I obtained the data for the base map from the U.S. EPA report (2007) Abandoned Uranium MInes and the Navajo Nation: Navajo Nation AUM Screening Assessment Report and Atlas with Geospatial Data including point, line, and polygon Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets. Aerial, Street, and topographic base maps were sourced from Environmental Systems Research Institute’s (ESRI) ArcGIS Server, PostgreSQL (Structured Query Language) and ArcSDE (Spatial Database Engine) software. In addition to simple viewing and downloading of data, the server is also able to provide online editing and geoprocessing functionality as well as tools for uploading of “volunteered geographic information” (VGI) from web users. On examining the EPA atlas I noticed that all of the uranium mine features appeared the same. Not all the uranium mines have the same potential for harm, thus a proportional symbology needed to be applied. Following Abel (2008) and Abel and White (2011), I used proportional symbols to show where the EPA had determined the areas that cleanup should be focused on.
I collaborated with members of the Navajo nation to map sources of uranium exposures in and near their communities. Most of the social science literature on environmental injustice repeatedly addressed only statistical averages of proximity (Bowen et al., 1995; Boer et al., 1997; Gilbert and Chakroborty, 2010; Mohai et al., 2009; Pastor et al., 2002; and Sicotte and Swanson, 2007). Instead of analyzing environmental injustice with the science of statistical averages, this interactive web mapping application allows the identification of high risk clusters where limited environmental justice resources can be directed. As Abel (2008) concluded in past research, not all pollution exposure is spatially dispersed and the worst risk concentrations deserve more attention from environmental professionals assessing and mitigating environmental injustices.