NDLI: Development of risk maps to minimize uranium exposures in the Navajo Churchrock mining district

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	deLemos, Jamie L Brugge, Doug Cajero, Miranda Downs, Mallery Durant, John L George, Christine M Henio-Adeky, Sarah Nez, Teddy Manning, Thomas Rock, Tommy Seschillie, Bess Shuey, Chris Lewis, Johnnye
Abstract	Background Decades of improper disposal of uranium-mining wastes on the Navajo Nation has resulted in adverse human and ecological health impacts as well as socio-cultural problems. As the Navajo people become increasingly aware of the contamination problems, there is a need to develop a risk-communication strategy to properly inform tribal members of the extent and severity of the health risks. To be most effective, this strategy needs to blend accepted risk-communication techniques with Navajo perspectives such that the strategy can be used at the community level to inform culturally- and toxicologically-relevant decisions about land and water use as well as mine-waste remediation. Objective The objective of this study was to develop GIS-based thematic maps as communication tools to clearly identify high risk exposure areas and offer alternatives to minimize public and ecological health impacts. Methods Thematic maps were produced that incorporated data derived from environmental sampling and public health surveys. The maps show the location and quality of unregulated water resources and identify regulated water sources that could be used as alternatives. In addition, the maps show the location of contaminated soil and sediment areas in which disturbance of surface deposits should be avoided. Preliminary feedback was collected from an informal Navajo working group to assess the clarity and efficacy of this proposed communication method. Results The working group found the maps to be both clear and effective, and made suggestions for improvements, such as the addition of more map features. The working group predicted that once the maps are presented to the public, water hauling and soil use behaviors will change, and dialogue with chapter officials will be initiated to accelerate further risk reduction efforts. Implications Because risk communication is complicated by language barriers, lack of infrastructure, and historical mistrust of non-Navajo researchers, mapping provides an easily interpretable medium that can be objectively viewed by community members and decision makers to evaluate activities that affect toxicant exposures.
Related Links	https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/1476-069X-8-29.pdf
Ending Page	15
Page Count	15
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
DOI	10.1186/1476-069X-8-29
Journal	Environmental Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	8
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2009-07-09
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Occupational Medicine Industrial Medicine Public Health Environmental Health Uranium Geographic Information System Risk Communication Uranium Concentration Toxicant Exposure Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	5.4/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	6.7/2023

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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