Devastation After the Church Rock Uranium Mill Spill (1983)

After World War II, uranium mined in New Mexico was used to fuel nuclear weapons and power plants. The process was toxic for employees who worked with the radioactive materials and the mines also posed risks for nearby communities. In 1979, the dam at United Nuclear Corporation's Church Rock Uranium mine cracked and eventually broke. The collapse spread millions of gallons of waste throughout mostly Diné (Navajo) lands, where it seeped into the groundwater. This 1983 article details the ongoing impact of the uranium mill spill.

Uranium Spill Still Worries Navajos

Gallup, N.M., July 20

Four years after an accident sent uranium waste rushing down the Rio Puerco, Navajos say they are still unable to return to normal lives based on farming and herding.

On July 16, 1979, 1,100 tons of uranium waste and 94 million gallons of radioactive water broke through an earthen dam at the United Nuclear Corporation's mill near Church Rock, N.M. It was the largest accident involving nuclear waste in the history of the industry.

Since then, investigators from Federal, state and private agencies have concluded that the danger to people and livestock living along the river is minimal. ''Although the spill was potentially hazardous,'' says a report by New Mexico's Environmental Improvement Division, ''its short-term and long-term impacts on people and the environment were quite limited.''

State Issues Warning

Still, the state recommends livestock not be watered at the trickle of liquid that is the Rio Puerco at this time of year.

In a suit against United Nuclear, 243 Navajos, a substantial portion of the area's population, are seeking damages for the hardships they say they have suffered since the dam broke. Attorneys for the Navajos accuse the company of ''outrageous conduct'' and reckless operation of the uranium mill, which they say have prevented the Navajos from using the Rio Puerco water and the land along the river for their livestock. The case is expected to be tried in a state court here early next year.

Navajos from Church Rock assert that since the accident an unusual number of calves and lambs have been born without limbs or with other severe defects. Residents also say some of their livestock developed sores and died after the spill.

''It's kind of hard to raise them the way we used to,'' said Lena Willie, who lives with her mother near the riverbank and who hauls water to their sheep from a well a mile away. ''They just die on us. They can't stay away from the river anyway. They still go down there.''

United Nuclear officials say the Navajos' concern can be attributed to a lack of understanding about the effects of uranium. ''We just don't know of any substance to those claims,'' said Stanley Crout, an attorney for United Nuclear. Citing the Government studies indicating that damage done by the spill was minimal, he said, ''Some people aren't going to be satisfied no matter how thoroughly you show it.''

The National Centers for Disease Control, after a preliminary study of eight Church Rock livestock animals and three other animals used for comparison, said the risk of eating the livestock appeared small. But the agency added the limited study ''precludes definitive statements.'' It recommended a long-term watch on the Church Rock animals. So far, no such study has been planned.

Overnight Losses

Ted Silversmith, a health worker at the Church Rock chapter house, said the loss of livestock to a Navajo was like a white man's finding his bank account had been depleted overnight. ''Our sheep are just like that, too,'' he said. ''We depend on the sheep.''

Critics of United Nuclear and the Government studies say the fact that there are no documented illnesses from the spill is not enough reason to believe there are no long-term effects. ''There are still too many questions,'' said Lynda Taylor, director of the radiation and health project for Southwest Research and Information Center in Albuquerque, N.M.

Miss Taylor said the organization was urging the state to conduct 30-year studies of a group of Church Rock residents ''to find out what the real risks are,'' adding, ''I think that people don't want to find out what they are, because then they'd have to be responsible.''

For the moment, officials are more concerned with a leaking uranium waste pile at the dormant United Nuclear mill at Church Rock. Radioactive thorium has moved from the company's pile of waste, or tailings, into groundwater beyond the mill boundary. The state or the Navajo tribe will have to drill monitoring wells to determine whether the contaminant has moved under Indian land.

On May 23 the state issued a cease-and-desist order against United Nuclear to stop further seepage from the tailings. The company is appealing the order, contending that radiation levels do not exceed state regulations.

Last month, an insurance company was ordered to pay United Nuclear $54.5 million as compensation for the dam break. The insuror is appealing the order because, it says, United Nuclear was aware of structural problems in the dam before the accident.