Helping Mother Earth Heal: Diné College and Enhanced Natural Attenuation Research at U. S. Department of Energy Uranium Processing Sites on Navajo Land

Waugh, W. Joseph; Glenn, Edward P.; Charley, Perry H.; Carroll, Marnie K.; Maxwell, Beverly; O’Neill, M. K.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-8813-3_6

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…It is through these elements that Sá'ah Naaghái Bik'eh Hózhóón is achieved. Sá'ah Naaghái Bik'eh Hózhóón is translated as Diné walking or being in a state of beauty with the natural world [53,56]. It is not a theory; this is the way of life for the Diné.…”

Section: Similar To the Indigenous Communities Affected By The Exxon ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts to Diné activities with the San Juan River after the Gold King Mine Spill

Horne

Chief

Charley

et al. 2021

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Background-On August 5 th , 2015, 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage was accidentally discharged from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado into Cement Creek which is a tributary of the Animas and San Juan Rivers. The government-initiated risk assessment only assessed a recreational scenario (i.e. hiker drinking from the river), failing to recognize the deep connection of the Diné (Navajo) with the San Juan River.Methods-Utilizing a mixed-methods approach we determined the impacts of the 2015 Gold King Mine Spill (GKMS or Spill) on Diné activities. We developed a questionnaire to collect pre-and post-GKMS Diné activity frequency and duration. Navajo Nation Community Health Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/license.html#terms *

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Section: Similar To the Indigenous Communities Affected By The Exxon ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts to Diné activities with the San Juan River after the Gold King Mine Spill

Horne

Chief

Charley

et al. 2021

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…As such, LM monitors and manages groundwater where contamination exceeds regulatory standards in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 192.20. At uranium disposal sites on Navajo land (the Four Corners region of the United States), researchers are evaluating vegetation to hydraulically control groundwater contamination plumes (Waugh, Glenn, Charley, Maxwell, & O'Neill, 2011). Studies at these sites have shown that annual ET of deep‐rooted plant communities is capable of exceeding annual precipitation, thereby limiting the leaching of contaminants into shallow aquifers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation‐groundwater dynamics at a former uranium mill site following invasion of a biocontrol agent: A time series analysis of Landsat normalized difference vegetation index data

Jarchow

Waugh

Didan

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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Because groundwater recharge in dry regions is generally low, arid and semiarid environments have been considered well-suited for long-term isolation of hazardous materials (e.g., radioactive waste). In these dry regions, water lost (transpired) by plants and evaporated from the soil surface, collectively termed evapotranspiration (ET), is usually the primary discharge component in the water balance. Therefore, vegetation can potentially affect groundwater flow and contaminant transport at waste disposal sites. We studied vegetation health and ET dynamics at a Uranium Mill Tailings RadiationControl Act (UMTRCA) disposal site in Shiprock, New Mexico, where a floodplain alluvial aquifer was contaminated by mill effluent. Vegetation on the floodplain was predominantly deep-rooted, non-native tamarisk shrubs (Tamarix sp.). After the introduction of the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda sp.) as a biocontrol agent, the health of the invasive tamarisk on the Shiprock floodplain declined. We used Landsat normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data to measure greenness and a remote sensing algorithm to estimate landscape-scale ET along the floodplain of the UMTRCA site in Shiprock prior to (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009) and after (2010-2018) beetle establishment. Using groundwater level data collected from 2011 to 2014, we also assessed the role of ET in explaining seasonal variations in depth to water of the floodplain. Growing season scaled NDVI decreased 30% (p < .001), while ET decreased 26% from the pre-to postbeetle period and seasonal ET estimates were significantly correlated with groundwater levels from 2011 to 2014 (r 2 = .71; p = .009). Tamarisk greenness (a proxy for health) was significantly affected by Diorhabda but has partially recovered since 2012.Despite this, increased ET demand in the summer/fall period might reduce contaminant transport to the San Juan River during this period.

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“…We conducted this study at a former uranium mill site near Monument Valley, Arizona, that was contaminated with ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate used in ore processing (US Department of Energy (DOE), , ; Waugh et al , ). The contaminants, originally in mill tailings piles and ponds, leached over several decades into the underlying soil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twenty‐four years after the mill was closed, the tailings piles were removed from the site, but processing contaminants that had percolated into the subpile soil remained as a continuing source of groundwater contamination. Nitrate, ammonium, and sulfate have migrated in a shallow alluvial aquifer away from the original tailings site (DOE, ; Waugh et al , ). The Monument Valley site is one of several uranium mill sites that operated in the western USA between the 1940s and 1970s and left a legacy of contaminated soil and groundwater (Waugh et al , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nitrate, ammonium, and sulfate have migrated in a shallow alluvial aquifer away from the original tailings site (DOE, ; Waugh et al , ). The Monument Valley site is one of several uranium mill sites that operated in the western USA between the 1940s and 1970s and left a legacy of contaminated soil and groundwater (Waugh et al , ). Fourteen countries are engaged in cleanup of uranium‐processing facilities, making this an international issue (Abdelouas, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phytoremediation of a Nitrogen‐Contaminated Desert Soil by Native Shrubs and Microbial Processes

2016

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We combined phytoremediation and soil microbial nitrification and denitrification cycles to reduce nitrate and ammonium levels at a former uranium mill site near Monument Valley, Arizona. Ammonia used in uranium extraction was present throughout the soil profile. Sulfate, applied as sulfuric acid to solubilize uranium, was also present in the soil. These contaminants were leaching from a denuded area where a tailings pile had been removed and were migrating away from the site in groundwater. We planted the source area with two deep-rooted native shrubs, Atriplex cansescens and Sarcobatus vermiculatus, and irrigated transplants for 11 years at 20% the rate of potential evapotranspiration to stimulate growth, then discontinued irrigation for 4 years. Over 15 years, total nitrogen levels dropped 82%, from 347 to 64 mg kg À1 . Analysis of δ 15 N supported our hypothesis that coupled microbial nitrification and denitrification processes were responsible for the loss of N. Soil sulfate levels changed little; however, evapotranspiration reduced sulfate leaching into the aquifer. For arid sites where traditional pump-and-treat methods are problematic, the Monument Valley data suggest that alternatives that incorporate native plants and rely on vadose zone biogeochemistry and hydrology could be a sustainable remediation for nitrogen contaminated soil.

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Helping Mother Earth Heal: Diné College and Enhanced Natural Attenuation Research at U. S. Department of Energy Uranium Processing Sites on Navajo Land

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Impacts to Diné activities with the San Juan River after the Gold King Mine Spill

Impacts to Diné activities with the San Juan River after the Gold King Mine Spill

Vegetation‐groundwater dynamics at a former uranium mill site following invasion of a biocontrol agent: A time series analysis of Landsat normalized difference vegetation index data

Phytoremediation of a Nitrogen‐Contaminated Desert Soil by Native Shrubs and Microbial Processes

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