The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed adding an area of the Navajo Nation to the Superfund National Priorities List. It would be the first-ever such designation there despite a decades-long legacy of uranium mining contamination.
Officials say there are more than a hundred waste piles in the Lukachukai Mountains in northeastern Arizona left over from decades of uranium mining on the reservation. If the area is added to the priorities list, it’ll make additional federal resources available for assessment and cleanup. Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez advocated for the designation before the end of his term last year.
Officials say the rugged landscape north of the tribal capital Window Rock and near the New Mexico border will prove challenging for cleanup. It includes sacred sites and is used for ceremonies, gathering medicinal plants, hunting and livestock grazing.
“This is monumental for the Navajo Nation communities of Cove, Red Valley, Lukachukai, Round Rock, and the whole Navajo Nation,” said Cove Chapter President James Benally. “This will help address the legacy of abandoned uranium mine sites on our sacred mountain. We welcome it, on behalf of our grandchildren and generations to come.”
A 60-day public comment period about the proposed designation is underway. Sites on the Superfund priorities list are the most highly contaminated and require long-term remediation. There are over 1,300 such sites nationwide and they’re often added based on environmental justice concerns. The more than 500 abandoned uranium mines on and near the Navajo Nation are linked to cancer and other serious health problems.
