In Tuba City, Arizona, the second Navajo Nation “STEM-sation Day” this April took students through groundwater cleanup & all things STEM.
April 6, 2018
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) and LM Support contractor Navarro Research and Engineering Inc. participated in the second Navajo Nation “STEM-sation Day” on April 5, 2018 at Greyhills Academy High School in Tuba City, Arizona. STEM-sation Day promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers for Navajo high school students.
LM set up a STEM information booth that provided information on the former Rare Metals Uranium Mill Site, also known as the Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site, located five miles east of the tribal communities of Tuba City and Moenkopi, Arizona.
Approximately 210 students participated in activities, such as learning about groundwater cleanup and disposal cell construction and monitoring. A physical 3-D model of the Tuba City site groundwater contaminant plume was a hit with the students. The model illustrated the uranium concentrations and area and depth of the plume relative to the disposal cell and the site’s evaporation pond. A GPS satellite signal receiver was set up for students to showcase the accuracy of the internal software computations at various DOE sites relative to multiple satellite signals received from space.
The STEM event was organized by the Navajo Nation Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation/Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Department and the Navajo Transitional Energy Company.
“It was exhilarating to see so many Navajo professionals in the STEM fields. I hope the students realized they don’t have to go to the big cities to find quality jobs near home,” stated Nathan J. Tohtsoni, education coordinator for Navajo Transitional Energy Company, LLC. “I believe we did something right when we started to see the same students’ faces over and over again throughout the day because we knew they were returning to learn more.”
The first “STEM-sation Day” event took place at Shiprock High School in March 2018. More than 580 ninth to 12th grade science students participated in the event. The two event locations were selected, in part, because of the nearby former uranium mill tailings sites that LM manages to protect human health and the environment.
The former uranium ore processing mill operated between 1956 and 1966 and resulted in uranium contamination at the site. In 1988, DOE remediated contaminated materials from the former mill operation, including mill tailings, building materials, and windblown contamination. The contaminated materials were encapsulated and protected in a disposal cell located on the site.
DOE continues to address remaining groundwater contamination to ensure the protection of human health and the environment. An important part of LM’s mission is to partner with tribal communities within the Navajo Nation.
Additional information on the Tuba City site is available on the LM website.
Karen Edson
Karen Edson is a Public Participation Specialist at the Energy Department’s Office of Legacy Management. Prior to joining DOE, Karen worked at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, as a Community Involvement Coordinator for Superfund sites. Innately curious and passionate about immersing herself in other cultures, Karen has traveled to 50 countries, bilingual in Spanish, and served in the Peace Corps as an Environmental Education volunteer in Nicaragua.