[ree]

This is a series The Los Angeles Times did about uranium contamination on the Navajo Reservation. A fascinating yet horrifying read. Really nice web presentation of what I read in the paper down there. Not NW news, but I know some people here have visited/are interested in the region.

[Rich Baldwin]

What an awful situation!

[reststep]

Thanks for posting the link ree. It really got to me reading that. I would say more but don't think I can without getting political.

[Stones]

Very sad that the Navajo have been ignored and their concerns swept under the rug. They never really had a strong advocate in their court. Now with the renewed interest in uranium, the Navajo have some clout. I hope that some real cleanup action can take place as a bargaining chip for renewed mining activity. But the lure of jobs may be overwhelming. In the long run, mining will always be boom and bust and the jobs will dry up. Mining's legacy not only has affected the Navajo in a tragic way but has also contaminated the majority of western rivers in some way. Mining companies came and went. When mines close, companies go bankrupt, or reorganize under a new name, there's usually nothing to go after in terms of funding restoration and cleanup, except in the case where small companies are bought up by larger companies like General Electric, Phelps Dodge, or BNSF. There's a way to extract needed resources without causing significant long term adverse affects and have funds available to restore the land and cleanup contamination. Mining companies are now more cognizant of their sordid past and are beginning to realize that it pays in the long run to do it right. They have a long row to hoe to convince the Navajo. As a geology student, I was trained to recognize and find mineral resources. The company I work for now is making some good money cleaning up mine sites, one being a Superfund site in Idaho. The sins of the past are good business for us and rewarding when we can make things better for human health and the environment. I hate to see the Navajo suffer and I hope for the best for them.

[ree]

I didn't realize how much uranium mining went on in Monument Valley.