reprinted with permission from
Poison Fire, Sacred Earth,

TESTIMONIES, LECTURES, CONCLUSIONS,
THE WORLD URANIUM HEARING, SALZBURG 1992

pages 156-157

From the 1940's to the 1970's, uranium was mined and milled for weapons and nuclear development. The Red Valley Area was the center of the mining activity. This is where hundreds of Navajo men have been enslaved.
My father was one of these men who have worked in this area. This was also the introduction to America's industrialized system. The unemployment was high back then and there was no jobs available. The early mines were very unsafe and dirty. There was no ventilation of these mines, no safety equipment, no respirators, no gloves were provided. They were constantly exposed to radiation and other gases and smoke from the blasting. The mine water was used for public consumption and often taken home and used for baby-formulas. I have heard all kinds of stories the men have faced. Like, for example, a miner would pass out in the mine, they would be dragged out of the mine and given smelling salts and they were driven back to go back to work, for 24 hour shifts, seven days a week. Most of them were not told of the dangers of mining, nor of the exposure of radiation. The households were also contaminated when the miners would go home with their clothes dirty. 40 years later, men died of lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses.
My father, when he died two years ago, was only 43 years old. It was very, very hard for me to see him die a painful death. He weighed only 90 pounds when he left us. I have never witnessed anything like the way he died. And I watched my mother suffer. My mother had to pick up the responsibilities of raising us. . . . Hundreds have died now of similar patterns mostly from lung cancer and respiratory problems. The first 16 miners that died, their average age was only 43 years.
. . . Today, we still have to look for solutions and continue to explore options of how we have to deal with this, providing proper health services and cleaning up of left-over tailings and abandoned uranium mines. There is over 1,200 mines abandoned right now. The radioactive wastes are still very hot and range 50 to 100 times over the natural background. The abandoned mines are still hot and pose health risks by emitting radon gases. One of these mines that leak water, the livestocks feed on it. 26 years after the mining has stopped, we are left with the waste, the sickness and sometimes no alternatives to restore what was the original. The genocide will never be forgotten. . . . Yes, compensation is available, but money will not make up for the loss of our loved ones. The radioactive waste they say is safe, why can't they be placed in their own backyard?




Philipp Harrison

Philipp Harrison, Diné (Navajo) Nation, Arizona, USA. President of the Uranium Radiation Victims Committee, co-founder of the Four Corners Navajo Millers' Association, Navajo Compensation Officer of the Navajo Nation for the compensation of miners.

Hello! My name is Phil Harrison from the Navajo Nation which is near the Four Corners of America. I am of the Red House Clan on my mother's side and Red-Sand-Run-Into-The-Water [Clan] of my father. I'm currently serving as President of the Uranium Radiation Victims Committee and co-founder of the Four Corners Navajo Millers' Association, which is located in my area in Shiprock, in the Navajo Nation. It's my pleasure to be a participant in this Hearing. It is our commitment, sacrifice and dedication that we educate the people all over the world about radiation and other uranium poison. I have been in this work for ten years.

In my presentation today I will share with you the experience of nightmares of what my family and my people have endured for five decades. I'm listed to give a presentation of the compensation which I'll briefly touch. I'll share with you as much as I can, of our suffering and humiliation that was put upon us. We live, work and play in the Four Corners Area. This area is part of the Colorado Plateau where the region contains one of the largest reserves of uranium. From the 1940's to the 1970's, uranium was mined and milled for weapons and nuclear development. The Red Valley Area was the center of the mining activity. This is where hundreds of Navajo men have been enslaved.

My father was one of these men who have worked in this area. This was also the introduction to America's industrialized system. The unemployment was high back then and there was no jobs available. The early mines were very unsafe and dirty. There was no ventilation of these mines, no safety equipment, no respirators, no gloves were provided. They were constantly exposed to radiation and other gases and smoke from the blasting. The mine water was used for public consumption and often taken home and used for baby-formulas. I have heard all kinds of stories the men have faced. Like, for example, a miner would pass out in the mine, they would be dragged out of the mine and given smelling salts and they were driven back to go back to work, for 24 hour shifts, seven days a week. Most of them were not told of the dangers of mining, nor of the exposure of radiation. The households were also contaminated when the miners would go home with their clothes dirty. 40 years later, men died of lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses.

My father, when he died two years ago, was only 43 years old. It was very, very hard for me to see him die a painful death. He weighed only 90 pounds when he left us. I have never witnessed anything like the way he died. And I watched my mother suffer. My mother had to pick up the responsibilities of raising us. My young brother and two sisters were too young and hardly knew their father. Today, they ask why and how he died, and why the uranium company and the U.S. government treated them like guinea-pigs. Many other questions remain unanswered.

I'm constantly asked how did I get involved. Seeing this happen and having the nightmares, I decided to get involved and help those who are suffering. Hundreds have died now of similar patterns mostly from lung cancer and respiratory problems. The first 16 miners that died, their average age was only 43 years.

Based on the physical evidence and devastation left behind by the uranium companies, law suits were drawn up and they went nowhere. The uranium companies said they were never responsible for the dying of miners nor the radioactive wastes they left behind.

This left us no alternatives but to resort to Congress. Finally, after so many years, the U.S. Congress had passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in October of 1990. We did not realize that the eligibility criteria were very strict. To make the long story short, you had to be on the death bed to qualify for the compensation. I personally had asked the Department of Justice why, why was the compassionate payments mentioned, why they just paid the miners, why that law was so strict.

For example, the living miner had to produce x-rays that were certified, fibrosis and pulmonary function tests, a blood status test had to be done. All of this had to be most recently updated. The widows were asked to come up with death certificates, medical records, work history and other pertinent records that would make them eligible. We did not keep vital records because we did not know what the uranium was going to do later on. As of today, we don't have high-tech facilities or specialized equipment to assess and help to validate the needed documents. All of this garbage is just another way, another scheme to manipulate the Indian nation. They did not want to pay out the money. I'm assisting a lot of miners and families by collecting documents, instructing them where to go to get registered. I do the interpreting, corresponding and reconstructing their work history. This job requires being on duty seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day; much more remains with this program. DOJ (Dept. of Justice) had established this unit for 20 years, so there is a lot of work that remains.

Not only were the miners victims, but the Navajo mill workers were all showing symptoms of this very exposure to uranium and the other elements when they were processing uranium. The miners and millers were not the only victims of exposure. There are land, water, air and livestock, and our young generations were severely impacted. Birth defects are very high by this poisoning. Today, we still have to look for solutions and continue to explore options of how we have to deal with this, providing proper health services and cleaning up of left-over tailings and abandoned uranium mines. There is over 1,200 mines abandoned right now. The radioactive wastes are still very hot and range 50 to 100 times over the natural background. The abandoned mines are still hot and pose health risks by emitting radon gases. One of these mines that leak water, the livestocks feed on it. 26 years after the mining has stopped, we are left with the waste, the sickness and sometimes no alternatives to restore what was the original. The genocide will never be forgotten.

After 22 years after my father died I still remember him well, I still dream with him and seems like it was only yesterday. Yes, compensation is available, but money will not make up for the loss of our loved ones. The radioactive waste they say is safe, why can't they be placed in their own backyard? I speak the truth and sometimes work very hard at, I'm like Manuel, who has stated before, I'm not very popular at home among the politicians. Now, myself and all of us here, it's up to us to continue in our work and make our world a safe environment for all the living things and the young generation to live on.

Thank you.