#Repost @anonymousnyc59 with @repostapp ・・・ #Repost @irothz . ・・・ @Regrann from @nosce_te_ipsum__ - The news out of #FlintMichigan brought the issue of contaminated drinking #water into sharp focus, as it was revealed that officials at every level #local #state and #federal knew about #leadpoisoned water for months but did nothing to address the problem. Under state-run systems like utilities and roads, poorer communities are the last to receive attention from #government plagued by inefficiencies and corrupt politicians. Perhaps no group knows this better than #NativeAmericans who have been #victimized by government for centuries. In the #western U.S., water contamination has been a way of life for many #tribes The advocacy group #CleanUpTheMines describes the situation in #Navajocountry which is far worse than in Flint, Michigan. Since the 1950s, their water has been poisoned by #uranium mining to fuel the #nuclearindustry and the making of #atomicbombs for the #U.S.military Coal mining and coal-fired power plants have added to the mix. The latest assault on Navajo water was carried out by the massive toxic spills into the #Animas and San Juan rivers when the #EPA recklessly attempted to address the abandoned #GoldKingMine “In 2015 the Gold King Mine spill was a wake-up call to address dangers of abandoned mines, but there are currently more than 15,000 #toxic uranium mines that remain abandoned throughout the US,” said Charmaine White Face from the #SouthDakota based organization Defenders of the #BlackHills “For more than 50 years, many of these hazardous sites have been contaminating the land, air, water, and national monuments such as #Mt.Rushmore and the #GrandCanyon Each one of these thousands of abandoned uranium mines is a potential Gold King mine disaster with the greater added threat of #radioactive pollution. For the sake of our health, air, land, and water, we can’t let that happen.” There is no comprehensive law requiring cleanup of abandoned uranium mines, meaning #corporations and government can walk away from them after exploiting their resources. 75 percent of abandoned uranium mines are on federal and #Triballands
