The Uncosted West · Episode 6 of 15 · 48 min
Uranium, Coal, and the Poisoning of Navajo and Hopi Land
On July 16, 1979 a tailings dam failed near Church Rock, New Mexico, releasing more radioactivity than Three Mile Island into a river Navajo families relied on, the largest accidental radioactive release in U.S. history. The episode covers the 523 abandoned uranium mines on Navajo land and the Black Mesa coal and aquifer, and the structural reasons these costs landed there, noting that extraction also brought jobs and revenue.
Where it happens
- Church Rock, New Mexico+2 more episodesSite of the 1979 tailings dam failure
- Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, and UtahHome of 523 abandoned uranium mines
- Black Mesa, ArizonaCoal mining region whose aquifer fed a slurry pipeline
- Laughlin, NevadaLocation of the Mohave Generating Station that burned Black Mesa coal
Timeline
- 1946-1971Atomic Energy Commission is sole legal buyer of U.S. uranium, fueling the boom
- July 16, 1979United Nuclear tailings dam fails at Church Rock
- 1990Radiation Exposure Compensation Act enacted
- 2005Mohave plant closes and Navajo Nation bans new uranium mining
- April 2024Consent decree sets about $63 million cleanup of Northeast Church Rock
- July 2025RECA reauthorized through 2028
Still debated
Counts of excess illness among miners are approximate, and the 523-mine figure shifts with inventories. How much Black Mesa spring decline came from coal pumping versus drought is disputed, as is whether the burden reflects targeting or structure.
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