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Title: Helping Mother Earth Heal: Diné College and Enhanced Natural Attenuation Research at U. S. Department of Energy Uranium Processing Sites on Navajo Land

Book ·
 [1]; ; ; ; ;
  1. US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States). Office of Legacy Management (LM)
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Dine College is a key stakeholder and partner with the U.S. Department of Energy in efforts to develop and implement sustainable and culturally acceptable remedies for soil and groundwater contamination at uranium mill tailings processing and disposal sites on Navajo Nation land. Through an educational philosophy grounded in the Navajo traditional living system which places human life in harmony with the natural world, the College has helped guide researchers to look beyond ­traditional engineering approaches and seek more sustainable remedies for soil and groundwater contamination at former uranium mill sites near Monument Valley, Arizona, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Students and researchers are asking first, what is Mother Earth already doing to heal a land injured by uranium mill tailings, and second, what can we do to help her? This guidance has led researchers to investigate applications of natural and enhanced attenuation remedies involving native plants – phytoremediation, and indigenous microorganisms – bioremediation. College faculty, student interns, and local residents have contributed to several aspects of the pilot studies including site characterization, sampling designs, installation and maintenance of plantings and irrigation systems, monitoring, and data interpretation. Research results look promising.

Research Organization:
US Department of Energy/Office of Legacy Management
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Legacy Management (LM), Office of Field Operations
DOE Contract Number:
AM01-071M00060
OSTI ID:
1821587
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (11)

Water Balance Covers for Waste Containment: Principles and Practice book January 2010
The History of Uranium Mining and the Navajo People journal September 2002
Comparison of nitrate attenuation characterization methods at the Uranium mill tailing site in Monument Valley, Arizona journal November 2009
Passive wick fluxmeters: Design considerations and field applications: PASSIVE WICK FLUXMETERS journal April 2009
Uranium Mining and Lung Cancer Among Navajo Men in New Mexico and Arizona, 1969 to 1993 journal January 2000
Scaling sap flux measurements of grazed and ungrazed shrub communities with fine and coarse-resolution remote sensing journal December 2008
Natural bioremediation of a nitrate-contaminated soil-and-aquifer system in a desert environment journal May 2008
Monosoonal precipitation responses of shrubs in a cold desert community on the Colorado Plateau journal April 1996
Growth and water and nitrate uptake patterns of grazed and ungrazed desert shrubs growing over a nitrate contamination plume journal January 2006
Rapid nitrate loss from a contaminated desert soil journal April 2005
Groundwater discharge by phreatophyte shrubs in the Great Basin as related to depth to groundwater journal December 1994

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