The Sequoyah Corporation Fuels Release and the Church Rock Spill: Unpublicized Nuclear Releases in American Indian Communities

Abstract

The Three Mile Island nuclear release exemplifies why there is public and policy interest in the high-technology, highly visible end of the nuclear cycle. The environmental and health consequences of the early steps in the cycle--mining, milling, and processing of uranium ore--may be less appreciated. We examined 2 large unintended acute releases of uranium--at Kerr McGee's Sequoyah Fuels Corporation in Oklahoma and United Nuclear Corporation's Church Rock uranium mill in New Mexico, which were incidents with comparable magnitude to the Three Mile Island release. We urge exploration of whether there is limited national interest and concern for the primarily rural, low-income, and American Indian communities affected by these releases. More attention should be given to the early stages of the nuclear cycle and their impacts on health and the environment.

The Legacy of Uranium Development on or Near Indian Reservations and Health Implications Rekindling Public Awareness

“…Mills logically would be located near the production or mine sites for infrastructure, thus many mills were on or near the reservations where uranium mining was operating. A disaster of huge consequence for the Navajo Nation occurred at the Church Rock uranium mill spill on 16 July 1979, in New Mexico when United Nuclear Corporation's Church Rock uranium mill tailings disposal pond breached its dam [34]. Over 1000 tons of solid radioactive mill waste and 93 million gallons of acidic, radioactive tailings solution flowed into the Puerco River, and contaminants traveled 130 km downstream onto the Navajo Nation [35].…”

“…The mill was located on privately owned land approximately 27 km north of Gallup, New Mexico, and bordered to the north and southwest by Navajo Nation Tribal Trust lands [35]. Local residents, who were mostly Navajos, used the Puerco River for irrigation and livestock and were not immediately aware of the toxic danger [34]. The Navajo Nation asked the governor of New Mexico to request disaster assistance from the U.S. government and have the site declared a disaster area, but he refused, limiting disaster relief assistance to the Navajo Nation [34].…”

“…Local residents, who were mostly Navajos, used the Puerco River for irrigation and livestock and were not immediately aware of the toxic danger [34]. The Navajo Nation asked the governor of New Mexico to request disaster assistance from the U.S. government and have the site declared a disaster area, but he refused, limiting disaster relief assistance to the Navajo Nation [34]. In terms of the amount of radiation released, the accident was larger in magnitude than the Three Mile Island accident of the same year [34] but received little public attention.…”

A Bridge to Challenging Environmental Inequality: Intersectionality, Environmental Justice, and Disaster Vulnerability

“…For instance, Brugge, deLemos, and Bui (2007) compare incidents of uranium release: the 1979 United Nuclear Corporation's Church Rock, New Mexico, uranium mill; the 1986 Sequoyah Fuels Corporation near Gore, Oklahoma; and the 1979 nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The researchers suggest that Church Rock and Sequoyah received far less attention because they occurred in rural, low-income Native communities, whereas Three Mile Island was a wealthier, nonNative community.…”

“…The researchers suggest that Church Rock and Sequoyah received far less attention because they occurred in rural, low-income Native communities, whereas Three Mile Island was a wealthier, nonNative community. Furthermore, neither Church Rock nor Sequoyah led to major policy reform for better environmental protection, unlike Three Mile Island, which sparked nuclear regulatory changes (Brugge et al 2007). Similar environmental issues occurring around this same time also developed initially outside of the EJ label, such anti-toxic activism in low-income U.S. communities, most notably in Love Canal, New York (Gibbs and Levine 1982).…”