Autumn Newby
Uranium Mining in the Navajo Community
4/13/18
Professor Callahan-Kapor
The Navajo nation’s footprints have been placed in history since before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Their colonization began in the Four Corners are of the Colorado Plateau, which includes Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico (Brugge and Goble, 2002). Historically, Navajo people were among those of a lower socioeconomic status which put them in a position to accept the most available job to them at the time which was working in the uranium mines that were geographically close to their homes. To better understand their circumstances, their major forms of transportation were by horse and wagon or by foot on the reservation (Brugge and Goble, 2002). More advanced forms of transportation and other technological advancements were not introduced to Navajo people due to their lack of education and economic stability. Navajo living arrangements and forms of transportation (horses) are depicted in the image below to show aspects of their economic status.
“Preserving Navajo History in Canyon De Chelly” NPR. (Houk, 2010). This image helps to show the economic status of Navajo nation.
As the US entered the nuclear age, the government demanded increased production of uranium. The process of uranium mining comes in many different forms including open pit mining, underground mining, milling, and In-situ recover mining (Ulmer-Scholle, 2007). The type of mining used by the Navajo nation was underground mining which involves drilling the uranium ore then blasting it to create debris that is transported to the surface (Ulmer-Scholle, 2007). Uranium mining did not require a great deal of education or skill, which is why the government and private companies wanted to hire these people. Due to the US entering this critical period, they needed a source of income and electricity. All of these events went hand in hand because at the same time the Navajo nation was struggling economically and needed a source of income. An abundance of uranium mines boomed in the Four Corners area (Brugge, 2009). At this time, the Navajo people were grateful for any form of occupation they were being offered whether they knew the possible dangers or not. Wives of men working in uranium mines stated that they “were glad that our husbands had jobs and that they didn’t have to go away to other places to do railroad work” (Brugge, 2009). Though they were glad their husbands did not have to commute far to work, they were not being paid an adequate amount for their services. An article by Brugge and Goble states, “Miners were paid minimum wage or less. Copies of pay stubs provided by a Navajo miner from 1949 show an hourly wage of $0.81 to $1.00” (Brugge and Goble 2002). Minimum wage in the United States on average in 2015 was $7.25 an hour, meaning Navajo miners were making less than 20% of this amount. This accounts for their lack of ability to move to areas with better job opportunities and create better circumstances for themselves which created an endless cycle of working in these dangerous mines and continuing to live in unsanitary housing.
Furthermore, as a result of being a part of a lower socioeconomic status, most of the Navajo Nation was not properly educated as they did not have access to rudimentary education (Brugge and Goble, 2002). This, in turn, means that they had no source of education or intelligence to know of the potential risks of radiation from the mines such as lung cancer and respiratory diseases (Brugge and Goble, 2002). The government knew of these hazards but failed to tell the Navajo people of the danger associated with mining. In a way, the government took advantage of their lack of knowledge and education to further the nation economically with the increased production of electricity. Rather than being formally educated on these diseases, the Navajo nation had to learn of them through witnessing and experiencing them first hand.
Uranium mining, which is the extraction of uranium ore from the ground in which the uranium is used mainly used for fueling the world’s nuclear power reactors, provide electricity to much of the country (Spoon, 2018). Though the mining of this metal has proven to be dangerous, it provides a source of electricity which is valuable to all countries including the U.S. The process of extensive uranium mining, which is encouraged in the US for economic advancement, increases one’s exposure to radiation. This radiation is a result of the decay of uranium into radon gas which is then diffused through the atmosphere as radon daughters (Gottlied and Husen, 1982). These radon daughters can be absorbed into air particles and inhaled by living organisms such as humans and animals (Gottlied and Husen, 1982). Though working in uranium mines is dangerous, the Navajo Nation was not properly educated on the potential risks, therefore further permitting them to endanger their psychological and physical health.
Exposure to radiation took a toll on the Navajo nation as a whole, not only directly to those who worked in the mines, but also to the generations of the individuals who worked in the uranium mines. Navajo uranium miners were directly exposed to radiation daily, and many did not know. These people were living in unsanitary housing while barely making enough income to survive, in turn forcing them to stay in the mining business. Laura Nader states in her book, “No change house, toilets, showers, or drinking water was available to the workers at these mines.” (Nader, 2010). Due to the fact that the housing of the Navajo nation is also the home of most uranium mines in the U.S., these unsanitary houses are located near abandoned mines which continue to give off radiation. This is another way other than directly working in the mines that Navajo people were exposed to the radiation of uranium mining. The novel, The Navajo People, and Uranium Mining, states, “Abandoned mines posed a threat to the Navajo people in that these sites were unreclaimed, unfenced, and accessible” (Brugge, 2009). The miners were not the only ones affected as their children became exposed to radiation as well. The novel goes on to state, “It was not uncommon for children to play in these “caves,” and for cattle, sheep, and goats to wander into them for warmth” (Brugge, 2009). This quote not only explains how children become exposed to radiation, but it also reveals another way the Navajo people were exposed to radiation other than mining. Refer to the image below as many Navajo people protested against the exposure of radiation on innocent children. They often were exposed through the eating of livestock’s organs as it is a common practice for Navajo people.
“Navajo Nation President Shelly Lauds $13.2 Million for Cleanup of 16 Abandoned Uranium Mines” Native News Online. (Native Online Staff, 2015). This image depicts the Navajo Nation protesting against Uranium Mines and for the cleanup of abandoned mines.
These miners and those living near mines were being exposed to radiation daily that could potentially lead to physical complications later in life, in which it did. Many studies have shown the effects of uranium mining exposure which have proven to cause respiratory diseases and lung cancer. In a study by Leon S. Gottlieb, he uncovers the fact that areas associated with Navajo uranium mining have been linked with an increase in lung cancer among Navajo uranium miners. The study states, “Of a total of 17 patients with lung cancer, 16 were uranium miners, and one was a non-miner.” (Gottlied and Husen, 1982). This correlation almost directly links radiation exposure from uranium mining to the prevalence of lung cancer in Navajo miners.
In 1950, the US Public Health Service began a study of uranium miners in 1950 due to the concerns of US mines being a cause of elevated rates of lung cancer in miners (Brugge and Goble, 2002). The study measured radon in mines and health outcomes but failed to thoroughly inform miners on the risks being studied. The article states, “There were some pamphlets given to miners in 1959 that mentioned a risk of lung cancer, but they minimized the level of concern…” (Brugge and Goble, 2002). Providing pamphlets to a group of individuals who came to the US to find jobs and are not adequately educated puts the government partly at fault for the health defects that the Navajo nation has had to deal with. Not only did many miners suffer from cancer, other serious respiratory diseases such as silicosis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and emphysema caused miners major physical deficits at rates almost as high as cancer (Brugge and Goble, 2002). The numerous amount of diseases that came from exposure to radiation caused a heightened mortality rate among Navajo people. A study conducted by Roscoe et al. found that there were elevated standardized mortality ratios for lung cancer, pneumoconiosis, and other respiratory diseases, and tuberculosis while also finding trends of increasing risk with increasing duration of exposure to uranium mining (Roscoe et al., 1995). As shown in the image below, miners were not provided with any safety measures such as breathing masks or goggles. This led to the direct exposure of radon particles in the air, which later caused many complications in health and resulted in numerous deaths.
“Navajo Nation faces ongoing risks from past uranium mining” Environmental Writing, University of Arizona. (Billy, 2013). This image depicts the lack of safety precautions for the Navajo people working in the mines, this increasing exposure to radiation.
Furthermore, not only were miners effected by radiation, but generations of miners were proven to have birth defects and other serious deficits as a result of exposure to radiation (Bruge, 2009. A study was conducted to measure the role of radiation in the etiology of birth defects, still births, and other adverse outcomes of pregnancies of Navajos born at the Public Health Service/Indian Health Service Hospital in the Shiprock, NM, uranium mining area in 1964-1981 (Shields et al. 1992). There were more than 320 kinds of conditions shown in hospital records. Birth defects were significantly higher in women who lived by these mines and were exposed to radiation from uranium mining at a higher rate.
Perspectives
One perspective of the situation involving radiation exposure and its effects on the Navajo nation is that the government is to blame for the health deficits suffered by these indigenous people. This perspective is mainly shared by the Navajo nation who have suffered from diseases and cancers or have witnessed family members suffering or dying from these diseases. Many believe the government did not provide proper education or proper safety measures to avoid health problems for the Navajo Nation. An unpublished study by Henry Doyle, a US Public Health Service sanitary engineer, found that “the Navajo workers were not given pre-employment examinations, and there was no medical program for the miners,” meaning the normal precautions that would be taken with natural-born, educated US citizens may have purposely not been taken with uneducated immigrants (Nader, 2010). Some may say the government took advantage of these individuals. Doyle goes on to note that “none of the mines had mechanical ventilation. In addition, radon samples from these mines identified concentrations 4 to 750 times the accepted maximum allowance concentration of 10-8curies per cubic meter” (Nader, 2010). Being exposed to radiation of this degree without having knowledge of its risks puts the government completely at fault in some people’s perspective. Along with placing sole blame on the government, many feel as though the Navajo people should be compensated for the health issues and mortalities they have endured.
A differing perspective on the issue is that the Navajo people involved in the mining should have taken it upon themselves of attempting to be educated on the matter. Government officials are the main individuals who may share this perspective because they do not want to be held accountable for being the cause of so many diseases and mortalities in the Navajo community. Articles state that they were just glad to have a job at the time, which means they may not have been necessarily focused on the potential risks, but more focused on the potential income they will receive. Some may argue that the miners could have requested to be informed on uranium mining and how it could affect their health, therefore putting a sense of obligation on to the government. Mining, in general, is a dangerous job with the possibilities of rocks or objects falling and injuring people along with the possibility of being stranded in a mine, therefore the Navajo nation should have known there would be some potential health risks of working in these uranium mines.
Relation to POH
One aspect of the concept of Navajo uranium mining and its detrimental effects that relates to Politics of Health is the idea of structural violence. An article by Barbara Rylko-Bauer and Paul Farmer describe structural violence as “the violence of injustice and inequity—embedded in ubiquitous social structures and normalized by stable institutions and regular experience” (Rylko-Bauer and Farmer, 2017). The aspect of uranium mining that makes it structural is the actual structures of uranium mines that were put implemented in parts of the US by political and economical organizations of society. The other aspect of Navajo uranium mining that makes it an act of violence is the fact that the structures put in by the government caused physical harm to the Navajo Nation. These government structures are the result of deaths, illnesses, and injuries that could have been avoided. The detrimental outcomes of uranium mining were not avoided but were more so brought about by the government because their main concern was economic production and electricity rather than the Navajo nation’s physical and psychological health. Paul Farmer states in his article on structural violence, “The ‘class-oppressed’-the socioeconomically poor-are then infrastructural expression of the process of oppression” (Farmer, 1996). The Navajo nation has been of a lower socioeconomic status and impoverished for many years, which is, as described by Farmer, the process of oppression. Their structural vulnerability, or in other words their likelihood of encountering difficulties during life due to economic status or atmosphere, has made them a target for the US government to use them as a form of cheap labor in order to advance their electricity industry economically.
In addition to the aspect of structural violence, another aspect of uranium mining that relates to Politics of Health is the concept of bio-power. Bio-power, as defined by Michel Foucault, is “an explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugations of bodies and the control of populations” (Foucault, 1990). Once the Navajo people began uranium mining, the government had a sense of control over their population in the sense that they were trapped in this mining business. Entering the US and finding work was a struggle for Navajo people, so once they came across the first job offered to them they took it. There was no knowledge of the amount of money that would be an adequate salary for them so they settled for a little less than a dollar. This salary does not permit the Navajo people to better their lives and keeps them in the same circumstances. Without being able to move or having enough time to become educated and acquire a higher paying job, they stayed in the mining business. This represents a government control over population because not only do they not educate them on potential risks, but they also know that the pay wage is lower than what would be offered to a natural born US citizen. By not allowing the Navajo nation to better their lives, they are controlling them for selfish reasons such as economic prosperity.
Lastly, the idea of informed consent makes an important connection with the issues faced by the Navajo people with regards to uranium mining. Informed consent, as described by Fisher, is “the key to decision making for participation in medical research that arose through U.S. federal regulation designed to protect rights and welfare of human subject” (Fisher, 2007). This idea of informed consent most basically refers to the concepts regarding experiments, but it also directly correlates to the protection of rights and welfare of the Navajo community against the dangers of radiation. Instead of eliminating coercion of Native American participation in uranium mining, the government encouraged it by placing uranium mines geographically near the homes of these impoverished indigenous people. A person cannot confidently consent to a certain activity if they are not fully informed because that is unethical. Consent is a form of mutual communication which did not exist between the government and the Navajo uranium miners. An article by Kh Satyanarayana Rao states, “Consent can be challenged on the ground that adequate information has not been revealed to enable the patient to make a proper and knowledgeable decision” (Rao, 2008). The Navajo people who worked on these mines may not have chosen to work on the mines if they had been given “adequate information” on the potential health risks.
References
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Rylko-Bauer, Barbara, and Paul Farmer. “Structural Violence, Poverty, and Social Suffering.”
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Ulmer-Scholle, Dana S. “Uranium- How Is It Mined?” New Mexica Bureau of Geology &
Mineral Resources, 2007. Geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/mining.html.
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