CHURCH ROCK, N.M.
The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency is pursuing an ambitious strategy to clean up the toxic legacy of uranium mining, even as tribal leaders and community advocates continue to demand justice, protection of sacred lands and accountability for decades of environmental harm.
At the center of this strategy is the Navajo EPA’s interest in deploying high-pressure slurry ablation technology to remove and treat radioactive waste from abandoned uranium mines scattered across the reservation. The method, originally developed for mining operations, is now being adapted for environmental remediation.
“So our own statute makes it a requirement of the Navajo EPA to seek out and apply available treatment technologies,” said Stephen Etsitty, the Navajo EPA director, “and we have that with the advent of high-pressure slurry ablation technology, which did come from a mining use initially. But now we’re looking to apply it to remediate your abandoned uranium mine waste.”