Using the Precautionary Principle to Protect Health in Development of a Uranium Groundwater Standard

Uranium deposits occur throughout New Mexico, resulting in extensive past mining and milling. The current increase in the price of uranium suggests these operations will resume with new processes of primary risk to groundwaters. In 2001, the State Environment Departmetn requested review of the exisiting science of uranium toxicity in groundwater and development of a recommendation, based on sound science, to revise the existing 1970s standard to ensure protection of health of New Mexico communities. The distribution of the uranium coincides with regions of the state populated with Native American and Hispanic communities with a high prevalence of kidney disease and low socio-economic status: two factors with the potential to increase the risk for the primary toxicity of uranium to the kidneys. In addition, these regions were most heavily impacted by mining and milling in the past, and therefore had ongoing exposures to unremediated mine and mill tailings and resulting anthropogenic contamination. The presentation will discuss how the resulting recommendation for a health-based standard protective of all anticipated future uses of groundwater was developed through integration of basic toxicology and epidemiology of uranium, the group's knowledge of health disparities and environmental justice, the historical derivation of uranium standards and the use of the precautionary principle. The presentation will also discuss the testimony before the Water Quality Control Commission with opposition from the National Mining Association, and the revised standard resulting from that process. (supported by NIEHS P30 012072 & NMED-UNM/CEHP JPA)