New Mexico HM 33: "URANIUM WORKERS DAY"

Bill Text

HM 33
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A MEMORIAL
DECLARING FEBRUARY 14, 2023 "URANIUM WORKERS DAY" IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
WHEREAS, the Grants mineral belt, situated between
Shiprock and the Pueblo of Laguna, contains one of the
world's richest uranium deposits; and
WHEREAS, during a thirty-year period beginning in 1948,
the Grants mineral belt produced more uranium than any other
district in the world and accounted for one-third of all of
the uranium produced in the United States during that period;
and
WHEREAS, the history of uranium mining has involved
small "mom and pop" surface and underground mines and large-
scale commercial surface and underground mines; and
WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation has identified over five
hundred abandoned uranium mines on tribal lands; and
WHEREAS, the mining and minerals division of the energy,
minerals and natural resources department has identified
nearly six hundred mine and exploration sites in McKinley,
Cibola and Sandoval counties alone; and
WHEREAS, a recent inventory study identified two hundred
fifty-nine uranium mine sites in New Mexico and of these, one
hundred thirty-seven have no record of any reclamation; and
WHEREAS, in addition to uranium mines, mills used to

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process ore to yellowcake were constructed and operated at
seven sites in New Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the United States department of energy reports
that nearly twelve thousand people were employed in the
uranium mining and milling industry in the United States in
1980; and
WHEREAS, the energy, minerals and natural resources
department estimates that about seven thousand people were
employed in the uranium industry in New Mexico in 1978, the
record year for uranium production in the state; and
WHEREAS, limited studies on the health risks to miners
from uranium exposure showed that Navajo uranium miners were
three times more likely to die from lung cancer than the
United States average; and
WHEREAS, uranium miners were five times more likely to
develop lung cancer than the general population; and
WHEREAS, exposure to dust, gases, exhaust and fumes as
well as the lack of protective clothing and safety measures,
such as miners coming in contact with water from the mine
ceilings or eating their lunches while at work, can result in
non-malignant and malignant respiratory diseases; and
WHEREAS, an increased risk for kidney disease,
hypertension and autoimmune diseases may have occurred from
mining-era exposures and environmental legacy exposures; and
WHEREAS, the negative effects of uranium mining and

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milling and the health impacts from working in a mine are
stressors for individuals and families; and
WHEREAS, many former workers and their families continue
to live in communities that have not been adequately cleaned
up or reclaimed and, as a result, may experience continued
exposure to harmful contamination in the air and environment;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that recognition
be extended to uranium workers and that February 14, 2023 be
proclaimed "Uranium Workers Day" in the house of
representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to members of the New Mexico congressional
delegation, the governor of the Pueblo of Laguna, the governor
of the Pueblo of Acoma, the president of the Navajo Nation and
the county commissioners of Cibola, Sandoval and McKinley
counties.