Four of the five most dangerous sections of the haul route are on the Navajo Nation.
By: Amber Reimondo, Energy Director, Grand Canyon Trust | October 1, 2024 grandcanyontrust.org
A recent analysis of fatal vehicle accidents along the haul route uranium trucks travel between Canyon Mine (renamed Pinyon Plain Mine), a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon, and the White Mesa uranium millOpens a new window in southeastern Utah shows an elevated risk along long stretches of the more than 300-mile route, especially on the Navajo Nation.
The most risky segments of the route are between 240% and 700% more dangerous than an average stretch of road in the United States in terms of vehicle accident fatalities per mile driven.
That means that any vehicles traveling in these sections face an elevated risk of fatal accidents. Energy Fuels Resources, which owns the controversial Pinyon Plain Mine, has said it intends to send six to eight large trucks loaded with uranium ore from the Grand Canyon area mine to its Utah mill every day.