Saturday, May 29, 2010

Navajo Activists Protest Uranium Mining Plans

Comment:  Do you really trust the Federal govt when they say:  "we can mine safely, I mean really....29 Coal workers Killed"!  The Federal govt lets the companies police themselves!  No to uranium mining!

May 28, 2010
by warresisters
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials indicated they’re expecting applications for uranium projects at 25 sites by 2013, along with applications to establish 28 new nuclear power plants.

“Do we want to rely on ourselves? Or do we want to rely on foreign sources?” Sweeney said. The smartest course, she said, is for domestic uranium producers to “do it right. Mine uranium the right way. It can be done.”

But outside the conference Wednesday, American Indian demonstrators with drums and signs demanded a halt to all new uranium mining on Navajo land, where federal regulators have permitted several projects.

“Our Navajo communities rely on the groundwater for everything.

These new projects could contaminate the source of drinking water for 15,000 Navajo community members,” said Nadine Padilla of the Multicultural Alliance for Safe Environments.

“Our communities are still living with the legacy of contamination from past uranium mining.”

Uranium companies and regulators “need to deal with the legacy of past contamination before we would even consider new mining,” she said.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15170096?source=email
Uranium Impact Assessment Program: http://sric.org/uranium/index.html
Read more:
http://warresisters.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/navajo-activists-protest-uranium-mining-plans/