Nuclear waste removal approved but will take years to remove

PINEDALE, N.M.

Jennifer Nez and Bertha Nez miss their home but can’t go back because of a major decade-long uranium waste cleanup project that is about to begin.

Their house in the Red Water Pond Road community now stands empty, boarded up. For decades, uranium mining has contaminated the land. Despite the contamination, they’ve endured the tremendous hardship of living amid an old uranium mine that nearly obliterated the once pristine land Bertha grew up with. When they got word that after decades, the EPA approved the removal of the waste, they finally gave in and moved to Iyanbito, New Mexico.

Now, the family doesn’t have a choice but to wait and hope the hill-sized mound of uranium waste will be removed as quickly as possible.

The EPA has announced a plan to clean up the toxic waste, but the process will take years, leaving families displaced and uncertain about their future.

“It’s not just a house; it’s everything we are,” Jennifer said, recalling the gatherings, traditions, and everyday life that once filled their home.

The cleanup brings hope for a safer future, but for Jennifer and Bertha, the outlook of having to wait for up to 10 years for the cleanup to be completed is a heavy burden to carry. Their home wasn’t just a place to live—it was a link to their culture and their family’s way of life.

When they were told they needed to move, Jennifer says they expected to be gone for two to four years. Now, the timeline has stretched to as long as a decade.

“Every time they tell us something, it changes,” she said. “Meanwhile, we’re stuck, far from everything we know.”

They’re making due to make their new house feel like home, but the biggest difference is the loneliness.

“At the old house, there was always noise—kids laughing, people visiting. Here, no one comes by,” Jennifer said, referring to her nieces and nephews.

For Bertha, staying away from their old home has been especially hard.

“I go back sometimes,” she admits. “I know I’m not supposed to, but I need to check on it. I light a fire and feed the dog. It’s empty, but it’s still home.”

Uranium’s toxic legacy

The Nez family’s story is part of a larger struggle in the Navajo Nation, where uranium mining left behind a toxic legacy. During the mining boom of the mid-20th century, companies extracted massive amounts of uranium from Navajo land to fuel the U.S. nuclear program. But when the mines closed in the 1980s, the waste was left behind, contaminating the soil, water, and air.

One morning in July 1979, an earthen dam at the United Nuclear Corporation uranium processing mill collapsed just a mile downstream from Red Water Pond Road. The breach released approximately 1,100 tons of uranium tailings and 94 million gallons of radioactive wastewater, contaminating an arroyo that the Navajo community relied on for livestock grazing and irrigation.

Bertha remembered families living downstream walked through the contaminated spill and reported their legs being burned from the exposure.

“It was about six in the morning when it happened,” she recalled.

She doesn’t say much else about one of the worst nuclear accidents in U.S. history.

From 1944 to 1989, approximately 30 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from mining operations on or near the Navajo Nation. The Federal Atomic Energy Commission was the sole purchaser of uranium until 1966, continuing its purchases until 1970 while commercial sales began in 1966.

According to the U.S. EPA, commercial exploration, development, and mining of uranium started in 1957. During its first phase from 1960 to 1962, a total of 77,965 tons of ore was mined from underground mines, followed by a second phase from 1963 to 1982 that yielded an even larger total of 238,286 tons.

During this phase, mined ore was transported approximately three miles northeast along State Route 566 to the United Nuclear Corporation uranium mill located at northeast Church Rock, New Mexico.

Bertha grew up herding sheep on pristine lands not yet touched by the uranium boom. She was born in a hogan in 1946, near the area now known as Red Water Pond Road, north of Church Rock.

Memories of a happy life

For about nine years, Nez remembers living a happy life that consisted of herding sheep, moving to the top of the mesa to their summer camp every summer, collecting medicinal herbs along the hills and hillside, and attending boarding school. Then, one day, they heard construction trucks.

Before mining companies like United Nuclear Corporation and Kerr-McGee began ripping the lands apart and excavating, Bertha enjoyed the freedom of the seemingly endless eminence she called home: Łichíí Dééz Áhí.

Bertha remembers the idyllic summers spent in the forest and plateau, where summer camps and family gatherings were a staple of life.

Environmental health researcher Chris Shuey has worked in the area for years, documenting the contamination and its effects.

“Communities have been living with this waste for over 50 years,” Shuey said. “The government failed to act quickly, and it’s caused enormous harm.”

Funds for uranium waste removal, waiting to return home (sub)

The EPA recently approved a $183 million plan to remove uranium waste from the Quivira Mines Site, which includes areas near Red Water Pond Road. The project will involve digging up over a million cubic yards of contaminated soil and transporting it to a secure disposal site near Thoreau, New Mexico. The cleanup is expected to take six to eight years, including the construction of the disposal facility and the restoration of the excavation site.

For families like the Nez, the plan is a step forward, but it feels long overdue.

“We’ve waited so long for something to happen,” Jennifer said. “But knowing we still have to wait years before we can even think about going home—it’s hard.”

The contamination has affected every part of life for the families who lived near the mines. Bertha remembers when they used to plant corn, tend sheep, and hold ceremonies on their land.

“Now the land is poisoned,” she said. “We can’t grow anything. It doesn’t feel like ours anymore.”

She does hope that when the area is finally cleaned, they can grow corn once again.

The EPA’s plan is one of the largest cleanup efforts on Navajo land, and it’s seen as an important step toward addressing the long-term damage caused by uranium mining. But for the families who have been displaced, the process is another reminder of how long they’ve been waiting for justice.

Jennifer finds some comfort in monthly community meetings, where residents share updates and reconnect with neighbors.

“At least we get to see each other,” she said. “It helps to know we’re not alone in this.”

The Nez family’s story is one of many in the Navajo Nation, where over 500 abandoned uranium mines continue to pose risks. The cleanup effort is a chance to heal the land, but it will take years of work and millions of dollars. For Jennifer and Bertha, the hope of returning home keeps them going, even as they endure the waiting.

“I want to see the land how it used to be,” Bertha said. “I want to plant corn again, see the sheep grazing, and have my family together for ceremonies. That’s what we’re waiting for.”

For now, the Nez family’s future remains uncertain. The years ahead will bring more challenges, but they hold on to the hope that one day, their home and traditions will be restored.

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