EPA settles with company to assess uranium sites on Navajo

CAMERON, Ariz. (AP) — Federal officials have reached a settlement to have eight abandoned uranium mines assessed on the Navajo Nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says EnPro Holdings Inc. will install fencing and signs warning residents and visitors of potential radiation exposure at sites in northeastern Arizona near Cameron and Tuba City. The company also will assess for radiation and conduct biological and cultural surveys ea. The work is expected to cost $500,000 and be complete by the end of the year. EnPro is the successor to the A&B Mining Corp, which operated on the reservation in the 1950s. Uranium was mined extensively from the Navajo Nation for use in Cold War weapons production. Hundreds of mines were abandoned without being cleaned up. The tribe has banned uranium mining and processing since 2005.