the NUANCE // a community health podcast. · Medicine Explained.

Ep 126: Nuclear Abolition, Environmental Justice, and Cultural Preservation in Tribal Communities

·56 min·3 clips

Hexavalent chromium can cause cancer, lung fibrosis, kidney damage, birth defects, and loss of pregnancy.

1. the NUANCE Podcast episode centers on Nuclear Abolition, Environmental Justice, and Cultural Preservation in Tribal Communities, with Shanoa Scipio speaking from Santa Clara Pueblo and Navajo identity. 2. Amanda hosts Shanoa Scipio, an environmental justice project coordinator at Tewa Woman United, whose background in population health, Native American studies, and community organizing shapes her analysis. 3. The episode asks what environmental justice, reproductive justice, and healing justice are for when nuclear colonialism is affecting Pueblo land, water, and health. 4. Shanoa describes Tewa Woman United as a community-based organization led by Tewa women and rooted in the Tewa-speaking pueblos of the Northern Rio Grande area. 5. She explains that Tewa Woman United avoids the word 'mission' because of its roots in militarism and Catholic and Spanish occupation, and instead uses 'collective journey.' 6. She names the values Akin, pinha, and kimnal, along with respect, loving care, balance, and prayer, as part of the organization's framework. 7. Shanoa says the gender and generational healing justice program centers body sovereignty, safety, health, and opportunity for people of all genders. 8. She says the reproductive justice program protects autonomous, dignified birthing experiences for Indigenous women and the whole family unit. 9. She says the environmental justice program combines body, mind, and spiritual awareness with advocacy, policy change, and community education. 10. Shanoa connects environmental injustice to social determinants of health by saying where people live and work affects whether they can have a healthy life. 11. She names Los Alamos National Labs, expanded plutonium pit production, and the EPCU proposal for a third power line through Caja del Rio as active concerns. 12. She says the labs' supercomputer plans raise new questions about AI, data centers, and energy demand. 13. Shanoa explains that the hexavalent chromium plume originated from old cooling pipes, was discovered in 2005, and has migrated toward Pueblo de San Alfonso. 14. She says hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen linked to neurotoxicity, lung cancer, fibrosis, kidney damage, reproductive harms, and organ injury. 15. She describes the nuclear fuel chain in New Mexico, including uranium mining in western New Mexico, waste at Area G in White Rock, and transuranic waste sent to WIPP in Carlsbad. 16. Shanoa says the transportation of nuclear materials creates risks for communities along the routes because accidents or spills would expose people with little protection. 17. She says 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Trinity, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, and she links that history to cancers and breathing problems in affected communities. 18. The conversation is direct, policy-oriented, and grounded in local geography, with Amanda asking follow-up questions and Shanoa responding in extended explanatory passages. 19. Listeners interested in Pueblo sovereignty, nuclear history, and environmental health would likely connect with this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a light or fast-moving conversation about nuclear policy may skip it.

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