Nuclear Waste Management Actions in Hanford - Ecology Paper Example

Summary of Native American Interest at Hanford

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The federal government of America has for almost half a century, engaged in the activity of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons in Hanford. However, it has begun the process of cleaning up the 560 square mile site with aim of restoring the area to its natural state. Producing plutonium generates dangerous radioactive chemicals that can harm the environment and people. Parts of Hanford are so damaged and would take decades and billions of dollars to clean up.

Before Hanford, in what it is known today as Columbia River Plateau, the area was home for more than 8,000 people of Umatilla, Cause, and Walla-Walla tribes. The area provided all the needs of the tribes ranging from hunting, gathering, fishing, and vast grazing land for their horses. However, all that changed after the Euro-American migration. In 1855, the tribes ceded 6.4 million acres to the United States. They reserved the right to use the land for their economic and social activities. In the context of the 1855 treaty, the courts held that the government had a responsibility of preserving the natural state of the land. Failure to clean the area could be treated as treaty violation.

The interest of the indigenous tribes on Hanford has never been doubted. They have shown significant interest in activities that threaten their economic and social activities in the Hanford area. In 1982, the congress passed a Nuclear Waste Policy Act that highlighted the nuclear waste management and disposal after the activities of Hanford were found to have adverse effect on the indigenous tribe. The Act provided funds to support the tribes involvement in the cleanup process. Five years later, the amendments on the Act stopped the funding; however, the funding has currently been restored. In 1992, the tribes submitted testimony and technical arguments that supported the gazette of Hanford as wildlife refuge and a wild and scenic river. Hanford cleanup will likely dominate the Pacific Northwest Environment Agendas for years to come.

Summary of Safe as Mothers Milk: the Hanford Project

Hanford Reach is the remaining free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River resembling the nature of the river prior to 1850. The ancestors of Wanapum, Yakama, Colville, Umatilla and the Nez Perce used this region for economic and social activities. The area was utilized by the government for nuclear production activities which lead to displacement of the local tribes. The Wanapum Indians were the first tribe to be displaced when 560 square miles of the land in Hanford were seized for secret Manhattan Project in early 1940s. The tribal members were initially promised the use of the land, but were later denied in the name of national security. Indians who were displaced continued their traditional practices such as fishing along the great river. Fish was their main diet hence they survived mainly on fish rich diet.

In 1995, the Hanford Environment Dose Reconstruction took into account the contamination that occurred due to effluent reentering the river after cooling the rods. By 1960s Indians still consumed diet still rich in fish. In 2002 study, it showed that the Indians were hard hit by the contamination due to their eating habits. A $25 million study jointly conducted in 1989 by Environmental Protection Agency and Inter-Tribal Commission found out that the risk of developing cancer ranged from 7 in 10,000 people and 2 in 1000 people based on tests of the fish caught at different locations in Columbia Basin. In the context of other health risk from non-cancer diseases, it was found that the hazard level of consuming salmon and trout was 8 and 100 for sturgeon and mountain white fish. It was recommended that the previous estimates need to be evaluated due to their low radiation exposure for Native Americans report.

Summary of Yakama Nation Fights for Nuclear Waste Cleanup at Hanford Site

A 78 year old, Russell Jim an elder of the Yakama tribe in Washington state, expresses his anger on the various ills his tribes has faced over the last 150 years. Jim suffers from throat cancer and he blames the Hanford for the cancer. He also states that in three counties around Hanford registers the highest rates of birth defects which further demonstrate the effects of nuclear radiation from Harford. Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington State was a focal point of the US early nuclear weapon program which was the first plutonium production centre in the world. Between 1944 and 1972 the effluents contaminated by radioactive substances were channeled at the Columbia River. These high contaminants posed huge health risk to the people. Though the project was decommissioned in 1970s vast nuclear waste was left. The injustice to the Yakama tribe began in 1930s when the government began building hydropower projects in the great river which chocked the prolific salmon migration. The government confiscated the spiritual areas as well as hunting grounds which were contrary to the 1855 treaty that allowed the tribe to continue their social and economic activities in the area. Jim explains that the areas they are currently occupying is small and have asked to go back to Hanford, but have been told by the government that the safety of the area is not guaranteed. In 1982, the government promoted the act of making Hanford a waste disposal area of nuclear waste. However, the Yakama managed to stop. They have asked the government to initiate the cleaning process which the department of energy promised in 1998. Tom Carpenter an activist has indicated the contractor ding the cleanup is doing shady job. According to him the contractor claims the underground tank which is also leaking, and outer tank cannot accommodate more waste. The cost of a new tank is expensive. Therefore, the cleanup process has been involved in cat and mouse game which has undermined the cleanup process.