美国国家公共电台 NPR--The reopening of an uranium mine in Arizona has Indigenous people worried

The reopening of an uranium mine in Arizona has Indigenous¹ people worried

Transcript²

Under a push to develop nuclear energy, the U.S. is exploring sources for uranium to fuel them. An Indigenous tribe is worried that an uranium mine near the Grand Canyon³ may contaminate their water.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There's a new push to mine more uranium in the U.S. It's rooted in a growing demand for more nuclear power plants to curb⁴ climate change. And that's become an incentive⁵ for reopening an old uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park, but Native people in the area are wary⁶ of the industry's deadly past. From member station KJZZ, Michel Marizco reports.

MICHEL MARIZCO, BYLINE⁷: About a year ago, investment groups started getting more interested in acquiring uranium companies to address climate change. Then, in February, Russia invaded Ukraine. Talk about the U.S. sanctioning Russian uranium pushed prices higher, says Scott Melbye, president of the Uranium Producers of America.

SCOTT MELBYE: The faster we move away from those supplies, the better, for many reasons, both humanitarian⁸ and business-wise.

MARIZCO: Russia and former Soviet⁹ republics supply nearly half of all U.S. nuclear fuel now. But Curtis Moore, vice¹⁰ president of marketing¹¹ for the mining company Energy Fuels, says there's plenty of uranium in the U.S.

CURTIS MOORE: It just so happens that some of America's best uranium deposits are in northern Arizona.

MARIZCO: Uranium was first mined in this area when the U.S. was developing its atomic bombs used in World War II. Its legacy¹² is controversial. Native people working in the mines started reporting higher lung cancer rates. A uranium mine waste pond collapsed¹³ here in 1979, releasing more radiation than the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant failure. Moore says mining practices are safer now, and there are more environmental controls.

MOORE: We can't control where the good uranium or rare earth deposits, which - you know, and vanadium, which are the three critical minerals that we focus on - we can't control where they're found in nature.

(SOUNDBITE OF PUMP RUNNING)

MARIZCO: Stuart Chavez is deeply skeptical¹⁴.

STUART CHAVEZ: This location that was only used for ceremonial purposes - that's now been tarnished¹⁵ and tainted¹⁶ - was our heirloom.

MARIZCO: Chavez is a councilman of the Havasupai Nation, people who live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We're at a chain-link fence in the quiet and shade of the Kaibab National Forest, posted with no-trespassing signs. The hum of a giant pump cuts through the still air. A sign proclaims this site Energy Fuels' Pinyon Plain Mine. The Havasupai Nation has another name for it.

CHAVEZ: It's Mat Taav Tijundva - a gathering¹⁷ point.

MARIZCO: Earlier mining by the company pierced an aquifer¹⁸ here, so now it pumps water heavy with uranium and arsenic¹⁹ into a lined holding pond. Water is at the source of the tribe's conflict with Energy Fuels. They live downstream and want the mine to stay closed.

CHAVEZ: If they continue to operate and pull out ore, there's a high chance - there's a likelihood that that water could trickle²⁰ on down into Supai. That's what we're afraid of.

MARIZCO: Energy Fuels points to a study from the U.S. Geological Survey that found, in spite of the mined uranium, 95% of groundwater sites tested in the Grand Canyon met drinking water standards. The scientist who wrote the report cautions it's not definitive²¹. But in April, Arizona's Department of Environmental Quality granted Energy Fuels a vital environmental permit. Trevor Baggiore is a department director.

TREVOR BAGGIORE: The record plainly demonstrates - and ADEQ agrees - that the adverse²² impacts to groundwater from the mine are extremely unlikely.

MARIZCO: He said the permit addressed the tribe's concerns, but he is aware the Havasupai still oppose reopening the uranium mine.

BAGGIORE: From the stories that I've read that - it's clearly not satisfactory to have the mine in existence at all.

MARIZCO: Baggiore says the state is requiring Energy Fuels to drill extra groundwater monitoring wells and to keep checking the water 30 years after the mine closes. A 2012 moratorium²³ on new mining operations on 1 million acres of public land near the Grand Canyon is still in effect. But because this mine was already operating, it was grandfathered. Now, Amber²⁴ Reimondo with the Grand Canyon Trust, a conservation group, points out that the 2 1/2 million pounds of uranium that's estimated to be here is worth a lot more money.

AMBER REIMONDO: It's very convenient, I think, for uranium miners with mines in the United States to oversimplify and juxtapose themselves that it's either them or Russia.

MARIZCO: The danger here, she says, is to the Havasupai.

Standing²⁵ outside a sweat lodge²⁶ in the forest a few miles south of the mine, Carletta Tilousi, a former tribal²⁷ councilwoman, points out a looming²⁸ lava-capped protrusion²⁹ in the near distance - Red Butte, a Havasupai provenance³⁰ the tribe calls...

CARLETTA TILOUSI: Wii'i Gdwiisa. Wii'i Gdwiisa is the lungs of our Mother Earth, and all we want is it to be protected. We want it to be left alone.

MARIZCO: This is where the tribe was born, she said, and where its people are buried. Energy Fuels says it hasn't yet decided³¹ when it will open the mine. For NPR News, I'm Michel Marizco, reporting from Kaibab National Forest.

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

13 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

15 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

16 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

18 aquifer   

n.含水土层

参考例句：

• An aquifer is a water-bearing rock stratum such as sandstone and chalk.地下蓄水层是一些有水的岩石层，如沙岩和白垩岩。
• The wine region's first water came from an ancient aquifer.用来灌溉这个地区葡萄园的第一批水来自古老的地下蓄水层。

19 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

20 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

21 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

22 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

23 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

24 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

25 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

26 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

27 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

28 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

29 protrusion   

n.伸出，突出

参考例句：

• a protrusion on the rock face 岩石表面的突起部分
• Thumb-sucking can cause protrusion of the teeth. 经常吮吸拇指能使牙齿向外突出。 来自辞典例句

30 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。

31 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。