An open house was held at Monument Valley High School in Utah.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management (LM) hosted the Uranium Issues Open House on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at Monument Valley High School in Monument Valley, Utah. Multiple federal agencies and their Navajo counterparts sponsored booths where they displayed a mix of exhibits and posters and offered refreshments, which encouraged community members to ask questions and participate in extended discussions.

The following organizations participated:

  • U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands/Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action
  • Navajo Nation Abandoned Uranium Mines Environmental Response Trust
  • Navajo Nation Department of Health
  • Navajo Tribal Utility Authority
  • Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • Indian Health Service
  • Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals at Northern Arizona University

Hosting the open house on the Navajo Nation helps LM meet the U.S. Congress mandate to work with other federal agencies to address the most imminent uranium-related risks on the Navajo Nation, under the Five-Year Plan to address uranium contamination. Visitors were provided handouts related to work occurring on the Navajo Nation. Each agency provided a resource list that contained contact information and outlined their individual uranium-related responsibilities.

The open house was well attended by Navajo Nation elected officials, including the Oljato Chapter President, James Adakai, who delivered the invocation in Navajo, and a member of the 23rd Navajo Nation Council. Miss Monument Valley High School also attended the Open House, using the opportunity to interact with the community.

A hands-on groundwater movement model was a popular display. Using water-soluble dyes, hydrologists demonstrated how contaminants move underground through rock and water.

LM support staff displayed posters on the status of studies on innovative groundwater cleanup methods, including the use of plants and bacteria to remove or stabilize contaminants at the Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site. LM has conducted these studies with the help of students from the University of Arizona and Diné College.

LM is responsible for long-term care of four sites on the Navajo Nation under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act. The four sites are the Mexican Hat, Utah, Disposal Site; Monument Valley, Arizona, Processing Site; Shiprock, New Mexico, Disposal Site; and the Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site.

“The open house gave the participating agencies a chance to interact with each other and the community,” said Angelita Denny, LM Monument Valley Site Manager. LM plans to conduct additional outreach events on the Navajo Nation.