{"id":47666,"date":"2025-08-11T15:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T22:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=47666"},"modified":"2025-08-11T15:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T22:51:10","slug":"memories-that-do-not-heal-the-legacy-of-uranium-mining-at-laguna-pueblo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/memories-that-do-not-heal-the-legacy-of-uranium-mining-at-laguna-pueblo\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMemories that do not heal\u201d: the legacy of uranium mining at Laguna Pueblo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Following passage of the Radiation and Exposure and Compensation Act expansion, which includes post-1971 miners for the first time, Searchlight spoke with three tribal members whose lives were changed forever by a toxic industry.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

by Aviva Nathan, Searchlight New Mexico<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story<\/a> was originally published at Searchlight New Mexico<\/a>, a NMPBS partner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Loretta Anderson outside of Millie Chino\u2019s house. Scarred cliffs from uranium mining are visible in the distance. Aviva Nathan\/Searchlight New Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On July 25, I drove to the Pueblo of Laguna to speak with Loretta Anderson, Millie Chino and Vincent Rodriguez, steering members of an advocacy group called the Southwest Uranium Miners Coalition Post-71. Anderson co-founded the organization in 2014 to fight for the expansion of paid benefits \u2014 to uranium workers who entered the industry after 1971 \u2014 under the Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act (RECA), the 1990 law created to provide financial support to people exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing as well as the milling, mining and transporting of uranium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Laguna, the mines deformed the hills into tiered sites of extraction that are still gray from the uranium. Infrastructure that was built for the mining still remains, now in a state of disrepair. In the wake of mining, what was once a hill collapsed into a contaminated green pond that smells like methane. (The mine in question, called Jackpile Mine, was the largest open-pit uranium mine in the world and operated both underground and open-pit areas.) Anderson\u2019s late husband, Roy Cheresposy, was a miner. Chino lost her husband, James, another miner, in 2023. Vincent Rodriguez was also a miner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our conversation took place while we drove around various sites on pueblo land that were affected by mining that happened here between 1953 and 1982. It followed the recent RECA expansion that\u2019s part of President Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed on July 4. This legislation, for the first time, will compensate post-1971 uranium workers, offering a one-time payment of $100,000 to New Mexico workers who meet certain criteria related to exposure and health consequences. Compensation will be overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); the agency has yet to release the new RECA application forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The urgent desire of downwinders and uranium workers to be compensated after decades of waiting has been seized upon by lawyers, home health care companies and other third parties that hope to get a slice of the pie for themselves. Already, there has been a cacophony of misinformation and rumors of unlawful solicitation. (For details on how the application process should work, see our sidebar about frequently asked questions.) Right now, it\u2019s difficult to estimate how much will be paid in expanded compensation. Since Reca was first passed, more than $2.7 billion has been awarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While potential applicants are in limbo, the physical source of harm remains unattended. The Jackpile Mine, which was declared a Superfund site in 2013, is vacant, but it\u2019s still exposed and quietly lethal. Meanwhile, members of the steering committee have expressed concern that uranium mining could begin again shortly, given the Trump administration\u2019s eagerness to expand uranium mining, which includes efforts to fast-track<\/a> the opening of mines in New Mexico. Susan Gordon, a coordinator with the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment, adds that further steps are required of companies before they can start mining again in this state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land and memory converged as Anderson, Chino and Rodriguez spoke about the history and intimate impact of uranium mining in Laguna Pueblo. The following transcript is edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A cliff inside the Jackpile Mine site that\u2019s visible from the village of Paguate. The gray color is uranium that was too low-grade to be considered valuable. Aviva Nathan\/Searchlight New Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I drove onto Laguna land, which sits around 50 miles west of Albuquerque, Anderson drove ahead of me and contextualized the landscape over the phone. I\u2019ve added Chino\u2019s comments from a trip on the same roads a few hours later.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millie Chino: <\/strong>They used to have sheep camps along these hills, years ago before the mining started. But once it started, they couldn\u2019t herd anymore, because of the blasting and all the production going on. Many of our people were farmers and sheepherders and cattle workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lorretta Anderson: <\/strong>There was no acknowledgement of the harm being done by the mines. That\u2019s the terrible part. If you look up at those hills, you can see where the gray clay is. That gray color is uranium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was where the mines were. Part of it, anyway. They did do a reclamation at one time, but they only put on a thin layer of dirt. They didn\u2019t clean it up. That dirt all has to have blown away already. The people who did the reclamation are sick. They didn\u2019t have any protective gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chino:<\/strong> On your left, you\u2019ll see the housing area where the supervisors of the mines and their children and families lived. We\u2019ve been told they\u2019re all deceased. Even their children, they died of cancers. My mom worked there as a housekeeper for one of the big shots. Both my parents passed away from radiation diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson:<\/strong> On the right, you can see the arroyo. Now it\u2019s highly contaminated. It\u2019s seeping down the Rio San Jose. Uranium contaminated our Mesita Dam. And there\u2019s a little lake here that\u2019s highly contaminated. That is a hot spot. They don\u2019t know what to do with it. If you stop here, you will see that the horses, cattle and all the animals drink off that area where it\u2019s highly contaminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we\u2019re entering the village of Paguate. People here are very sick. They\u2019re suffering and dying. The majority of our people were working at the mines. From January 1, 1972, the uranium mining industry just expanded so much, and everybody was employed there at that point. I was living in Seama Village. I live about 11 miles from the mines, down in the valley. I\u2019m in the farthest village, actually. We have six villages in Laguna Pueblo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived at Chino\u2019s house. In her living room, she read from a poster she\u2019d made.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chino:<\/strong> These are recollections of my childhood memories, and I\u2019ve titled it, \u201cMemories That Do Not Heal.\u201d The recollections of childhood memories living in Paguate village are of pain, heartbreak and anger. Anger. Uranium mining operations began near our village in the 1950s. A frightening sound became an everyday event. A dynamite blasting happened at least twice per day. When the blasting occurred, everything vibrated. The village shook. The houses built with rock and mud were affected by the vibrations. The pictures that hung on the walls fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As children, we were so curious and excited by the loud explosive booms coming from the uranium mine. We figured out the blasting schedule. We gathered at the edge of the village to observe the huge billowing of dust clouds after the blast. The clouds of dust drifted over the village and settled on everything. Women dried fruit and meat outside their homes. Families ate the contaminated food, not knowing the eventual consequences. Years passed. The continued blasting caused cracks in the walls of homes. The outdoor oven walls cracked. The women could not bake bread, roast corn or cook. Today, there are no ovens to be used as they once were. They are in disrepair. As mining operations continued, miners and community members were exposed to the toxic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jackpile Mine closed in 1982. Since then, we\u2019ve lived with the knowledge that many community members are sick and dying from cancers. Kidney and respiratory diseases. My beloved spouse, a Vietnam veteran, parents and other relatives passed away from the uranium diseases. These are memories of my childhood growing up in the village so near to the uranium mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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