Contact Superfund, Pacific Southwest
Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Addressing Uranium Contamination
on the Navajo Nation
Five-Year Plan to Address Impacts of Uranium Contamination
2014—2018
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Adobe Reader.
In January 2013, EPA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, the Indian Health Service, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in consultation with the Navajo Nation, completed a five-year effort to address uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation. The effort focused on the most imminent risks to people living on the Navajo Nation. While the last five years represent a significant start in addressing the legacy of uranium mining, much work remains and the same federal agencies have collaborated to issue a second Five-Year Plan (PDF) (40 pp, 1.4M). The purpose of the second Five-Year Plan is to build on the work of the first plan, make adjustments based on information gained during this period, and plan the next steps in addressing the most significant risks to human health and the environment. The second Five-Year Plan has the following major objectives:
- Remediate homes
- Increase water infrastructure in mining areas
- Focus on 43 priority mines located near homes
- Cleanup Northeast Church Rock mine
- Cleanup Tuba City Dump
- Treat groundwater at mill sites
- Conduct health studies
- Expand interagency outreach