Free and Open: The 1872 Mining Law · Episode 6 of 10 · 25 min
The Half-Life: Uranium, the Navajo Nation, and Who Watches the Waste
The largest single release of radioactive material in U.S. history was a tailings dam failure at Church Rock, New Mexico, on July 16, 1979. Uranium came out of Navajo land under the 1872 law like any other rock, leaving 523 abandoned mines, and a patchwork of agencies in which mines fall outside federal nuclear regulation.
Where it happens
- Church Rock, New Mexico+2 more episodesTailings dam failed July 16, 1979, releasing about 94 million gallons
- Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico and UtahRoughly 30 million tons of uranium ore extracted, 523 abandoned mines
- Puerco River, New MexicoReceived the radioactive solution from the Church Rock spill
- Lukachukai Mountains, ArizonaFirst Navajo abandoned-uranium district added to Superfund, in 2024
- Pinyon Plain Mine, Arizona+1 more episodeProducing uranium mine near the Grand Canyon
- Grand Junction, ColoradoMill tailings used as construction sand in homes and schools
Timeline
- 1944Uranium extraction on Navajo lands begins, running to 1986
- 1978Congress passes the mill-tailings cleanup law, which does not cover mines
- July 16, 1979Church Rock tailings dam breaches
- 2014Tronox/Kerr-McGee settlement of $5.15 billion nationally
- January 2025Energy Fuels and the Navajo Nation sign an ore-transport agreement
- July 2025Radiation Exposure Compensation Act revived after lapsing in 2024
Still debated
The Church Rock comparison with Three Mile Island holds by total curies but is contested, since the releases differed in kind. Whether slow cleanup reflects necessary deliberateness or institutional failure, and whether Pinyon Plain threatens the aquifer, are also disputed.
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