Uranium Exposure in American Indian Communities: Health, Policy, and the Way Forward

Abstract

Background: Uranium contamination of drinking-water sources on American Indian (AI) reservations in the United States is a largely ignored and underfunded public health crisis. With an estimated 40% of the headwaters in the western U.S. watershed, home to many AI reservation communities, being contaminated with untreated mine waste, the potential health effects have largely been unexplored. With AI populations already facing continued and progressive economic and social marginalization, higher prevalence of chronic disease, and systemic discrimination, associations between various toxicant exposures, including uranium, and various chronic conditions, need further examination. Objectives: Uranium’s health effects, in addition to considerations for uranium drinking-water testing, reporting, and mitigation in reference to AI communities through the lens of water quality, is reviewed. Discussion: A series of environmental health policy recommendations are described with the intent to proactively improve responsiveness to the water quality crisis in AI reservation communities in the United States specific to uranium. There is a serious and immediate need for better coordination of uranium-related drinking-water testing and reporting on reservations in the United States that will better support and guide best practices for uranium mitigation efforts. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7537

The Associations between Blood and Urinary Concentrations of Metal Metabolites, Obesity, Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes, and Dyslipidemia among US Adults: NHANES 1999–2016

“…While the nephrotoxicity of uranium is well known [ 57 ], this study supports the notion of a potential link between uranium exposure and type 2 diabetes. Uranium exposure could cause a potential positive feedback loop between the exposure, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease particularly in areas of high environmental contamination and high type 2 diabetes prevalence such as the Navajo Nation in the United States [ 58 ] and countries like Kuwait [ 46 , 59 ] and thus increasing the healthcare burden of these communities. Conversely, this study demonstrates that high lead and cadmium were negatively associated with prevalent diabetes.…”

Native and Indigenous Populations and Gastric Cancer: A Worldwide Review

“…Environmental determinants of health contribute to a broad spectrum of poor health outcomes, gastric cancer included [21]. Environmental violence can be seen in water contamination with uranium, documented as a major environmental risk factor for the development of gastric cancer [22].…”

“…Environmental violence is a threat that Indigenous populations face, a prime example being uranium mining by non-Native/Indigenous companies, frequently conducted near or on Indigenous land. This has contaminated water sources, the soil, and wildlife that community members depend on for survival [21]. Absorption of uranium in the gastrointestinal tract and chronic environmental exposure to uranium increases the risk of gastric cancer and other malignancies [21].…”

An assessment of uranium in groundwater in the Grand Canyon region

“…In contrast to the stratabound uranium deposits in the region, breccia pipe uranium deposits also contain a large, diverse suite of sulfide minerals. Throughout the Colorado Plateau surrounding the Grand Canyon region, there are elevated concentrations of uranium, vanadium, and copper, along with other trace elements associated with stratabound roll front (sandstone type) and tabular mineralized deposits, in the Morrison, Chinle, and Cutler Formations 35 – 38 . Elevated concentrations of trace elements in water resources associated with these deposits occur throughout the region and are distinct from the breccia pipe uranium deposits.…”