This map is a fascinating and important image as it does NOT show the many sites of (ongoing) nuclear radiation contamination in communities impacted by uranium extraction and processing. For example, the Navajo Nation has around 270 unreclaimed open pit tailings piles. This is not official "waste" but is quotidian waste that creates longstanding environmental harm.
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We need social media skills, organizational skills, community organizing skills, expertise on environmental research; teaching;
During our visit, I was struck by the landscape around the mound. Vast prairie, with woods in the distance, together with the remote location of the site made space feel empty. This notion of emptiness or insignificance came up occasionally in our discussions as we walked through or looked at artworks of the landscape. However, Kim, in particular, resisted the idea that these ecosystems have nothing to show, but are beautiful in their own way.
I had to think of these conversations again when I looked through the slide show and found this image of the bird house. In contrast to the ongoing dispute about the clean-up at West Lake Landfill, the Weldon Springs mound is emblematic of the idea of remediation/restoration. During our tour, I remember being told that certain species were returning to the site or the surrounding woods (is that correct? what did they say exactly?). Birds are also interesting actors in regards to opening up and cleaning the landfill, which might increase their presence. They have been discussed as both a threat to the nearby airport traffic and a species to be protected from the radioactive wast itself by adding additional measures.