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Sierra Club, Tribes to Tell Nuclear Regulatory Commission: "One Size Does Not Fit All" Commission’s plan to use one "generic" environmental impact study to cover all uranium mines is unacceptable
ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Thursday evening the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public scoping meeting in Albuquerque where officials will propose using one Generic Environmental Impact Statement to cover all of the uranium activities in the Southwest. Representatives from the Sierra Club and various concerned tribes will attend the meeting to express the need to evaluate each uranium project separately. "When it comes to radioactive material, one size does not fit all, and one generic environmental impact statement is not enough to protect the people or the environment in the Southwest from dozens of uranium projects," said Robert Tohe, Environmental Justice Organizer for the Sierra Club in Flagstaff, Arizona. Each uranium project is site specific because communities, geology, groundwater and climate conditions vary. Each project, therefore, should have its own environmental impact study, as required by law. This attempt to use one "generic" study for all uranium projects in coming years would be a gift to a uranium industry that has long violated the environmental justice of tribal communities and polluted the land, air and water. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to hold this meeting in Albuquerque- far from the tribal communities that will be affected by the uranium projects - speaks to their disregard for our people and to the need for sustained consultation with all affected communities," said Dr. David Begay, Special Advisor to the Dine Hataalii Association, an organization of medicine men and women recognized by the Navajo Nation. With talk of building experimental, dangerous in-situ leaching (ISL) uranium operations on tribal lands, it is even more important to evaluate projects individually. ISL mining is highly toxic and uranium mining companies are proposing to test this controversial technology on tribal lands. The nuclear power industry is trying to expand in the United States, meaning that uranium mining has resurfaced, especially on sacred lands. This type of mining during the Cold War caused widespread radiation poisoning and drastic increases of cancer rates among Native Americans. The scoping meeting will be held August 9, 2007, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Hilton Albuquerque, 1901 University Boulevard, NE., Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102, Phone: (505) 884-2500. ### |
