SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 19
47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005
INTRODUCED BY
Leonard Tsosie
FOR THE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
A JOINT MEMORIAL
URGING CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR TESTING RADIOACTIVITY LEVELS IN CERTAIN NEW MEXICO HOMES.
WHEREAS, major uranium mining sites were active in New Mexico's Indian country at Shiprock and Ambrosia Lake; and
WHEREAS, these sites are covered by the federal Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, which established plans for remediation and site clean-up; and
WHEREAS, small "mom and pop" uranium-related businesses sprang up during the heyday of mining; and
WHEREAS, some of these small "mom and pop" ventures were not included in remediation and site clean-up; and
WHEREAS, notification to individuals of the remediation and site clean-up was minimal; and
WHEREAS, individuals may have used uranium tailings in home construction and for other purposes; and
WHEREAS, dangers to health posed by uranium tailings are significant; and
WHEREAS, homes and "mom and pop" businesses near the Shiprock and Ambrosia Lake sites may be contaminated; and
WHEREAS, there is currently no program in place for testing or monitoring of individual homes and small business sites in these areas;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the members of New Mexico's congressional delegation be encouraged to introduce and support legislation providing for testing and monitoring of individual homes and small business sites in a thirty-mile radius of the Shiprock and Ambrosia Lake uranium mines; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that federal legislation give meaningful notification to residents of the area of eligibility for testing and remediation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of New Mexico's congressional delegation, to the United States nuclear regulatory commission and to the Navajo tribal utility authority.
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