The Ethical Issues in Uranium Mining Research in the Navajo Nation

Abstract

We explore the experience of Navajo communities living under the shadow of nuclear age fallout who were subjects of five decades of research. In this historical analysis of public health (epidemiological) research conducted in the Navajo lands since the inception of uranium mining from the 1950s untill the end of the 20th century, we analyze the successes and failures in the research initiatives conducted on Navajo lands, the ethical breaches, and the harms and benefits that this research has brought about to the community. We discuss how scientific and moral uncertainty, lack of full stakeholder participation and community wide outreach and education can impact ethical decisions made in research.

Why Has It Taken So Long to Address the Problems Created by Uranium Mining in the Navajo Nation?

“…Starting around the turn of the century and proceeding to the present, a series of federally funded studies were launched at the University of New Mexico. 3,4 As findings from this research begin to emerge, it raises the prospect that more stringent remediation as well as possible compensation for community members might be needed in the future. Thus, the long path, stretching over sixty-five years, to address the legacy of uranium mining in the United States does not have an end in sight.…”

Conflict Minerals and Supply Chain Due Diligence: An Exploratory Study of Multi-tier Supply Chains

“…However, the image of this initiative had rapidly crumbled as it constantly refused to address the clear links between diamonds, violence, and tyranny in Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, and Venezuela (Garrett and Lintzer, 2010;Panikkar and Brugge, 2007;Rhode, 2014;Global Witness, 2011). As a result, issues of blood diamonds are still prevalent today (Perry, 2012).…”

Drinking Water with Uranium below the U.S. EPA Water Standard Causes Estrogen Receptor–Dependent Responses in Female Mice

“…Uranium, the heaviest naturally occurring element, is valued for its radioactive properties. Development of nuclear weapons in the 1940s fueled the U.S. government’s desire to become independent of foreign sources of U ( Ball 1993 ; Moure-Eraso 1999 ; Panikkar and Brugge 2007 ). The U “boom” in the southwestern United States lasted from the early 1950s until the market collapsed in 1971, when the U.S. government ceased being the sole purchaser of U ore ( Brugge and Goble 2002 ).…”