Assessing contaminated sites within the Navajo Nation and focusing on the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and Tuba City Dump topped the priority list for the Environmental Protection Agency and four other federal agencies in their second five year plan to address the uranium contamination within the Navajo Nation, released yesterday. Government agencies have increased their overall efforts to address uranium mine contamination on the Navajo Reservation, but more still needs to be done, a Government Accountability Office report said earlier this year. This five year plan attempts to better define the work needed to be completed along with clearer roles for each involved federal agency. “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,” the plan said. “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 plan includes seven priority areas for completion. They are: assessment and cleanup of contaminated structures; assessment of contaminated water sources and provision of alternative water supplies; assessment of AUM sites with detailed assessments of those most likely to pose environmental or health problems; cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and additional high priority AUM sites; cleanup of the Tuba City Dump; protection of human health and the environment at former uranium processing sites; and health studies. The federal agencies involved in the cleanup include the 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.
