AUDIO: The White Mesa Uranium Mill pollutes the Tribal community.

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: CN2GO
  • Runtime: 4:57
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THIS IS YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2GO BRIEFING.

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I’M EMMA VANDENEINDE. (  go to story ) 

HEADLINE: The Arizona Senate votes down more election bills

SUMMARY: Many election bills failed to pass in the Arizona Senate

THE ARIZONA SENATE VOTED DOWN MORE ELECTION BILLS MONDAY THAT STEM BACK TO THE SENATE REPUBLICANS’ 2020 ELECTION REVIEW. IT WAS THE THIRD TIME IN A WEEK THAT ELECTION BILLS DIED FROM ONE OR MORE REPUBLICANS AND ALL DEMOCRATS.

THE MEASURES WOULD HAVE CREATED CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR ANY MISSTEPS BY ELECTION WORKERS AND CONTRACTORS. THEY WOULD HAVE ALSO CREATED NEW RIGHTS FOR ELECTION OBSERVERS, LIKE THE RIGHT TO QUESTION ELECTION OFFICIALS DURING COUNTING. ANOTHER BILL WOULD HAVE SET NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR POST-ELECTION AUDITS AND RECORD KEEPING ON EACH BALLOT. 

TWO REPUBLICAN SENATORS ALONG WITH DEMOCRATS HAVE CONSISTENTLY VOTED AGAINST THE MEASURES, CALLING THEM UNWORKABLE, UNNECESSARY OR DUPLICATIVE.

HEADLINE:  Mask mandate lift for universities

SUMMARY: Arizona college’s are lifting their mask mandates this week

UNIVERSITIES IN ARIZONA HAVE BEGUN TO LIFT CAMPUS MASK MANDATES THIS MONTH. THIS CHANGE COMES​ AFTER THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION UPDATED ITS GUIDELINES ON FEBRUARY 25. NORTHERN ARIZONA REMOVED ITS MANDATE ON MARCH 7TH. ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOLLOWED THIS WEEK. 

HOWEVER, THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PLANS TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH 21ST TO LIFT ITS MASK MANDATE.  

ALL THREE STATE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES STILL WILL REQUIRE MASKS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, AT TESTING AND VACCINATION SITES OR OTHER CAMPUS HEALTH SERVICES, AND IN AREAS THAT ALREADY REQUIRED PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN.

THE ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES REPORTS THAT AS OF MARCH 9, THERE WERE MORE THAN 65-HUNDRED NEW CASES ACROSS THE STATE. NUMBERS ARE DOWN TREMENDOUSLY COMPARED TO THE NEARLY 150,000 CASES A WEEK SEEN BACK IN JANUARY WHEN THE OMICRON VARIANT BECAME PREVALENT. 

HEADLINE:  The White Mesa Uranium Mill pollutes the Tribal community.

SUMMARY: A report shows that more than 700 million pounds of radioactive waste has been buried at the White MesaMill near the Ute Tribe.

HOST INTRO: 

THE GRAND CANYON TRUST RELEASED A REPORT TUESDAY THAT DETAILS THE IMPACT THAT A URANIUM MILL HAS HAD NEAR THE ARIZONA / UTAH BORDER. CRONKITE NEWS’S ALEXANDRA MORA MEDINA EXPLAINS. 

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THE WHITE MESA URANIUM MILL IS THE COUNTRY’S ONLY FULLY LICENSED OPERATION OF ITS KIND IN THE U.S. IT’S NEAR THE UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE IN SOUTHEAST UTAH. IT WAS BUILT IN 1980 TO PROCESS DOMESTIC URANIUM ORE INCLUDING FROM THE GRAND CANYON REGION. THE REPORT FROM THE GRAND CANYON TRUST FINDS THAT MORE THAN SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION POUNDS OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE IS BURIED IN PITS AT THE SITE. AND THE MILL HAS TAKEN RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING CANADA, EUROPE AND JAPAN SINCE THE 1990S.  

THE UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE CLAIMS THAT RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FROM THE MILL HAS IMPACTED AIR, LAND AND WATER. 

LAST AUGUST THE TRIBE PASSED A RESOLUTION STATING THE MILL’S OPERATIONS HAS HAD A “SEVERE IMPACT” ON THE HEALTH OF RESIDENTS AT WHITE MESA AND SHOULD STOP OPERATIONS. MANUEL HEART IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE. 

“So our concern from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is how do we protect our tribal members to access of clean water of radioactive waste that’s two and a half miles three miles from them.”

YOLANDA BADBACK IS A LONG TIME WHITE MESA COMMUNITY MEMBER. SHE’S CONCERNED ABOUT WATER TOWERS BEING CONTAMINATED WITH URANIUM. 

“I want it to move somewhere out a middle of the desert somewhere where it’s not near no Native American reservation, you know, it hurts us people here in our community, because we are downstream from this mill.”

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY BARRED THE MILL FROM TAKING SUPERFUND WASTE IN DECEMBER BUT NOT FROM OTHER LOCATIONS. IN A STATEMENT TUESDAY  WHITE MESA MILL SAID  IT OPERATES AT THE “HIGHEST GLOBAL STANDARDS.” IT ALSO HIGHLIGHTED IT’S RECYCLING OF MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF URANIUM THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE LOST TO DIRECT DISPOSAL. 

ALEXANDRA MORA MEDINA, CRONKITE NEWS. 

 

HEADLINE: Maricopa County homeless count increases by 35% in past two years

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted their most recent Point In Time Count of homeless individuals, and the number of people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County grew by 35 percent in the last two years.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IN MARICOPA COUNTY HAS GROWN BY 35 PERCENT OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. THAT NUMBER STEADILY ROSE FROM 20-14 TO 20-20.  A COUNT WAS NOT DONE LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC. 

RESEARCH COMES FROM THE “POINT IN TIME COUNT” OVERSEEN BY THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. IT PROVIDES A ONE-DAY SNAPSHOT OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LIVING WITHOUT A SHELTER.

MORE THAN SIXTY PERCENT OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS COME FROM PHOENIX. MANY OF THEM SUFFER FROM THE HOUSING CRISIS AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FROM COVID-19.

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WE HAD HELP TODAY FROM ALEXANDRA MORA MEDINA AND JUSTIN TORRES . 

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YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STORIES YOU HEARD IN TODAY’S NEWS UPDATE, BY GOING TO CRONKITENEWS-DOT-AZPBS-DOT-ORG. 

THAT’S ALL FOR YOUR CRONKITE NEWS 2 GO. I’M EMMA VANDENEINDE. 

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