Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining
ENDAUM
Community Overview
About
Eastern Navajo Dinè Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), founded in 1994, formed in response to a uranium corporation’s plan to use the in situ leach (ISL) process in Churchrock and Crownpoint, New Mexico.
ENDAUM’s principal goal is to protect community water sources and safeguard the health of residents from new uranium mining.
Key Issue 1
HRI ISL Mining
In 1994, HRI proposed using the in situ leach (ISL) process to extract uranium by injecting acids and chemicals into underground formations and pumping dissolved materials back to the surface.
No ISL operation in the United States has successfully restored an aquifer to uncontaminated conditions—particularly regarding uranium, arsenic, and radium.
Churchrock and Crownpoint became the first Diné communities targeted for renewed uranium mining since the 1980s.
- 2001: 13 Navajo Nation chapters passed resolutions opposing the project
- 2005: Navajo Nation enacted a ban on uranium mining and milling
- 2015: HRI sought renewal of wastewater discharge permit
ENDAUM and MASE challenged the permit renewal, demonstrating it allowed groundwater contamination in violation of New Mexico standards. On December 15, 2015, the New Mexico Environment Secretary cancelled the permit.
Key Issue 2
Ablation (HPSA Proposal)
In 2025, DISA Technologies proposed deploying High Pressure Slurry Ablation (HPSA) on Navajo Nation lands.
Although marketed as remediation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission classifies ablation as a milling operation requiring permits. Most waste rock remains contaminated, and no commercial-scale data demonstrate restoration to safe residential or agricultural standards.
The process would require hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh water each month for periods ranging from eight months to thirteen years—placing additional strain on already limited municipal water systems in this arid region.
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Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM)
A grassroots Diné organization working to protect water, health, and sacred lands from new uranium mining and experimental technologies such as ISR and HPSA.
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