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Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project
PROJECT RESULTS, 2003-2004
Report to the
Navajo Nation Council Resources Committee
Church Rock Chapter House
October 14, 2004
Community Environmental
Involvement Health Monitoring
Uranium Mining Impacts 1
Presentation Outline
• CRUMP Goals, Collaborators
• Church Rock uranium history
• Radiation monitoring program
– Gamma radiation surveys
– Indoor radon monitoring
• Air particulate monitoring
• Water quality results
• Threat of new uranium mining
Head frame, waste piles at • Recommendations
uranium mine in early 1960s
2
CRUMP Goals, Collaborators
• Assess contaminants in water, air and land in
residential areas near abandoned uranium mines
– Establish human exposures for future health studies
– Educate, involve community members
• Supported by private grants, in-kind contributions
• Collaborators:
– Church Rock Chapter
– Diné College UEP
– Navajo AML, NNEPA, NNDWR
– NM Environment Department
– Southwest Research & Information Center
– TAMS Center, UNM/CEHP, USEPA Las Vegas Lab
3
CR Uranium Mining History:
50 years of impacts
• Uranium mining occurred
early-50s through mid-80s
(map, top right)
• 16 abandoned mines, 1 Grants Mineral Belt uranium mines, deposits
closed uranium mill that’s a
federal Superfund site
(photo, bottom right)
• Little environmental
monitoring in last 20 years
• No health studies ever
conducted in community
United Nuclear Corp. uranium mill tailings
4
impoundment (left), Pipeline Arroyo in middle
CR Uranium Mining History (cont’d)
UNC Tailings Dam Failure, 7/16/79
Spill deposited
Dam breach: 75 ft. yellow salts on
high, 35 ft. wide Puerco R. bank
20+ miles
downstream
near Manuelito;
warning signs
posted along
river; local
Navajos said,
“Our animals
can’t read!”
Livestock tracks in Puerco
River 3 days after spill 5
Radiation Monitoring Program
• Measure gamma radiation along roads, near homes
in former mining areas
• Measure radon — an colorless, odorless
radioactive gas — in homes near mining areas
• Understand natural radiation sources: sun,
elevation above sea level, soils, rocks
• Study Area A — Pipeline, Water Pond roads
• Study Area B — Old Churchrock Mine area
• Study Area C — Springstead Estates site
6
Nahodishgish,
Coyote Canyon Chapter Standing Rock
Chapters
Study Area A
Church Rock Chapter
Study Pinedale Chapter
Area B
Study Area C
Church Rock
Uranium
Monitoring
Project,
2003-2004
Chapter House
Gamma Radiation Monitoring
• Roads, housing areas near
abandoned uranium mining and
milling sites prioritized
• Surface gamma radiation
measured with hand-held
instruments, USEPA “Scanner
Van”, October 2003
• 20+ people from Church Rock
Carl Holiday, Perry Chapter, Navajo Nation, SRIC,
Charley and Edith Hood TAMS Center, USEPA participated
(background) conduct
gamma radiation • Data compiled, analyzed, mapped
monitoring
8
Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Instrumentation
Hand-held Ludlum-19 detectors
(above) loaned by NNEPA Superfund.
USEPA Las Vegas Lab loaned CRUMP its gamma radiation “Scanner Van” and two
technicians for 3+ days. Sodium iodide (NaI) detectors (above right, in cylinder)
measure radiation levels within 200’ of van (top middle). On-board computers record
and map radiation levels as the van travels at 5 mph. Use of van valued at >$15,000.
9
Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
“Hot Spots” Identified
• Both sides of Hwy 566 from
Old Church Rock Mine north
past UNC tailings pile
• Both sides Pipeline Road
through tailings area
• Water Pond Road past UNC,
CRUMP technicians discuss Kerr McGee mines
radiation levels at base of
UNC Northeast Church Rock • Arroyo downstream of UNC
Mine waste dump
Northeast Church Rock Mine
10
Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Water Pond Road Area
Uranium mine waste dump
• 6 Navajo homes are located <1,200 feet from an
unreclaimed uranium mine abutting the Navajo Reservation
boundary in Church Rock and Coyote Canyon chapters
• CRUMP studies detected gamma radiation levels 5x to 10x
greater than background in sands in arroyo in middle of
photos; local kids played in this sand
11
Uranium mine wastes at
abandoned UNC Northeast
Church Rock Mine
Approximate Navajo
Researvation
boundary
Gamma radiation levels at the base of this mine-waste pile
ranged up to 20 times background at the Reservation line.
12
Water Pond Road Mine
Map of Gamma site
Radiation Levels
In the Water Pond Road
area, 16 Navajo
residences are
sandwiched between
two large abandoned Navajo Reservation boundary
uranium mines; gamma
radiation levels >2x
background shown by Hwy.
Mine 566
red dots and lines; map
site
prepared by NNEPA
Superfund staff using
radiation data from
hand-held instruments
and Scanner Van. 13
Map by J. Begay, NNEPA/Superfund
Gamma Radiation Monitoring (cont’d)
Springstead Estates Area
• Scanner van, hand-held
meter surveys limited to
roads, arroyo through
Springstead property
• Majority of radiation levels
within background
– small piles of red-pink
stones had slightly
elevated gamma levels
Springstead was site of mobile home
• More extensive studies park for miners in 1960s-early 1980s
needed before 900-unit
housing complex is built
14
Indoor Radon Monitoring
• 7-day radon canisters placed in
139 homes in Feb.-March ’04
• 34 homes had radon levels
greater than the USEPA “action
level” of 4 pCi/l-air*
• Homes with high Rn in 1st test:
– Uphill Road
– Lime Ridge Road
– Happy Valley
CRUMP Radon Team: Gerald
Brown, Vivian Craig, Alta – Old Churchrock Mine Road
Yazzie, John Plummer
– Red Top Road, Becenti Trail
*8-hr exposure = smoking 1-2 packs cigarettes per day
15
Indoor Radon Monitoring (cont’d)
• Re-tests done in June-July
– 3 Lime Ridge homes > 4pCi/l
– Happy Valley homes tests
invalid; new tests needed
• Gamma radiation surveys did
not reveal contaminated
building materials
• High Rn levels may be from
John Plummer, NNEPA Radon
rocks, abandoned mines Program, shows Pipeline Road
resident Alta Yazzie the charcoal
• Mitigation measures will be inside a radon canister
researched, recommended
16
Air Particulate Monitoring
• Tiny dust particles in the air
• Dust irritates lungs, makes
breathing problems worse
• Dust may be contaminated with
radioactive elements
• People living near uranium mine
wastes more likely to be exposed
17
Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
• Two monitoring sites selected near
abandoned mines
– Pipeline Road
– Water Pond Road
• Using continuous, high-volume air
samplers loaned by Tribal Air
Monitoring Support (TAMS) Center
• Electric connections to 2
residences paid by CRUMP
Annabelle Allison, TAMS
Center, explains air sampler
18
Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
Installation of Samplers
The Boss The Crews
• Each platform was built by CRUMP and CR Chapter staff
• Outer security fence protects sampler
• Electric lines buried, connected to nearby homes
19
Air Particulate Monitoring (cont’d)
Operations, Expected Results
• 1 year of air quality data
• USEPA-LV lab to test
filters for particulates
• Results compared with
federal Clean Air Act
maximum dust limits
• USEPA-LV lab will test
This is a typical two-sampler array; radiation levels on about
single samplers will be installed on
CRUMP platforms
10% of samples
• Exposures to people
calculated
20
Water Quality Survey
• Field reconnaissance of water
sources in Church Rock area,
July-August 2003
• Water assessment team
sampled 13 “unregulated”
water sources in August,
October 2003
– Water sources that are not
regularly tested or treated
• Water tested at USEPA, CRUMP water team members
collect samplers from a developed
NTUA, NMSLD labs for: spring in Pinedale Chapter
– radionuclides, heavy metals,
general chemistry
21
Water Sources, Uses
• Unregulated water sources: hand pumps, springs, windmills
• Uses: human drinking water, domestic uses, livestock
water, irrigation
22
Water Quality Results
• 2 wells exceeded drinking
U.S., Navajo drinking water
standards for U, Ra
– NNEPA recommends closure of
these wells
• ALL but 1 well had salty, hard
water unsuitable for human
consumption
• Wells not tested for bacteria
Public water supply
source at Crownpoint • high cost of hauling water
Chapter House
23
Threat of New Uranium Mining
• 4 uranium in situ leach
mines proposed, 2 in
Church Rock, 2 in
Crownpoint
• Would contaminate portions
of Westwater Canyon
Aquifer, the principal source
of high-quality drinking
water in the Eastern Agency
• Processing plants would be
built in Church Rock,
Crownpoint
24
Threat of New Mining (cont’d)
Navajo communities say “Łeetso Dooda”
• Communities oppose new
uranium mining
• Church Rock Chapter:
resolutions in June 2000,
July 2003
• New mining is
environmental injustice
• Church Rock Chapter
supports ENDAUM
• Compensation, cleanup,
health studies needed
25
Recommendations
• Reclamation of UNC NECR Mine should include off-
site contamination
– Residents, Chapters, Navajo Nation need involvement in
state-ordered reclamation plan
• More extensive gamma surveys needed along Hwy.
566 and north of UNC tailings dump on TNN land
• Long-term radon monitoring needed in some homes;
re-tests of some homes fall-winter 2004
• Navajo Nation should inform, involve Church Rock
Chapter in environmental studies at Springstead
• Navajo Nation should oppose new uranium mining
26
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