Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
4. Assess and clean up radiation-contaminated structures in the region by the EPA under
Superfund.
5. Continue investigations and cleanup of the Jackpile open pit mine site which mined from
1953 to 1982. EPA is funding legacy activity investigations under Superfund and working
under a MOU with the Laguna Pueblo.
6. Conduct human health screening led by the New Mexico Department of Health.
Each of the six activities has its own funding, time line, responsible agency(ies) and management
plan details that are discussed in the overall plan. A total of 96 mines are under consideration
within the plan. The plan describes EPA’s ongoing Superfund work at the major uranium mines in
the district. This includes extensive cleanup activities at:
• The Homestake Mining Mill site and area. The mill operated between 1958 and 1990,
and was dismantled from 1993 to 1995.
• The UNC uranium processing mill in McKinley County which operated from 1977 to
1982.
• The UNC Church Rock mine that operated from 1967 to 1982 next to the Navajo
Reservation. Extensive soil remediation activities commenced in 2006 and 2007.
Ongoing Research and Investigations
Uranium Millers and Miners Study
One recent study related to residents as a result of exposure to legacy uranium issues in New
Mexico and included in this analysis was published in September 2010 (Boice et al., 2010). It
evaluates cancer mortality during 1950–2004 and cancer incidence during 1982–2004 among
Cibola County residents. The total numbers of cancer deaths and incident cancers were close to
that expected in the general population. Lung cancer mortality and incidence were significantly
increased among men but not women. Similarly, among the population of the three census tracts
near the Grants Uranium Mill, lung cancer mortality was significantly elevated among men but
not women. Except for an elevation in mortality for stomach cancer among women, which
declined over the 55-year observation period, no significant increases in SMRs or standardized
incident ratios (SIRs) for 22 other cancers were found.
Although the causes of these cancers cannot be drawn from these ecological data, the excesses of
lung cancer among men seem likely to be due to previously reported risks among underground
miners from exposure to radon gas and its decay products. Smoking, socioeconomic factors, or
ethnicity may also have contributed to the lung cancer excesses observed in the study. The
stomach cancer increase was highest before the uranium mill began operation and then decreased
to normal levels. With the exception of male lung cancer, this study provides no clear or
consistent evidence that the operation of uranium mills and mines adversely affected cancer
incidence or mortality of county residents.
CDC Pregnancy and Children’s Health Assessment
The legacy health issues associated with uranium mining, transport, milling, and disposal
continue to receive attention in the United States including the desert Southwest and New
Mexico. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 441