Uranium Mining in New Mexico - Health and Environmental Issues

Health and Environmental Issues

See also: Church Rock uranium mill spill

New Mexico uranium miners from the 1940s and 1950s have had abnormally high rates of lung cancer, from radon gas in poorly ventilated underground mines. The effect was particularly pronounced among Navajo miners, because the incidence of lung cancer is normally low among Navajos. The Navajo tribe, whose reservation contains much of the known ore deposits, declared a moratorium on uranium mining in 2005.

In May 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would join the Navajo Nation EPA in cleaning up radioactive contamination near the Church Rock mine.

Read more about this topic:  Uranium Mining In New Mexico

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