Montrose - Daily Press

Worker, residents’ health

Is paramount concern

The special use permit submitted July 25 for the proposed Paradox Valley Energy Fuels uranium mill should pose a serious and thoughtful challenge for the Montrose County planning commission and subsequently, for the county commissioners. Inside today’s Daily Press is a special, 10-page enterprise reporting project which analyzes the risks and rewards of uranium mining and milling in the West End. The issue is multi-faceted and complex. We decided to look at it from the point of view of worker health. (See related editorial below.)

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The county commissioners who will face this decision – the granting of a special land use permit – may feel that since this is an area that has seen uranium mining before, it should be a slam dunk to do it again. Yet, hundreds of citizens from the Uravan mining district have become ill or died from the conditions either linked to uranium mining, milling and transport of ore. Or, they have “fallen through the cracks” of getting adequate and compensatory financial and medical help. This is due to shamefully poor documentation of occupational conditions and record-keeping by industry and government. In many ways, unfortunately, the miner or miller and trucker driving the ore, has the onus of “proving” how they’re ill. Then, there’s the long grind of processing healthcare claims. Only a fraction of claims are paid and it’s usually to the worker’s survivors.

Respected environmental journalist Richard Kamp, who has spent almost 30 years analyzing and reporting on environmental, policy and technical issues that have been published nationally, documents that even in a modern mine, radiation levels are high; workers face health risks. These risks persist to some degree at all stages of uranium processing and transportation.

This does not mean that Energy Fuels should not, or cannot, make the case their mill is a new type of facility that uses state of the art technology to protect workers and the environment with extraordinary vigilance. At a  Mar. 26 public meeting at the Montrose Pavilion, worker safety was their pledge.

Milling follows mining and the transport of ore. All stages carry some risk of radiation exposure. We would recommend to the county planning commission, its director, Steve White, and to the commissioners who will likely face this issue, commissioners-elect Ron Henderson, David White and commissioner Gary Ellis to gather independent expertise on the potential to the health and environment of workers and the residents in the county. A moratorium of at least a year is likely appropriate, given the seriousness of this project.

This scrutiny goes beyond a paycheck. While there’s talk and speculation of opening this operation in 2010, much of it dependent on the uranium market prices, this project is, for the most part, wide open. Like the Paradox Valley.

Uranium & Health:

The Pinon Ridge Mill

Reporting on environmental health issues, particularly the Byzantine world of uranium mining and milling, isn’t anything like covering a city council meeting or a high school football game. The narrative is ongoing. It takes time to make sense of the numbers and interpretation of a health risk that is present in our daily lives due to the existence of space surrounding our planet.

The risks of radiation far exceed normal workplace toxicity from most non-uranium related chemicals. Inside today’s Daily Press is a special enterprise reporting project, Uranium & Health, The Pinon Ridge Mill, which is a start at understanding health aspects of what may be ahead for Montrose County.

Wick Communications environmental liaison Richard Kamp, who lives in Santa Fe and has published two other projects in recent years with the Daily Press, was involved with this endeavor for about five months. The section was designed by Ben Jones. Also involved were photojournalists William Woody and Joel Blocker. The methodology and notes:

• Kamp admits he struggled to analyze conservative global health commission reports on uranium over the last 50 to 60 years. To understand radiation issues, he decided it was best to start from the beginning: get a Geiger counter and go into a mine to get some idea of a worker’s “exposure.”

• This may seem overly simple, but it provided Kamp with baseline information to interpret. Energy Fuels geologist/vice-president Dick White assisted Kamp, similar to a patient teacher who methodically explained uranium mining, geology and history. It was evident to Kamp, too, that White loves his business and didn’t mind sharing his expertise.

• Researchers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health spent extensive time with Kamp sorting out the significance of what they were quick to admit was poorly documented worker occupational health records. They also provided interpretation of Geiger counter data.

• Kamp researched and studied more than 25 health studies and summaries.

• Health advocate Chris Shuey from the Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque walked Kamp through 30 years of his studies of Navajo health impacts from uranium mining and milling.

• Curator Carol Legg in Naturita at the Rimrocker Museum was indispensable in providing the Daily Press with a photographic window to the vast uranium and vanadium mining past of Montrose County.

• The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango opened their archives to Kamp, providing access and perspective.

• Residents of the Paradox Valley spoke to Kamp with concern; sometimes with sadness, and sometimes with bemusement of the phenomenon of radiation and how it shaped their lives, whether or not they worked at the mills or mines. They often spoke of their love of the region and its isolation. It’s “home,” they said affectionately.

• Local residents have been, and will likely become again, the future workforce. “On the whole,” said Kamp, “it’s easier to understand the health risks by listening to experts, regulators and miners than to uranium opponents.” Kamp continued, “Mostly because the truth is tangled and depressing – it is more painfully human than the debate about environmental impacts.”

Kamp and the Daily Press will continue to cover the environmental issues with the Pinon Ridge Mill as they develop.

Note: Richard (Dick) Kamp should be a familiar name to Daily Press readers. In February, Kamp examined regional concerns surrounding federal bills to establish the Escalante-Dominguez National Conservation Area and the proposed Robideau addition, which would include its archaeological wealth.

In 2006, Kamp, along with Daily Press staffers, provided a series of investigative stories regarding the Elizabeth Mining Co. that led to its closure and criminal indictments.

 

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