The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides compensation to uranium workers employed in Arizona uranium mines from January 1, 1942, to December 31, 1990, who suffer from certain specified illnesses. Uranium workers include uranium miners, millers, ore transporters, core drillers, and remediation workers. Illnesses considered for compensation include lung cancer, non-malignant respiratory diseases such as lung and pulmonary fibrosis, corpulmonale related to lung fibrosis, silicosis, and pneumoconiosis, renal cancer, and any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubular tissue injury.

Eligible uranium workers receive a lump sum payment of $150,000, as well as medical and impairment benefits under the RECA and EEOICPA. Eligible survivors receive a one-off lump sum of $150,000. However, to be considered for compensation, you must file a claim and prove eligibility based on your claimed illness and employment. A RECA lawyer can help you obtain the required evidence to get your claim quickly accepted. Contact our RECA attorney, Hugh Stephens, for help filing a new RECA claim or appealing a denied claim. We cover the costs for kidney function tests and chest x-rays for our eligible claimants.

Uranium mining in Arizona

Uranium mining in Arizona began in 1918 in the Carrizo Mountains, Apache County. During this period, uranium was recovered as a byproduct of vanadium mining. Commercial mining took place between the 1940s and the 1960s. The hundreds of former uranium mines in the State are now a significant concern for environmental contamination. The EPA is cleaning up and reclaiming abandoned uranium mines alongside other agencies and local communities.

The main uranium mining counties in Arizona include Coconino, Mohave, Apache, Navajo, Pima, Gila, and Santa Cruz. In these counties, uranium is often obtained from the Monument Valley region, which lies in Apache and Navajo counties, the Lukachukai Mountains in Apache County, the Cameron district in Coconino County, Breccia pipes in the northern AZ, Coconino and Mohave counties, and the Sierra Ancha District within Gila County.

Carrizo Mountains

The Carrizo Mountains are in Apache County, Northeast Arizona. Early uranium mining in the Carrizo Mountains started in 1918 and stopped in 1921. However, the uranium obtained during this period was a byproduct of vanadium recovery. Uranium mining resumed from 1941 to 1966, following the discovery of uranium ores. The deposits occur in the carnotite-bearing sandstone in the Jurassic Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation. About 160 metric tons of uranium oxide were recovered from approximately 60 mines that operated in the region during this period. There is no uranium mining currently taking place in the area. Most of the mines were abandoned, and some are undergoing cleanup. Some of the major mines included Block K (1962 to 1964), John Kee 4 that operated in 1955, Hoskle Henry (1964-1966), Plot 6 Rattlesnake Hines (1943-1959), Black Rock Point Mines (1951-1966), Martin AEC Plot 1 (1951-1955), George Simpson 1 (1954-1958), Saytah (1942-1944), Kinusta Mesa AEC Plot E (1949-1958), Cove Mesa Mines (1950-1964), East Mesa Mines (1951-1955), Rattlesnake No. 1 (1944-1956), Zona 1 (1953-1955), and West Reservation ·lease(1948-1952).

Monument Valley

Monument Valley, located in Northeast Arizona, has the highest uranium-vanadium reserves in AZ. Uranium deposits in Monument Valley were discovered in 1942. Production began in 1948 with the establishment of the first mine. Uranium and vanadium deposits occur in fluvial channels of the Shinarump Sandstone member of the Triassic Chinle Formation. Mining stopped in 1969. About 60 mines operated in the Valley during this period, producing approximately 8.7 million pounds (3900 metric tons) of uranium oxide. Most of these mines were abandoned, and have had devastating health and environmental effects related to mine tailings, air pollution, soil and groundwater contamination. As a result, surrounding communities continue to suffer from increased cancer rates, kidney diseases, and birth defects. In 2005, the Navajo Nation temporarily banned uranium mining in the Valley as cleanup efforts continued.

Lukachukai Mountains

The Lukachukai Mountains are found in Apache County. Uranium was first discovered in the Lukachukai Mountains in 1948, in a copper deposit in the Moenkopi Formation. Approximately 3.5 million pounds (1600 metric tons) of uranium oxide were produced from the region from the time commercial mining began in 1950 until the mines closed in 1968. The Lukachukai Mountains Mining District contains over a hundred mine waste piles from 88 former uranium mines. These waste piles are contaminated with radium-226, uranium, and other heavy metals.

The waste has migrated downstream and may have contaminated groundwater and surface water. Past ore hauling activities may have spread contamination along miles of mountainous haul roads. The Lukachukai Mountains are home to the Navajo people, who use them for hunting, plant gathering, and livestock grazing.

Cameron district

Uranium in Cameron in Coconino County was first discovered in 1950 in the Kayenta Formation on Ward Terrace. Cameron is the fourth largest area on the Colorado Plateau. The uranium deposits occur in the Kayenta Formation and the Chinle Formation. Uranium production in the region occurred from 1950 to 1963. Mining in the area stopped due to insufficient volume of ore for economic mining operations. During the mining period, approximately 1.2 million pounds of uranium oxide were produced from more than 100 mines that are now abandoned in the region. Mining was done in open pits, which ranged from a small shallow trench containing a single mineralized fossil log to a large pit complex 2,400 feet long and 250 feet wide. Underground mining of the pit walls was commonly practiced to recover additional ore. Four vertical shafts were also mined in the area.

Some of the major mining companies in the region include Hosteen Nez Mining Company, Arrowhead Uranium Company, Rare Metals, Utco Uranium Corporation, Ryan Oil Company, Black Point-Murphy group, United Exploration Syndicate, Utah Southern Oil Company, Wells Cargo, Foley Brothers, Cameron Mining Company, Yellow Jeep Mining Company, and Steinberger Drilling Company.

Collapse breccia pipes

Uranium was discovered in the Collapse breccia pipes in 1950. The discovery was made in the Orphan copper mine near the Grand Canyon, which has been privately owned since 1906. Today, the mine is surrounded by Grand Canyon National Park. The discovery led to the finding of uranium in other collapse breccia pipes in northern Arizona. The pipes are approximately 300 feet in diameter and up to 3,000 feet deep. Collapse breccia pipes only occur around the Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona. These pipes allow for precipitation and concentration of dissolved minerals, such as uranium. Uranium mines in the collapse breccia pipes from the 1950s to 2016 include Orphan (1956–1969), Hacks (1951-1954), Hack 1 (1980), Hack 2 (1980), Hack 3 (1980), Pigeon mines (1985–1990), Kanab North (1988-1990), Hermit (1989), Arizona 1 (2009-2016), and Pinenut (2012-2015).

Sierra Ancha district

The Sierra Ancha Wilderness is located northeast of Theodore Roosevelt Lake in Gila County, central Arizona. Uranium was first discovered in the Sierra Ancha area in 1950. Fourteen uranium mines within the Sierra Ancha Wilderness region produced about 21,851 tons of ore between 1953 and 1960. More than 80 percent of the production came from the Workman Creek and Red Bluff properties. The Big Buck, Donna Lee, and Horseshoe uranium mines, within the Wilderness, produced 291 tons of ore. Uranium mining in the Sierra Ancha was curtailed in mid-1957 when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission closed the Cutter ore-buying station in 1955. Exploration activity resumed in the Sierra Ancha in the mid-1970s due to an increase in Uranium prices. Exploration on several properties, including Uranium Energy Corp, indicates that several million pounds of uranium ore may be present. The Sierra Ancha Mountains have many abandoned uranium mines, which continue to cause water contamination in the Salt River and Roosevelt Lake.

Date Creek Basin

The Date Creek Basin in Yavapai County, Arizona, contains several uranium occurrences, notably the Anderson mine. The Anderson uranium deposit was discovered in 1955 by an airborne gamma-radiation survey. Small amounts of ore were produced from 1955 to 1959. The Anderson mine is now owned by Concentric Energy Corp., which is doing extensive development work to bring it into production. Bokum Resources explored the area in the 1970s and 1980s but didn’t engage in production. There is a potential for future development as Anfield Energy recently acquired assets in the region in 2023.

Health problems related to Arizona uranium mining

Uranium exposure is linked to many health conditions, including respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, kidney diseases, renal cancer, autoimmune illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, bone cancer, and congenital defects. Uranium workers and communities living around the abandoned uranium mines were exposed to high levels of uranium. These regions are inhabited by Native Americans who were also employed in the uranium mines, and who also bear the health consequences associated with mill tailings. Researchers established that exposure to uranium and other metals increased rates of kidney disease during the active mining era (1950-1986), and cardiovascular disease, autoimmunity, and a combination of metabolic diseases, including diabetes, during the period after the mines closed.

Studies involving the Navajo community members have shown a high prevalence of health conditions and illnesses linked to exposures that can be traced back to the uranium mining era (1940s to 1980s). Some of the prevalent conditions include kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. A 1981 study involving Navajo babies showed that congenital anomalies, developmental disorders, and other adverse birth outcomes were associated with maternal proximity to uranium mining operations, tailings, or mine dumps. The results were followed up in the 2010 Navajo Birth Cohort Study (NBCS), initiated by Congress to address the effects of uranium contamination and metals that occur in mine waste on birth outcomes and neurodevelopment of Navajo children.

Studies have shown that Navajo men who were underground miners in New Mexico and Arizona from 1969 to 1993 have an increased risk of lung cancer. Uranium exposure accounts for the majority of lung cancers in a population that were non-smokers. Exposure occurs when uranium workers inhale radioactive radon gas and dust. Those living in the region are also exposed to radioactive dust from mines, posing a contamination of water sources.

Contact us for help filing a RECA Claim

Stephens and Stephens RECA lawyers have been representing RECA claimants since 2010. While you can file a claim on your own or with the help of a friend, an experienced RECA lawyer can speed up the process by quickly obtaining the required evidence and filing a successful claim. A RECA lawyer can also help you appeal if your claim was wrongfully denied. We only charge you if your claim is accepted. Our consultation services are free.