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In Memory of Lewis Bennett September 24, 1927 to November 7, 2009. You will be missed. Trinity Rises is the story of a young woman who is dealing...
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In Memory of Lewis Bennett September 24, 1927 to November 7, 2009. You will be missed. Trinity Rises is the story of a young woman who is dealing with the damage to her family and her community as a result of uranium mining. Is her grandfather a Cold War Patriot or a victim of a government who put the creation of nuclear weapons before the health of the miners? She wants to protest against the government but will anyone join her? Does the promise of economic prosperity outweigh the health risks?
Credits (in order of appearance)
Trinity - Lynsey Bohannon
Peter - Dustin Vigil
Grandpa Joe - Lewis Bennett
Randy - Bruce Williams
Tom - Ryle Yazzie
Directed, Written, Cut and Shot by Doug Bocaz-Larson
Sound and Assistant Camera - Tim Brown
Crew - Jimmy Raphael
Produced by Poco Loco Productions of NMSU Grants in Grants, New Mexico (the Uranium Capital of the World)
From Wikipedia:
"Rise, stagnation, renaissance and opposition to uranium mining
In the beginning of the Cold War, to ensure adequate supplies of uranium for national defense, the United States Congress passed the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946, creating the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) which had the power to withdraw prospective uranium mining land from public purchase, and also to manipulate the price of uranium to meet national needs. By setting a high price for uranium ore, the AEC created a uranium "boom" in the early 1950s, which attracted many prospectors to the four corners region of the country. Moab, Utah became known as the Uranium-capital of the world, when geologist Charles Steen discovered such an ore in 1952, even though American ore sources were considerably less potent than those in the Belgian Congo or South Africa.
At the height of the nuclear energy euphoria in the 1950s methods for extracting diluted uranium and thorium, found in abundance in granite or seawater, were pursued.[35] Scientists promised that, used in a breeder reactor, these materials would potentially provide limitless source of energy.
American military requirements declined in the 1960s, and the government completed its uranium procurement program by the end of 1970. Simultaneously, a new market emerged: commercial nuclear power plants. However, in the U.S. this market virtually collapsed by the end of the 1970s as a result of industrial strains caused by the energy crisis, popular opposition, and finally the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979, all of which led to a de facto moratorium on the development of new nuclear reactor power stations.
In Europe a mixed situation exists. Considerable nuclear power capacities have been developed, notably in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. In many countries development of nuclear power has been stopped and phased out by legal actions. In Italy the use of nuclear power was barred by a referendum in 1987, however this is now under revision.[36] Ireland also has no plans to change its non-nuclear stance and pursue nuclear power in the future.[37]
Since 1981 uranium prices and quantities in the US are reported by the Department of Energy.[38][39] The import price dropped from 32.90 US$/lb-U3O8 in 1981 down to 12.55 in 1990 and to below 10 US$/lb-U3O8 in the year 2000. Prices paid for uranium during the 1970s were higher, 43 US$/lb-U3O8 is reported as the selling price for Australian uranium in 1978 by the Nuclear Information Centre.
Uranium prices reached an all-time low in 2001, costing US$7/lb, but has since rebounded strongly and in the last few months extremely so. In April 2007 the price of Uranium on the spot market rose to US$113.00/lb.[40] This is very close to the all time high (adjusted for inflation) in 1977.[41] The higher price has spurred expansion of current mines, construction of new mines and reopening of old mines as well as new prospecting.
[edit] Health risks of uranium mining
Because uranium ore emits radon gas, uranium mining can be more dangerous than other underground mining, unless adequate ventilation systems are installed. During the 1950s, many Navajos in the U.S. became uranium miners, as many uranium deposits were discovered on Navajo reservations. A statistically significant subset of these early miners later developed small cell carcinoma after exposure to uranium ore.[42] Radon-222, a natural decay product of uranium, has been shown to be the cancer-causing agent.[43] Some American survivors and their descendants received compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990.
In January 2008 Areva was nominated for an Anti Oscar Award.[44] The French state-owned company mines uranium in northern Niger where mine workers are not informed about health risks, and analysis shows radioactive contamination of air, water and soil.The local organization that represents the mine workers, spoke of "suspicious deaths among the workers, caused by radioactive dust and contaminated groundwater."[45]"
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