NH #492: Nuclear Racism: Navajo Nation’s Radioactive Legacy – The 1979 Church Rock Uranium Tailings Pond Disaster
Nuclear Racism: Navajo Nation’s Radioactive Legacy –
Uranium mining disaster site: SRIC’s Chris Shuey on site at Church Rock, explaining the devastation of the 1979 uranium tailings pond spill of
94-million gallons of highly acidic radioactive waste into Puerco River on Navajo Nation land.
This Week’s Featured Interview:
- Nuclear Racism – Chris Shuey is Director of the Uranium Impact Assessment Program for Southwest Research and Information Service. He has worked with Navajo Nation communities on uranium mining issues for 38 years. Chris has helped document the persistent impact of the 1979 uranium tailings pond disaster, which dumped 94 million gallons of highly acidic radioactive waste into the Puerco River. The waste was recorded as having traveled beyond Sanders, Arizona. In this special extended interview, Chris goes over the resulting degradation of the water, land, and health on Navajo Nation. He also covers cultural issues that make the people unwilling to leave their ancestral lands, no matter how contaminated. And there’s information on the Navajo Birth Cohort Study, which documents the ongoing health damage to the Navajo people. We spoke on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 – just before I left for Church Rock, NM to cover the 40th anniversary commemoration events.
- Navajo Birth Cohort Study – a link to a PDF explanation and some of its findings.
