in - which we choice.· They were told to and milling while contmumg
Ch~cm:ock. ,_ .. operate and protecting the choose between two yellow to .liceD:se. ur~ium mining
Thi~ ~ehtIOn IS ~portant environment. We operate well powders. One was yellow dust projects Whl~h ~lllleaQ tofur--
because It s the first time that within the boundaries of the from the rocks; and the other' . ther contammation,
th~ ~uclear Regulatory Com- rules and regulations that are was corn pollen. 'The·Dineh For example, on July 16,
mission ~as ever been. taken to required of us." _ . chose. com 'pollen, and the 19~9, the tailings dam at. the
task for Its lax regulations, and King a member of gods nodded in assent, They United Nuclear Corp. uraruum
it's also the fir~t tune that any ENDAlTh1's board 'of direc- also issued a warning. Having mill in Churchrock broke and
group has petitioned based on - -tors said the NRC never chosen the com pollen, t!ler~leased 93 million gallons of
the human rights aspect, of th.e should have' given RRI a Navajo [people] were to leave radioactive -l,iquid into the Rio
nuclear fuel cycle - ~n this license for an in-situ leach the yellow (just in the- ground Puerco, which run~ thT~ugh
case, the first step m ,the mining operation in Crown- If it was ever removed, ,it King's landwhere his family's
n~c~ear" fuel cy~le, uramum point. "Why would the NRC would bring evil," the article .catt~e . ' ranch IS _ located.
~ng" Jantz said. approve a license to have a states. _.- _ Radioactive waste. ill the bed
. We ~e .alleged .human company go and destro~ a _ Recent studies have found and banks of the nver has yet
~ghts. violations _of ngh~ to community's sale drinking a strong aSSOCIatIOnbetween to be clean~dup.
life, nght t? health, and nght water aquifer? It just does not living in proximity t-ouranium. If ~ IS .a~low~d to P!O-
to cultura~ mtegnty on behalf make any sense, III the South- mines and negative health out- ceed WIth mmmg m _Section
o~ our .c~Ient.s. W~ hope t~at west where rainfall is very comes. T:he federally ~ded, ~7 -?ome ~o t~ee families,
this _pehho~ IS gomg ~o shine scarce, every drop of water IS co~mumty-bas~d. _DINER including ,KI.ng s -:- under
an international spotlight on very precious to us. We need Project _ an ongOl~g popu~a- terms of the license ISSlJe~ by
th~ ~uclear Regul~tory Com: to preserve every drop, not' tion-based study - IS.examm- the NRC, HRI may. forcibly
mission and the UI1l:ted States only for our generation, .but ~g th~ link he~een high rates ·~emQve ~hem. or }estnct graz-_
nuclear e~ergy policy and ~t for future generations to come of kidner disease amo~g mg?,a~culture, and cultural
the s~e. tune, keep t~e uram- so that they can enjoy 'what _ Navajos m Eastern N~vaJ.o ~ChVlti~Ssuc~ ~s plant ga~er-
um n:tmmg ~om, going fo~- we're enjoying today." Agency and exposure to uram- mg d~ng mmmg ~~erahons,
ward in our chent s communi- The petition cites a 2003 urn and other heavy metals, according to the petItion. , -
article by Carl Markstrom and from abandoned uranium ,"It:s a P1l!e htJ?1an nghts
Perry Charley regarding Dine mines. The study has found a violation," King-said.
I