Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
mortality. Health insurance (often provided by employers in the United States) is a determinant of
health that is highly related to income. Health insurance is associated with improved general
health outcomes, i.e. general health and physical functioning, as well as mortality. It is also
associated with improvement of chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes,
cancer, and depression; and improvement of acute conditions. Evidence suggests that providing
insurance to the uninsured can reduce mortality by as much as 5–15 percent (Hadley, 2003).
At the same time, in some settings, income and employment also promote a number of adverse
health outcomes. Among resource extraction projects in rural and remote settings, direct and
indirect income and employment have sometimes been found to be associated with an increased
prevalence of social pathologies, including substance abuse, assault, domestic violence, and
unintentional and intentional injuries. These adverse impacts on social pathologies have been
observed in the project area during previous “boom” periods (Milkman et al., 1980; Brodeur,
2003). Additionally, if jobs and income increase social or economic disparity in a region, this has
also been shown to have adverse health impacts across the entire population, at all income levels.
Working conditions take into consideration both the potential for worker exposure to hazards
(e.g., toxic chemicals) and job characteristics that define the nature of the work. Working
conditions that have the potential to affect health include long working hours, shift work, degree
of control over working conditions, and occupational health and safety practices. The health
effects that have been associated with poor working conditions include an increased risk of
physical injuries at work, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease,
depression and other mental health conditions, and increases in negative personal health practices
such as smoking and drinking (Jackson, 2002; Schnall and colleagues 1994; Nishiyama and
Johnson, 1997; IWH, 2002). Although many working conditions fall under the purview of
Occupational Health & Safety, they remain relevant to review from the viewpoint of public health
and safety since injury, disease or disability experienced by workers affects families, friends, and
the community at large.
The ways in which the proposed action may impact health via either of these pathways—
providing jobs and income and through specific working conditions—are described below.
The impacts to income and employment are outlined in the “Socioeconomics” section. In
discussions that took place in February 2012, local stakeholders stated that the community is in
need of employment opportunities and that there are community members in the local area who
are very eager for employment opportunities with the project (Michaels, 2012; Yarlborough,
2012). The “Environmental Justice” section also points out that McKinley County is considered
an environmental justice community based on the high proportion of low-income households.
RHR is proposing to fill most construction-related jobs from the population in the ROI.
Operations jobs are expected to be filled by a mix of local and outside workers. RHR is also
proposing to provide basic health insurance to employees of the project (Velasquez et al., 2012).
As noted above, provision of health insurance can substantially increase positive health outcomes.
It is likely that the health of some segments of the local population would improve as a result of
the direct, indirect, and induced jobs and income associated with project construction and
operation. The positive health benefits may be realized not only by project workers, but also their
families and other community members who benefit indirectly. However, given the estimated size
of the project workforce (see “Socioeconomics” section), it is likely that positive health effects
would be too small to measure with population health indicators.
416 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest