The Reality of Navajo Uranium Cleanup: Remediation or Mining?

• Over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) contaminate the Navajo Nation, requiring urgent and transparent remediation.
• Critics argue that a proposal by the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency (NNEPA) director, Stephen Etsitty, to use DISA Technologies' High-Pressure Sludge Ablation (HPSA) system is an extraction initiative rather than a genuine cleanup effort.

The Nature of the HPSA Process

• The HPSA system uses high-pressure water to pulverize rock into a slurry, which is then separated into fine and coarse fractions.
• Approximately 17% of the material (the fine fraction) contains 80% to 95% of the uranium and radium, which DISA intends to sell to Energy Fuels for processing at the White Mesa Mill.
• The remaining coarse fraction stays at the site as radioactive waste, raising questions about disposal and long-term environmental safety.

Failure to Meet Remediation Standards

• 2023 testing by Tetra Tech confirmed that HPSA fails to meet the Navajo Nation's residential cleanup standards.
• At the Old Church Rock Mine (OCRM) site, uranium levels were reduced from 940 mg/kg to 47 mg/kg, far exceeding the 3.2 mg/kg residential standard.
• Meeting safety standards would require the removal of 99.7% of the uranium, a threshold the HPSA process has failed to reach in testing.

Commercial Implications

• A proposed resolution (ENAC-12-2025-049), introduced on January 6, 2025, seeks to establish a business partnership with DISA to secure Department of Energy grants for "critical minerals."
• Opponents categorize this as a push for mining and extraction profits rather than a dedicated program for environmental restoration.