By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Navajo water has long been contaminated by Peabody Coal mining on Black Mesa; Cold War uranium spills and strewn radioactive tailings.
Recently, the US EPA poisoned the Animas and San Juan Rivers with a gold mine spill. The spill devastated Navajos who depend on the water to irrigate their crops.
Further, the US government knew when it relocated Navajos from Black Mesa to the Sanders, Arizona, area that radiation from the Church Rock, N.M. uranium spill on July 16, 1979, would poison the water when it flowed down the Rio Puerco wash to Navajo and Arizona communities.
Today, tests confirm the radioactivity in the drinking water in the Sanders area.
In the Four Corners region on the Navajo Nation, three dirty coal fired power plants poison the water with runoffs, near Page, Arizona, and Farmington, N.M.
The dirty coal electricity lights up Phoenix, Tucson and other cities. Meanwhile, Navajos suffer from the coal mining and power plant pollution. Many Navajos have no running water and are forced to haul their water long distances.
The media, both in Indian country and the mainstream media, have failed to expose the truth.
The public remains unaware of the extensive pollution and corporate exploitation on the Navajo Nation.
From Robert Seals:
Photo Louise Benally speaking in DC
English, French and Dutch
French translation by Christine Prat
http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=3167
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans, NAIS
http://www.denaisgazet.be/nieuws/navajo-watervervuiling-gruwelijker-dan-dat-van-flint
http://www.denaisgazet.be/nieuws/navajo-watervervuiling-gruwelijker-dan-dat-van-flint
My name is Robert Seals. I have been following the Flint, Michigan water crisis story and wish to shine a light on another water contamination story that is much older and just as horrific as Flint's.
The Navajo Black Mesa water supply has, for decades, been destroyed by Peabody Mining Company. The wells have been drained to make slurry in order to pipeline coal and the remaining water supply is contaminated with uranium which is now leaching into the Colorado river. This is the short version of the little known story that desperately needs to be told. There has been no potable water on the reservation for decades. When a city like Flint is in crisis, everyone gets agitated/involved. However, there is no one talking about the tragic situation that has been taking place on the Navajo Black Mesa and no one is being held accountable for this travesty. The spokesperson for Black Mesa is Louise Benally. She will give you the complete story. (louisebenally6@gmail.com)
Here is a brief statement from Louise: "Our water has been impacted since the 1950's on to today. When different minerals were discovered on the Navajo Reservation in the 1940s-1950- through to this day (now 2016), ground water has been used to extract uranium. The ground and surface waters have been used and released back into holding ponds and/or released into the surface waters. Coal Mining on Black Mesa used water to transport coal for 276 miles and continued pumping ground water for pushing Black Mesa Coal to Laughlin, Nevada. Today there are holding ponds that are not monitored at Black Mesa which seep into the run offs/into the surface waterways- headwaters.
There is a lot of contamination on our reservation, in most of the regions- New Lands- Sanders, Arizona. There is no water that is safe for people to drink. In the western agency area, there has been no safe drinking water since the 1950's, after the uranium companies have moved on. Black Mesa water is being pumped for Peabody Coal Company's mining operation. The contamination is currently seeping into the Colorado River."
Thank you immensely for taking the time to further investigate and expose this dire situation.
Sincerely, Robert Seals
Mother Nature's Temple
www.mothernaturestemple.org
BKIN/Bringing Kids Into Nature
www.bkin.org
honorthetreaty@hotmail.com
(408) 353-4638
www.mothernaturestemple.org
BKIN/Bringing Kids Into Nature
www.bkin.org
honorthetreaty@hotmail.com
(408) 353-4638
5 comments:
How can this be ?
This is one of many abuses and inhumane treatment suffered by native people, who were made promises continually broken. If we could change and make caring for our Mother Earth, our number one priority, we might save us all, and future generations too. What does it take to leave money and greed behind?
There are two separate events being combined in this news article. The mining of the N Aquifer, and using that water for creating coal slurry is no longer happening in the Peabody lease area because the Black Mesa mine complex is closed down is no longer being sent to the Mohave Power Plant near Laughlin, NV. My impression is that the N Aquifer did get seriously lowered, but Company, Navajo and Federal officials seem to cook the numbers on the Aquifer status. The local strip mining did destroy the local rock strata, and consequently the local springs that used to exist. Impoundment structures and water quality to me have to be monitored to insure that toxins from explosives nor heavy metals start entering the Monkopi Drainage, and the village of Monkopi has an issue with uranium waste unofficially discarded from the Rare Metals uranium mill.
As for Uranium, there was a Uranium processing plant named Church Rock Uranium mill, north of Gallup whose sediment pond impoundment walls were breach on 16 July 1979, and the sludge mixed with radiation started working its way down the Rio Puerco. Now days it is said the radiation has bonded with local clay and its spread downstream has stopped, but still I would not recommend drinking the water out of the Rio Puerco. About 1979 the relocation began with increased intensity, and building the Navajo Relocation area at Sanders, AZ next to the Rio Puerco was not a very good decision.
Past and present there has been a lack of leadership and questionable decisions have been exhibited at Corporate businesses, Navajo Tribal Govt, and Federal Agencies along with all the politicians.
With this article I am just concerned that past events are being co-mingled and muddied.
Thanks for your comment John. For those who want to read about these issues, there is a great deal of research available on each issue by way of web searches -- enough to fill volumes of books. As for Navajos, and those of us who lived in the area, the main thing muddied -- poisoned and depleted -- is the water. The paid media is among those to blame for failing to be present and expose the contamination and the health risks. Thanks again, Brenda, publisher, Censored News
Thank you John for that clarification!
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