Background

The Lukachukai Mountains Mining District Superfung site is located primarily in the Cove, Round Rock, and Lukachukai Chapters of the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. The site includes a hundred mine waste piles from former mines. Past uranium and vanadium mining in the Lukachukai Mountains created waste piles contaminated with radium-226, uranium, and other heavy metals. Waste from these piles has migrated downstream in washes and may have impacted groundwater and continue to impact surface water. Past ore hauling activities may have spread contamination along miles of mountainous haul roads.