We’re back with the New Mexico series where Jesse Deer in Water, Leona Morgan and I talk to and learn from the local peoples who are fighting against the nuclear fuel chain in New Mexico. As mentioned, New Mexico has been a sacrifice zone for the nuclear industry. From the first testing of a nuclear weapon, the relentless mining of uranium, radioactive areas, and now transportation and storage of nuclear waste. New Mexico and the Indigenous Peoples have experienced far too much neglect and harm.

Jesse: Now we’re in Churchrock, just east of Gallup, New Mexico. Where the world’s largest uranium spill happened. On July 16th 1979, the United Nuclear Corporation's mill tailings dam collapsed which released the largest amount of radioactive materials in the world. More than 11,000 tons of solid radioactive waste and 94 million gallons of acidic, liquid radioactive tailings made their way into the Puerco River and contaminated more than 80 miles downstream. Residents along the Puerco report smelling chemicals  during heavy rains, even more than 40 years after the spill. In 2015, twice the legal limit of allowable uranium was found in the tap water in Sanders, Arizona just downstream from Churchrock. The community was told not to drink the water and the schools were given bottled water.

Jenn: We’re greeted by Edith Hood and Bertha Nez who live right by the spill and between 3 abandoned uranium mines. We’re in their community center that is open air and surrounded by dirt ground. We felt the harsh wind blowing on us and I felt the sediment blowing and surrounding us that may still be contaminated. In May 2007, the EPA announced that it would join the Navajo Nation tribal government in cleaning up radioactive contamination near the Church Rock mine, although it cannot be cleaned that easily and will be a timely process with many still developing cancer and other illnesses in the meantime. There are still over 500 abandoned uranium mines on Navajo traditional homelands that need to be cleaned up.

Contact with Jesse Deer in Water and Leona Morgan: [email protected] [email protected]

Resources: https://tewawomenunited.org/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/travel/new-mexico-atomic.html

http://www.dinenonukes.org/radiation-monitoring-project/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgBUwhUAVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u0o48EWO-E

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AHdI1RakU

Petuuche Gilbert is an elder from the Pueblo of Acoma. He talks about his life in the “Grants Mining District,” and takes us on a tour of cultural sites and abandoned uranium mine lands in the region, where he worked and still lives today.

Uranium extraction in New Mexico was primarily done in the “Grants Mineral Belt,” or “Grants Mining District” –depending who you ask, which is in the northwest part of the state. Residents in this area have had abnormally high rates of lung cancer, from radon gas in poorly ventilated in underground mines. The effect was particularly pronounced among miners, because the incidence of lung cancer is normally low among Indigenous populations. Further south in central New Mexico, on July 16th, 1945, a plume of plutonium mushroomed over New Mexico. Less than 20 miles away from people and communities. This was the United States government's first detonation of a nuclear weapon, a part of the Manhattan Project, one of the first ways New Mexico became a national sacrifice zone for the nuclear industry.

Contact with Jesse Deer in Water and Leona Morgan: [email protected] [email protected]

Resources: https://tewawomenunited.org/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/travel/new-mexico-atomic.html

http://www.dinenonukes.org/radiation-monitoring-project/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgBUwhUAVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u0o48EWO-E

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AHdI1RakU

Mark Vick is the Chief Volunteer Firefighter for the Rich Square Volunteer Fire Department and President of the Northampton County Firefighters Association.

As a volunteer firefighter, they’re not only in service of the community, but also a more visible member of the community. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 70 percent of firefighters in the United States are volunteers. As mentioned in the previous two episodes, firefighters are at particular risk of exposure to PFAS from it being in their Personal Protective Gear as well as the foam to put out fires. The research shows that PFAS can leach out of turnout gear onto firefighters' skin and potentially enter their bloodstream.

With Mark, we talk about his experience as a firefighter, when he began to learn about PFAS, where volunteer departments get their funding and what volunteer departments can do to reduce their exposure.

Thanks for a great year everyone and I’ll be back with more episodes in January!

Contact and connect with Mark: [email protected]

Information on Firefighters exposure to PFAS: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/firefighter-gear-may-contain-chemicals-linked-cancer-rcna44511

https://www.iaff.org/pfas/

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/ig-091522.html

Help your local fire department: https://www.firehouse.com/volunteer-firefighter/article/12213967/how-to-help-your-volunteer-fire-department-step-up-and-stand-out

Jason Burns who is Executive Director at Last Call Foundation and he's been a Firefighter since 2006. He has spent much of his career advocating for better and safer working conditions for his firefighters. He currently serves as a District Vice President for the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts. Jason has also been a part of the team of people who have collaborated on a nation wide effort to rid firefighters’ personal protective equipment of toxic PFAS chemicals.

PFAS is used in fire fighter turnout gear and poses an unnecessary occupational threat. Recent studies have shown that all three layers of firefighter turnout gear contain Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), a class of fluorinated chemicals known as “forever chemicals” which have been linked to cancer and other serious health effects. These studies highlight the risks associated with the materials and finishes used in turnout gear even before it is exposed to its first fire.

With Jason, we talk about his experience as a firefighter, what he’s seen in the field, the nation wide effort he’s apart of, what risk this puts firefighters at, and alternatives fire departments can use instead.

Contact and connect with Jason: [email protected]

Jason’s Organization: https://www.lastcallfoundation.org/about

PFAS in PPE: https://www.iaff.org/pfas/

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/ig-091522.html

Kevin Ferrara is considered a PFAS subject matter expert who has 34-years of fire service experience, and agile Fire Protection and Emergency Service (FPES) consulting expertise, to emergency service affiliated organizations around the world.

In the episode we speak about Kevin’s personal experience and exposure with PFAS during his years of service and specifically Aqueous Film Forming Foam or (AFFF) which is a fire suppressant used by firefighters. In order to make the mixture foamy and create a film that helps extinguish fires, AFFF contains chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

Two of the most common types of PFAS found in AFFF are perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and/or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). These chemicals are human-made compounds and don’t occur naturally in the environment. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, they are harmful if a person suffers long-term exposure. The chemicals build up in the body and may cause negative health effects, including cancer.

Lab studies have found that PFOS and PFOA are toxic to animals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found evidence suggesting that PFOS and PFOA may cause cancer.

With Kevin we talk about his experience as a firefighter, risks involved with AFFF, how people can test for exposure, his advocacy about it, and his response from the military, fire departments, and the VA.

Contact and connect with Kevin: [email protected]

AFFF: https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/afff/

PFAS in blood: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/blood-testing.html

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/pfc/index.cfm

Dean Rivkin is an attorney as well as a professor at University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Law. His work includes civil rights, air pollution, public interest, protecting the environment, and more.

He has been counsel in public interest litigation concerning issues such as air pollution, TVA, and a challenge to the Tennessee Barratry Statute.  As well as he was a member of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative, a comprehensive effort to combat the adverse effects of air pollution on the national parks and wilderness areas in the Southeast.

With Dean we speak about how he got into law, people’s expectation of lawyers in Appalachia, the term “petty disturbances”, what he’s currently working on, and how he thinks citizen groups can make the most effective change.

Contact and connect with Dean: [email protected]

https://law.utk.edu/directory/dean-rivkin-2/

Grace Tuttle Development & Programs Coordinator at Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR).

POWHR is an interstate coalition representing individuals and groups from Virginia and West Virginia dedicated to protecting water, land, and communities from harms caused by the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline system that spans approximately 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

Current happenings of the MVP are that, they have asked FERC to amend its ‘certificate’ to allow it to bore under water bodies to install pipes and they applied to the US Army Corps of Engineers for a Clean Water permit to cross waters.

With Grace we talk about the people power and frontline communities that are fighting against the MVP and what litigation comes their way. As well as ways to combat environmental injustice and meaningfully address the climate crisis.

Contact and connect with Grace: [email protected]

POWEHR: https://powhr.org/

Freeda Cathcart who is the Mothers Out Front Team Coordinator.

We talk all about the Manchin Bill which is proposed by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin. It's a bill with an outline of tax, climate, energy, and healthcare measures that speeds up fossil fuel and clean energy projects. In the episode we will focus on its effects on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, MVP.

Manchin’s bill includes a mandate for agencies to approve the contentious Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline project. Many Virginia communities have revolted against the venture. The pipeline, proposed will run through West Virginia, Virginia and a sliver of North Carolina, has had multiple permits repeatedly struck down since it was initially approved in 2017. It is now expected to cost more than $6 billion to complete, more than double the original cost estimate.

The Manchin bill would move the legal venue for challenges to Mountain Valley from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The bill text also includes a provision imposing a two-year deadline on permitting reviews for major projects under NEPA, and one year for projects with less impact.

With Freeda we talk about the work she does, the bill, the effects it has on the MVP, how the MVP effects communities and energy permitting provisions.

Contact and connect with Freeda: [email protected]

Voting: https://www.coxenterprises.com/cox-conserves/cox-conserves-heroes/vote/freeda-cathcart

Manchin Bill: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/21/joe-manchin-energy-bill-fossil-fuels

https://www.elliottdavis.com/whats-in-the-manchin-shumer-bill-on-taxes-climate-energy-and-healthcare/

Beth Markesino is the founder of the non-profit North Carolina Stop GenX.

North Carolina Stop GenX in Our Waters is a group wanting to stop the contamination of GenX and other harmful chemicals in North Carolina waters. GenX is a Chemours trademark name for a synthetic, short-chain chemical compound. The chemicals are used in products such as food packaging, paints, cleaning products, non-stick coatings, outdoor fabrics, and firefighting foam. In North Carolina, the Chemours Fayetteville plant released GenX compounds into the Cape Fear River, which is a drinking water source for the Wilmington area.

With Beth we speak about what got her into this work, what GenX is and where it comes from, environmental racism from corporations, her personal experience with these chemicals, the report she helped with, and how people can protect themselves.

Contact and connect with Beth: [email protected]

North Carolina Stop GenX: https://ncstopgenx.org/

Articles: https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/07/new-report-calls-for-expanded-pfas-testing-for-people-with-history-of-elevated-exposure-offers-advice-for-clinical-treatment

Leona Morgan (Diné/Navajo, she/her) is an indigenous community organizer and activist who has been fighting nuclear colonialism since 2007. Her work includes stopping: new uranium mining, transport of radioactive materials, and nuclear waste dumping in the Southwestern United States.

Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state (after Wyoming). Although uranium has not been mined in the state since 1998, it left behind a legacy of contamination. New Mexican uranium miners and people nearby have had abnormally high rates of lung cancer, from radon gas in poorly ventilated underground mines, contaminated water, and other serious health effects.

The legacy of uranium in New Mexico, shows the decades of indifference from uranium companies and the federal government to the health and lives of people who’ve lived near uranium mines and mills. This deserves to be more widely known, especially the disproportionate effects on Indigenous populations and the communities that live in the region. And now New Mexicans are dealing with nuclear waste and storage in their communities.

With Leona we talk about her family history that brought her to this work, nuclear issues NM faces, uranium mining, what locals think about nuclear, and what she’s looking forward to in the future.

Contact and connect with Leona: [email protected]

Legacy of Uranium mining: https://nmindepth.com/2022/the-toxic-legacy-of-uranium-mining-in-new-mexico/

https://www.propublica.org/events/new-mexicos-death-map-uranium-and-nuclear-energy-in-the-us