Fear & Hope
By Zsombor Peter
TUBA CITY, Ariz. Its legs bound and its fate sealed, the
lone sheep lying on Shirley Charleys wood porch took quick,
sharp breaths in the early afternoon heat. Amid a network of anonymous
dirt roads a half-dozen miles north east of Tuba City, only its
occasional, noisy attempts at escape disturbed the tranquil scene.
In a few hours, Charley and her extended family would butcher the
sheep to help fuel a long night of cattle branding. Theyve
herded their livestock across this land for generations. And like
the sheep lying on Charleys porch Saturday, theyve watered
them at a well about a mile to the east for just as long. Five weeks ago, the company that used to own the uranium mill on
the other side of the nearest paved road, U.S. Highway 160, reached
an agreement with the Navajo Nation to test nearby wells it may
have contaminated. El Paso Natural Gas hasnt named the wells
it will test yet, so Charley can only wonder if it will include
the well her family has been using all these years. Busy with preparations for the evenings meal, her hands already
caked with flour, Charley reluctantly admits shes worried.
We dont know whats out there, she said,
staring contemplatively into a storm cloud slipping quietly across
the eastern skyline. Unfinished business Again with federal approval, El Paso, which eventually bought Rare
Metals, did some modest reclamation around the mill and packed up
in 1968. It wasnt for another two decades that the U.S. Department
of Energy started cleaning up the surface contamination the companies
left behind. But that did nothing to address the radioactive plume
of groundwater below. The Energy Department only started cleaning
that up in 2002. According to Randy Richardson, site superintendent for SM Stoller,
the company the Energy Department hired to clean up the plume, between
1 billion and 2 billions gallons of contaminated water flowed be
low the mill in 2002. Five years on, the company has cleaned only
240 million of those gallons, he said, so weve got a
ways to go. Thirty-seven wells dot the site, pumping dirty water out of the
ground around the clock. Distillers and softeners clean the water
before the wells send most of it back. The rest ends up in a double-lined
pond to bake in the sun. As the water evaporates, the contaminants
get left behind. Briny mounds, holding the excess nitrates in the
water, poke out of the emerald brew like little is lands in a salty
sea. The uranium, which comes in much lower concentrations, is harder
to see. But even a little uranium, Richardson said, goes a
long way. When Stoller got started, it hoped to have all the contaminants
back below federal drinking limits within 20 years. Richardson has
his doubts. If nothing changes, he said, it could take a
little longer. For all the mill sites problems, however, the Navajo Nations
current worries lie elsewhere. According to Richardson, most of
the plume from the mill, all but its southern edge, lies directly
beneath the 145 acres the company has fenced off, out of the way
of any public wells. What troubles the tribe most these days is
the waste Rare Metals allegedly dumped off the site illegally. Out of bounds They didnt say it was harmful, she said. They
told us not to worry about it. Later on we found out it was hot.
They dont tell us nothing, Charley said. The Navajo Nation claims Rare Metals illegally dumped some waste
from the mill there, and at an old communal landfill on the other
side of U.S. 160 halfway to Tuba City. And just as with the tailings
at the mill, it believes that waste is leaking contaminants into
the groundwater below, threatening nearby wells. Bill Walker, a private geologist on the tribes payroll, says
hes linked the waste at the dumps to the mill with the help
of some telltale chemicals Rare Metals used in the milling process.
Hes found the same chemicals in the dumps. Hes also
found a plume of contaminated water beneath the old landfill, but
is still working on linking the two. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which could bring its
considerable weight to bear of El Paso if convinced, is playing
it safe. Its neither denying nor confirming any connection
between the mill and dump sites. El Paso, meanwhile, is admitting nothing. But with the Navajo Nation
threatening to sue, it has agreed to take some modest steps. Lets make a deal That said, El Paso agreed to investigate the 5 acre dump site by
Charleys home for surface contamination, fence off the affected
area, and apply a spray-on polymer to keep the soil from blowing
away. It also agreed to test all potentially affected wells
and springs around the dump and mill for contamination. If it finds
levels above government limits, it will take reasonable measures
... to reduce risk, including the provision of an alternative
water supply. El Paso spokesman Richard Wheatley said the company was still identifying
the wells and springs it will test. El Paso agreed to reimburse the Navajo Nation for any costs it
incurs conducting its own investigation and cleanup of the sites
as well, up to $350,000. And lest anyone forget about the federal government, El Paso and
the tribe agreed to work together in convincing the U.S. Department
of Energy to chip in. Specifically, they want Congress to amend
the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act so that the Energy
Department can start spending its own money cleaning up the dump
sites. The last time the tribe appealed to the Energy Department, Land
and Site Management Director Donna Taylor thinks they have a better chance this time. Although the
agreement requires El Paso and the tribe to team up for only 60
consecutive congressional work days the clock started ticking
June 25 they expect federal lawmakers to take up another
UMTRCA site near Moab, Utah, soon. If Congress starts talking about
Moab, they hope it wont mind taking another look at Tuba City
as well. You strike when the irons hot, and we hope the iron
is not in these 60 days, said Taylor. El Paso says the Energy Department still bears some responsibility
for the mill and its waste. After all, every pound of yellowcake
the mill ever produced went to feed the countrys Cold War
nuclear arsenal. It was done for the benefit of the federal government,
Wheatley said. Whether Rare Metals dumped contaminated waste off site for the
benefit of the federal government as well is a matter for the courts.
El Paso sued the Energy Department insisting it take responsibility
for the dump sites in May. The government has yet to file a formal
response. Only the beginning This is not a cleanup in any sense agreement; this is an
emergency response type agreement, he said. Theyre
important early steps that need to be taken. The tribe and its researchers havent detected any contamination
levels above federal limits in area wells yet. But if the underground
plumes of contaminated water arent checked, they say, that
could change. Per its agreement with the Navajo Nation, El Paso need only provide
an alternative water supply. Actually cleaning up any plumes would
cost millions. Walker said animals may already be feeding on plants
soaking them up. So any of those animals that were slaughtered could get contaminants
into the body, he said. As for the plume beneath the old landfill, Walker is already convinced
its moving toward wells that serve the Hopi villages of Upper
and Lower Moenkopi. If it sinks deep enough, he added, it could
even contaminate the aquifer serving Tuba City. But because 90 percent
of the landfill sits on Hopi land, Taylor said the tribes
agreement with El Paso doesnt even address it. Rosemary Williams, who lives about a mile southwest of her sister
Charleys home, has her doubts about just how dangerous the
area is. Her husband, Daniel, laughs it off: Our Hopi friends joke
with us. They say, You glow in the dark. Our cattle graze here. Our sheep graze here. We live off of the land, Rosemary Williams said. I just want them to clean it up. |
Thursday Behind closed doors; Advocate: Agenda listing of citys executive session too vague Fear & Hope; In uranium country, life goes on despite contamination fears Hard lesson: Children re-create Treaty of 1868 |
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