Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
• Adverse physical health impacts from work conditions in an underground uranium mine;
• Restricted or delayed access to recreational and youth facilities due to traffic and/or time
delays;
• Safety risks to area recreationists associated with mining operations;
• Restricted or delayed access to hospital or health care facilities due to traffic and/or time
delays; or as a result of increased service demand from workforce migration;
• Restricted access to institutional places of worship or traditional locations for spiritual
activities due to traffic/time delays, or diminished quality of religious, spiritual, or
cultural experience;
• Disturbances and health risks to children from increased fugitive dust and tailpipe
emissions.
Health Risks
The proposed action would produce 220–250 direct jobs, and it is anticipated that many of these
jobs would be filled by the local labor force (see the following section on “Socioeconomics” for a
detailed discussion of jobs and economic activity). Potential health risks and benefits associated
with employment could affect minority and low-income individuals hired by Roca Honda
Resources, Inc. Mine workers would experience positive long-term health benefits through
economic pathways during the operation phase. However, boom periods can also bring about
negative health impacts including increases in alcohol and drug use, domestic violence, and
unintentional injuries (see the “Human Health and Safety – Health Effects Stemming from
Employment” section for a complete discussion). Potential health risks of employment can also
include exposures to unhealthy air in the mines. In the past miners and mill workers were exposed
primarily to radon gas and dust, and some experienced health impacts including cancer, kidney
disease, lung toxicity, and other toxicities. Kidney disease is the most common adverse health
effect from chemical exposure to uranium; however, it is important to note that studies of factors
affecting the health of uranium miners and mill workers have not demonstrated unusual kidney
disease rates. Furthermore, as noted in the “Air Quality” section, in contrast to the past uranium
mining during World War II and the peak of the Cold War (1950s), exposure to radon is now
strictly controlled in modern underground uranium mines.
As noted under “Air Quality,” underground uranium mines today must be well ventilated. Fresh
air is constantly pumped through the mine both for workers to breathe and to vent underground
air to the surface to prevent any problematic increase in the concentrations of air contaminants,
including radon gas among others. The concentrations of radon-222 and its associated decay
products must be controlled to levels below those published in Title 30 of the CFR, Part 57,
Section 57.5037. Within the mine, radon-222 exposures are regulated by the Mine Safety and
Health Administration (MSHA), the Federal enforcement agency responsible for the health and
safety of America’s miners. These exposures are limited at 4 working level months (WLMs).
With proper ventilation and personal protection equipment (PPE), worker exposures would be
held below this level. If the operator cannot demonstrate compliance, the mine would be shut
down. Furthermore, in another measure intended to safeguard underground air quality, smoking is
prohibited.
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 271