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NEWS BRIEF: Summit to address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation

Release Date: 08/13/2008
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, Cell/415.760.9161, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

GALLUP– Today, five federal agencies, the Navajo Nation, congressional staff, academia, state, and local government representatives, community members and nongovernment organizations met to implement the five-year plan to address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. The five-year plan, requested by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is the first comprehensive strategy to address uranium-related contamination issues throughout the Navajo Nation, which spans three states and is roughly the size of West Virginia.

The plan, titled, “Health and Environmental Impacts of Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation, Five-Year Plan” was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This landmark plan details the strategy and timeline for cleanup over the next five years.

To view the report, please go to: https://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/sfund/navajo-nation/pdf/NN-5-Year-Plan-June-12.pdf
For more information on abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/sfund/navajo-nation/index.html