Ecological risks of uranium mining in the Grand Canyon region are unknown.1 Uranium mines are sources of radiation and chemical contaminants. Chemical analyses of plants and animals for uranium and other contaminants found in breccia pipes have not been performed. Exposure pathways were identified but not prioritized by risk.2 Local species have specialized behaviors that allow them to survive in the arid environment. These behaviors may also increase their exposure to contaminants. For example, some animals spend a lot of time in burrows, where they may inhale, ingest, or absorb uranium and other contaminants while digging, eating, preening, and hibernating. Existing protective thresholds developed using common laboratory animals may have limited use in assessing real-world risk given the behaviors of wild species.
Objectives
Conduct an risk analysis for animals at breccia pipe uranium mines.
Findings
A terrestrial risk analysis was conducted.3 Highlights from this work include:
Completed
Task 15: Conduct ecological risk analysis integrating all data from previous studies in this plan
1 Alpine, Andrea E., ed., 2010, Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in northern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010—5025, 353 p., 1 pl., scale 1:375,000
2 Hinck, J.E., Linder, G., Darrah, A.J., Drost, C.A., Duniway, M.C., Johnson, M.J., Mendez-Harclerode, F.M., Nowak, E.M., Valdez, E.W., Wolff, S., and van Riper III, C., 2014, Exposure pathways and biological receptors--Baseline data for the Canyon Uranium Mine, Coconino County, Arizona: Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, v. 5, no. 2, p. 422-440
3 Hinck, J.E., Cleveland, D., Sample. B.S., 2021, Terrestrial ecological risk analysis via dietary exposure at uranium mine sites in the Grand Canyon watershed (Arizona, USA), Chemosphere, vol. 265, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129049
Jo Ellen Hinck
Biologist
Columbia Environmental Research Center
573.876.1808
jhinck@usgs.gov
