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Navajo And Federal Officials Agree To Clean Up 24 Priority Abandoned Uranium Mines

U.S. EPA

Officials with the Navajo Nation and federal government finalized an agreement last week in the ongoing effort to clean up hundreds of abandoned uranium mines on the reservation. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.

The settlement will provide funding and resources to clean up two-dozen priority sites in the Navajo Nation communities of Blue Gap and Black Mesa, among others. Officials say they pose some of the biggest public health threats out of the more than 500 abandoned uranium mines in the area, and estimate the cleanup along with a water study near Four Corners will cost more than $16.7 million.

The agreement is the second phase of a settlement reached five years ago between the tribe and the Justice Department. It’s thought the total cleanup costs could reach several billion dollars and take decades to complete.

Thirty million tons of uranium ore were extracted from Navajo lands during the Cold War, and abandoned mines remain a top health concern among tribal officials.

Ryan Heinsius joined KNAU's newsroom as an executive producer in 2013 and became news director and managing editor in 2024. As a reporter, he has covered a broad range of stories from local, state and tribal politics to education, economy, energy and public lands issues, and frequently interviews internationally known and regional musicians. Ryan is an Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Public Media Journalists Association Award winner, and a frequent contributor to NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and national newscast.
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