LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Dirty fuel leaves legacy of destruction The recent chain of dirty energy disasters, including the 1979 Uranium Spill in Church Rock, N.M., has made it clear that no matter where it takes place, dirty fuel development leaves a legacy of destruction, threatening our water, communities and special places. Our relatives in the Eastern Navajo Nation are familiar with local disasters, especially the infamous 1979 Church Rock uranium spill. An earthen dam collapsed releasing 1,100 tons of radioactive tailings and 94 million gallons of toxic wastewater in the Puerco River. The spill was the largest release of radioactive waste, by volume, in U.S. history, and ranks second only to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in total radiation release. Although it has been over 35 years since the spill, Navajo Nation chapters 80 miles downstream from Church Rock continue to live with countless unknown contamination impacts. Many residents continue to suffer from health effects associated with the uranium spill. There has been no priority given to clean up this toxic legacy. Why do we allow many people to continue to be exposed to dangerous contamination? This is a constant public hazard because natural elements will spread contamination. Mining uranium using conventional or in situ leach is not clean or safe. As a dirty fuel, uranium processing has a carbon footprint of its own. Uranium mining, milling, processing, and disposing of the waste requires fossil fuel energy that release greenhouse gasses. But the impacts dont stop there. According to a U.S. Geological Service estimate, by developing the Mancos Shale in the San Juan Basin area it could also release as much as 50 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas contained within the basin, equating to nearly 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide of carbon pollution that could dramatically alter our climate. A new report from the Sierra Club highlights the scale of the threat. Mancos Shale fracking for oil and gas would result in one-half more carbon pollution than would be saved by new fuel economy standards. We need to leave dirty fuels in the ground and focus instead on available and affordable clean energy technologies. Ron Kinsel Lukachukai, Ariz.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:42:46 +0000
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