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Review
. 2017 Jun;4(2):130-141.
doi: 10.1007/s40572-017-0140-5.

Mining and Environmental Health Disparities in Native American Communities

Johnnye Lewis  1 , Joseph Hoover  2 , Debra MacKenzie  2
Affiliations
Review

Mining and Environmental Health Disparities in Native American Communities

Johnnye Lewis et al. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose of review: More than a century of hard rock mining has left a legacy of >160,000 abandoned mines in the Western USA that are home to the majority of Native American lands. This article describes how abrogation of treaty rights, ineffective policies, lack of infrastructure, and a lack of research in Native communities converge to create chronic exposure, ill-defined risks, and tribal health concerns.

Recent findings: Recent results show that Native Americans living near abandoned uranium mines have an increased likelihood for kidney disease and hypertension, and an increased likelihood of developing multiple chronic diseases linked to their proximity to the mine waste and activities bringing them in contact with the waste. Biomonitoring confirms higher than expected exposure to uranium and associated metals in the waste in adults, neonates, and children in these communities. These sites will not be cleaned up for many generations making it critical to understand and prioritize exposure-toxicity relationships in Native populations to appropriately allocate limited resources to protect health. Recent initiatives, in partnership with Native communities, recognize these needs and support development of tribal research capacity to ensure that research respectful of tribal culture and policies can address concerns in the future. In addition, recognition of the risks posed by these abandoned sites should inform policy change to protect community health in the future.

Keywords: Abandoned mines; Environmental health; Environmental justice; Environmental policy; Heavy metals; Native Americans.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures performed in cited studies involving human participants conducted by the authors were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of New Mexico Institutional Review Board, the Navajo Nation Human Research Review Board, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Density of hard rock metallic mines in the Western USA. Native American Reservation land is indicated by hatched polygon areas, and mine densities are associated with intensity of red hues. The predominate commodity type is also indicated on the map by its chemical symbol (Au [Gold]; Pb [Lead]; U [Uranium]; V [Vanadium]; Cu [Copper]). b Histogram of distance between hard rock mines (by primary commodity type) and the nearest Native American Reservation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pang Y, Peng R, Jones M, Francesconi K, Goessler W, Howard B, et al. Metal mixtures in urban and rural populations in the US: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Strong Heart Study. Environ Res. 2016;147:356–364. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.02.032. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harper BL, Harding A, Harris S, Berger P. Subsistence exposure scenarios for tribal applications. Hum Ecol Risk Assess. 2012;18(4). - PMC - PubMed
    1. US EPA. Jackpile Paguate Uranium Mine superfund site. US Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Program. 2015. https://semspub.epa.gov/work/06/500014812.pdf. Accessed February 2 2017.
    1. Public Laws of the 66th Congress of the United States: Chapter 4, S. 26, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st Sess. (1919).
    1. •• Eichstaedt P. If you poison us. Santa Fe, NM: Red Crane Books; 1994. Well researched and comprehensive documentation of the history of uranium mining, the legal and federal agency roles in development of the mines, and the impacts on the Navajo people.

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