Poison Fire, Sacred Earth,
TESTIMONIES, LECTURES, CONCLUSIONS,
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING, SALZBURG 1992
pages 156-157
From the 1940's to the 1970's, uranium was mined and milled for
weapons and nuclear development. The Red Valley
Area was the center of the mining activity. This
is where hundreds of Navajo men have been enslaved.
My father was one of these men who have worked in
this area. This was also the introduction to
America's industrialized system. The unemployment
was high back then and there was no jobs
available. The early mines were very unsafe
and dirty. There was no ventilation of these mines,
no safety equipment, no respirators, no gloves
were provided. They were constantly exposed to
radiation and other gases and smoke from the
blasting. The mine water was used for public
consumption and often taken home and used for
baby-formulas. I have heard all kinds of stories the men
have faced. Like, for example, a miner would pass
out in the mine, they would be dragged out of the
mine and given smelling salts and they were
driven back to go back to work, for 24 hour shifts,
seven days a week. Most of them were not told of
the dangers of mining, nor of the exposure of
radiation. The households were also contaminated
when the miners would go home with their clothes
dirty. 40 years later, men died of lung cancer
and other respiratory illnesses.
My father, when he died two years ago,
was only 43 years old. It was very, very hard for
me to see him die a painful death. He weighed
only 90 pounds when he left us. I have never
witnessed anything like the way he died. And I
watched my mother suffer. My mother had to pick
up the responsibilities of raising us. . . . Hundreds have died now
of similar patterns mostly from lung cancer and
respiratory problems. The first 16 miners that died,
their average age was only 43 years.
. . . Today, we still have to look for
solutions and continue to explore options of how
we have to deal with this, providing proper health
services and cleaning up of left-over tailings and
abandoned uranium mines. There is over 1,200
mines abandoned right now. The radioactive
wastes are still very hot and range 50 to 100
times over the natural background. The
abandoned mines are still hot and pose health
risks by emitting radon gases. One of these mines
that leak water, the livestocks feed on it. 26 years
after the mining has stopped, we are left with the
waste, the sickness and sometimes no
alternatives to restore what was the original. The
genocide will never be forgotten. . . . Yes,
compensation is available, but money will not
make up for the loss of our loved ones. The
radioactive waste they say is safe, why can't
they be placed in their own backyard?
Philipp Harrison
Philipp Harrison, Diné (Navajo) Nation, Arizona,
USA. President of the Uranium Radiation Victims
Committee, co-founder of the Four Corners Navajo
Millers' Association, Navajo Compensation Officer
of the Navajo Nation for the compensation of miners.
Hello! My name is Phil Harrison from the Navajo Nation which is near the Four Corners of America. I am of the Red House Clan on my mother's side and Red-Sand-Run-Into-The-Water [Clan] of my father. I'm currently serving as President of the Uranium Radiation Victims Committee and co-founder of the Four Corners Navajo Millers' Association, which is located in my area in Shiprock, in the Navajo Nation. It's my pleasure to be a participant in this Hearing. It is our commitment, sacrifice and dedication that we educate the people all over the world about radiation and other uranium poison. I have been in this work for ten years.
In my presentation today I will share with you the
experience of nightmares of what my family and my
people have endured for five decades. I'm listed
to give a presentation of the compensation which
I'll briefly touch. I'll share with you as much
as I can, of our suffering and humiliation that
was put upon us. We live, work and play in the
Four Corners Area. This area is part of the
Colorado Plateau where the region contains one of
the largest reserves of uranium. From the 1940's
to the 1970's, uranium was mined and milled for
weapons and nuclear development. The Red Valley
Area was the center of the mining activity. This
is where hundreds of Navajo men have been enslaved.
My father was one of these men who have worked in
this area. This was also the introduction to
America's industrialized system. The unemployment
was high back then and there was no jobs
available. The early mines were very unsafe
and dirty. There was no ventilation of these mines,
no safety equipment, no respirators, no gloves
were provided. They were constantly exposed to
radiation and other gases and smoke from the
blasting. The mine water was used for public
consumption and often taken home and used for
baby-formulas. I have heard all kinds of stories the men
have faced. Like, for example, a miner would pass
out in the mine, they would be dragged out of the
mine and given smelling salts and they were
driven back to go back to work, for 24 hour shifts,
seven days a week. Most of them were not told of
the dangers of mining, nor of the exposure of
radiation. The households were also contaminated
when the miners would go home with their clothes
dirty. 40 years later, men died of lung cancer
and other respiratory
illnesses.
My father, when he died two years ago,
was only 43 years old. It was very, very hard for
me to see him die a painful death. He weighed
only 90 pounds when he left us. I have never
witnessed anything like the way he died. And I
watched my mother suffer. My mother had to pick
up the responsibilities of raising us. My young
brother and two sisters were too young and hardly
knew their father. Today, they ask why and how
he died, and why the uranium company and the
U.S. government treated them like guinea-pigs.
Many other questions remain unanswered.
I'm constantly asked how did I get
involved. Seeing this happen and having the
nightmares, I decided to get involved and help
those who are suffering. Hundreds have died now
of similar patterns mostly from lung cancer and
respiratory problems. The first 16 miners that died,
their average age was only 43 years.
Based on the physical evidence and
devastation left behind by the uranium
companies, law suits were drawn up and they
went nowhere. The uranium companies said they
were never responsible for the dying of miners nor
the radioactive wastes they left behind.
This left us no alternatives but to resort to
Congress. Finally, after so many years, the
U.S. Congress had passed the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act in October of 1990. We did not
realize that the eligibility criteria were very
strict. To make the long story short, you had to be on the
death bed to qualify for the compensation. I
personally had asked the Department of Justice
why, why was the compassionate payments
mentioned, why they just paid the miners, why
that law was so strict.
For example, the living miner had to
produce x-rays that were certified, fibrosis and
pulmonary function tests, a blood status test had
to be done. All of this had to be most recently
updated. The widows were asked to come up with
death certificates, medical records, work history
and other pertinent records that would make them
eligible. We did not keep vital records because
we did not know what the uranium was going to do
later on. As of today, we don't have high-tech
facilities or specialized equipment to assess and
help to validate the needed documents. All of this
garbage is just another way, another scheme to
manipulate the Indian nation. They did not want
to pay out the money. I'm assisting a lot of miners
and families by collecting documents, instructing
them where to go to get registered. I do the
interpreting, corresponding and reconstructing their
work history. This job requires being on duty
seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day; much
more remains with this program. DOJ (Dept. of
Justice) had established this unit for 20 years,
so there is a lot of work that remains.
Not only were the miners victims, but the
Navajo mill workers were all showing symptoms
of this very exposure to uranium and the other
elements when they were processing uranium. The
miners and millers were not the only victims of
exposure. There are land, water, air and livestock,
and our young generations were severely
impacted. Birth defects are very high by this
poisoning. Today, we still have to look for
solutions and continue to explore options of how
we have to deal with this, providing proper health
services and cleaning up of left-over tailings and
abandoned uranium mines. There is over 1,200
mines abandoned right now. The radioactive
wastes are still very hot and range 50 to 100
times over the natural background. The
abandoned mines are still hot and pose health
risks by emitting radon gases. One of these mines
that leak water, the livestocks feed on it. 26 years
after the mining has stopped, we are left with the
waste, the sickness and sometimes no
alternatives to restore what was the original. The
genocide will never be forgotten.
After 22 years after my father died I still
remember him well, I still dream with him and
seems like it was only yesterday. Yes,
compensation is available, but money will not
make up for the loss of our loved ones. The
radioactive waste they say is safe, why can't
they be placed in their own backyard? I speak
the truth and sometimes work very hard at, I'm
like Manuel, who has stated before, I'm not very
popular at home among the politicians. Now,
myself and all of us here, it's up to us to
continue in our work and make our world a safe
environment for all the living things and the
young generation to live on.
Thank you.