Indianz.Com > News > Cronkite News: Navajo Nation to see cleanup of more uranium sites

EPA awards $220 million for uranium mine cleanup on Navajo Nation
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency said last Thursday it will award contracts worth up to $220 million to three companies for the cleanup of some of the hundreds of abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.
Work could start later this year following the completion of assessments for mining sites coordinated between the EPA and the Navajo Nation’s environmental agency, the federal agency said.
This week’s
announcement
is just the latest in years of efforts to clean up the mines, the toxic legacy of Cold War mining in the region. More than 30 million tons of uranium ore were mined in the region, according to the EPA, which said more than
500 mines
were ultimately abandoned.
“From World War II until the end of the Cold War, millions of tons of uranium were mined on Navajo lands, exposing mine workers and their families to deadly radiation,” said Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Sedona, whose district includes the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation.
“As a result, high rates of cancer, birth defects, and contaminated water sources remain a reality for residents of the Navajo Nation even now,” O’Halleran said in a statement on the contracts.

A regional EPA official said that the “contract awards mark a significant step in this ongoing work.” “EPA continues to work with the Navajo Nation EPA and local communities to address the legacy of abandoned uranium mines,” said Deborah Jordan, acting regional administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest office, in Thursday’s statement. O’Halleran welcomed the announcement. “I am glad to see my oversight efforts have pushed the EPA to make these critical investments,” he said in a statement Friday. For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.U.S. EPA announces $220 million contract awards for the clean-up of more than 50 abandoned uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation pic.twitter.com/77KFnCKBiS
— Jonathan Nez (@NezForAZ) February 13, 2021
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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