Navajo Women, Infants Found To Have High Levels Of Radioactive Metal In System Linked To Government Uranium Testing
The results were released as part of a congressional hearing on compensation funds for those effected by the country's development of its nuclear arsenal.
The Associated Press:
US Official: Research Finds Uranium In Navajo Women, Babies
About a quarter of Navajo women and some infants who were part of a federally funded study on uranium exposure had high levels of the radioactive metal in their systems, decades after mining for Cold War weaponry ended on their reservation, a U.S. health official Monday. The early findings from the University of New Mexico study were shared during a congressional field hearing in Albuquerque. Dr. Loretta Christensen — the chief medical officer on the Navajo Nation for Indian Health Service, a partner in the research — said 781 women were screened during an initial phase of the study that ended last year. (Hudetz, 10/7)
