Hearing on the Health and Environmental Impacts of Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation

On October 23, the Committee held a hearing to examine the adverse health and environmental impacts experienced by the Navajo people in the aftermath of decades of uranium mining and milling conducted in and around the Navajo reservation in order to meet the federal government’s need for nuclear weapons material.

The hearing also examined the extent to which the surface and groundwater contamination from the uranium mines and mills has been cleaned up, the clean-up that remains to be done, and the steps federal agencies must take in cooperation with the Navajo Nation in order to address the remaining health and environmental problems. A preliminary transcript of this hearing is now available.

Witness List:

• The Hon. George Arthur, Chairman, Resources Committee, Navajo Nation Council
• The Hon. Stephen Etsitty, Director, Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
• Dr. Doug Brugge, Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
• Mr. Larry King, Gallup, New Mexico
• Ms. Edith Hood, Church Rock, New Mexico
• Mr. Phil Harrison, Window Rock, Arizona
• Mr. Ray Manygoats, Tuba City, Arizona
• The Hon. Wayne Nastri, Regional Administrator, Region 9, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Mr. David Geiser, Deputy Director, Office of Legacy Management, U.S. Department of Energy
• Dr. Charles L. Miller, Director, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Mr. Robert G. McSwain, Acting Director, Indian Health Service
• Mr. Jerry Gidner, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs