science

Uranium mining and the Navajo people

Uranium mining and the Navajo people is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Uranium mining and the Navajo people rather than just read about it. In short: The relationship between uranium mining and the Navajo people began in 1944 in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. In the 1950s, the Navajo Nation was situated directly in the uranium mining belt that experienced a boom in production, and many residents found work in the mines.

Key takeaways

Uranium mining and the Navajo people belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Uranium mining and the Navajo people to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Uranium mining and the Navajo people from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The relationship between uranium mining and the Navajo people began in 1944 in northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. In the 1950s, the Navajo Nation was situated directly in the uranium mining belt that experienced a boom in production, and many residents found work in the mines. Prior to 1962, the risks of lung cancer due to uranium mining were unknown to the workers, and the lack of a word for radiation in the Navajo language left the miners unaware of the associated health hazards. The Navajo Nation was affected by the United States' largest radioactive accident during the Church Rock uranium mill spill in 1979 when a tailings pond upstream from Navajo County breached its dam and sent radioactive waste down the Puerco River, injuring people and killing livestock. The cultural significance of water for the Navajo people and the environmental damage to both the land and livestock inhibits the ability of the Navajo people to practice their culture. On the Navajo Nation, approximately 15% of people do not have access to running water. Navajo Nation residents are often forced to resort to unregulated water sources that are susceptible to bacteria, fecal matter, and uranium. Extensive uranium mining in the region during the mid-20th century is a contemporary concern because of contamination of these commonly used sources, in addition to the lingering health effects of exposure from mining. Water on the Navajo Nation currently has an average of 90 micrograms per liter of uranium, with some areas reaching upwards of 700 micrograms per liter. In contrast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 30 micrograms per liter the safe amount of uranium to have in water sources. Health impacts of uranium consumption include kidney damage and failure, as kidneys are unable to filter uranium out of the bloodstream. There is an average rate of End Stage Renal Disease of 0.63% in the Navajo Nation, a rate significantly higher than the national average of 0.19%. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been cleaning up uranium mines on the Navajo Nation since as part of settlements through the Superfund since 1994. The Abandoned Mine Land program and Contaminated Structures Program have facilitated the cleanup of mines and demolition of structures built with radioactive materials. Criticisms of unfair, inefficient treatment have been made repeatedly of EPA by Navajos and journalists.

In October 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights agreed to hear a case filed by the Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, which accused the United States government of violating the human rights of Navajo Nation members. Environmental journalist Cody Nelson explains further that: "the US government and its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have violated their human rights by licensing uranium mines in their communities" (Nelson, "Ignored for 70 Years': Human Rights Group to Investigate Uranium Contamination on Navajo Nation"). Nelson also describes that "There is moral value in having an international human rights body lay bare the abuses of the nuclear industry and the US government's complicity in those abuses."

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Uranium mining and the Navajo people

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Uranium mining and the Navajo people claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Uranium mining and the Navajo people before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Uranium mining and the Navajo people ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Uranium mining and the Navajo people

In research: Uranium mining and the Navajo people appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Uranium mining and the Navajo people in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Uranium mining and the Navajo people is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Environmental ethics, Environmental justice in the United States, Environmental racism in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Uranium mining and the Navajo people outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Uranium mining and the Navajo people in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Uranium mining and the Navajo people means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Uranium mining and the Navajo people out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Uranium mining and the Navajo people in simple terms?

Why does Uranium mining and the Navajo people matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Uranium mining and the Navajo people?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Uranium mining and the Navajo people.