Empty uranium transport truck rolls over near Black Mesa, injuring driver
WINDOW ROCK
A semi-truck used to transport uranium rolled over Tuesday afternoon on U.S. Highway 160 near Black Mesa, Arizona, injuring the driver but posing no threat to nearby communities because its cargo container was empty, Navajo police reported.
The single-vehicle crash occurred about 4:20 p.m. near milepost 368, according to the Navajo Police Department’s Kayenta District.
The driver was taken to a local hospital. Police did not release the driver’s condition.
Investigators identified weather as a contributing factor but did not provide details about how the rollover occurred.
Emergency crews remained at the scene Tuesday evening, including the Navajo Police Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Kayenta Township Fire Department, Arizona Department of Transportation and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.
The rollover was the second crash this year involving a truck used to haul uranium on the Navajo Nation.
In May, a uranium ore truck traveling from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon to the White Mesa Mill was involved in a collision near Shonto Marketplace in Shonto, Arizona. An SUV attempting to pass another vehicle struck the truck.
Authorities determined the uranium container was not breached, no radioactive material was released, and radiation monitoring detected no abnormal levels. Two people in the SUV were injured. The truck driver was not hurt.
The May crash renewed concerns among Navajo Nation leaders about hauling uranium through Diné communities despite transportation agreements reached this year between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels.
The Council strengthened Navajo Nation law governing the transportation of radioactive materials in 2024 after uranium shipments resumed from the Pinyon Plain Mine.
Unlike the May collision, Tuesday’s truck carried no uranium or other hazardous material.
To read the full article, please see the July 23, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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