MISSION: Southwest Research and Information Center is a multi-cultural organization working to promote the health of people and communities, protect natural resources, ensure citizen participation, and secure environmental and social justice now and for future generations

SRIC Extras

2005 Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Kicks Off!

The Central & Northern New Mexico Combined Federal Campaign kicked off at the VA Medical Center on September 20, 2005. SRIC set up a table with the other fine New Mexico charities and talked to representatives of Federal Agencies. We want to thank you for your participation. SRIC staff is available to talk to your Agencies at any time about our work, just contact your CFC Agency representative to make arrangements. And for those of you interested in making a pledge to our organization, our CFC organization number is still the same: 7067.

SRIC Staff Receives Awards

Don Hancock, Director of the Nuclear Waste Safety Program and Administrator at Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC), was the recipient of the 2005 Griff Salisbury Environmental Protection Award for two decades of work as a watchdog and advocate on nuclear waste issues. Don was praised as a leader in the effort to prevent the opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad and later worked to make WIPP safe. His work contributed to the imposition of safety and health requirements on WIPP, and he continues to monitor WIPP to ensure that those requirements are met and to prevent expansion of the types of waste that can be disposed of there.

Don has also had a significant impact on other facilities in and near New Mexico that involve the manufacture and handling of nuclear materials. These include the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, the proposed Louisiana Energy Services uranium enrichment plant in Eunice, New Mexico, and the Pantex Plant in Texas.

Navajo activist and SRIC staffer Harris Arthur posthumously received the 2005 Karl Souder Water Protection Award along with Navajo Nation Councilman George Arthur and the Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) for their work towards the adoption of the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act (DNRPA). The DNRPA is the first tribal law in the United States that prohibits uranium mining and processing. The law applies to lands within Navajo Indian Country, which includes Navajo communities outside of the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Due to their hard work, the bill was passed by a vote of 63-19 in the Navajo Tribal Council, and signed by Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr. on April 29th, 2005.

HOMELAND
Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action, a feature-length documentary film presented in the Spring 2005 issue of Voices from the Earth, is about to appear before a national audience. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has accepted it for inclusion in their November line-up. Contact your local PBS station for details. You can also go to www.katahdin.org for more information about the filmmakers.