The worst nuclear accident in U.S. history: July 16, 1979, Navajo Reservation (tags)
July 16th, 2009, marked the 30th anniversary of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, when, at 5:00 A.M., 1100 tons of uranium mining tailings, and 100 million gallons of radioactive water burst through United Nuclear's earthen dam, into the Rio Puerco, at a uranium mine in Church Rock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Reservation. Today, the Navajo Nation remains under toxic siege, by coal mining, uranium mining, and coal-fired power, even though an EPA doc already suggests that the entire reservation is a Superfund site. The Navajo Tribal Council, in 2005, passed a uranium mining ban, the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act, and thus won a Nuclear Free Future Award, but the ban has been under pressure since the day it was passed, and uranium mining claims now surround the Navajo Reservation like an advancing army.
None Dare Call It Treason (tags)
Politicians backed by powerful business interests have initiated a legislative assault to bring nuclear power back to Oklahoma. There are numerous reasons why this is a bad idea, some of which are discussed in this article. Oklahomans successfully fought off the attempt to build a nuclear reactor at Black Fox a generation ago. We will fight it again.