Most of the uranium mining operations in this area occurred during the Manhattan Project which supported the nuclear weapons program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. These mines are now closed, but their effects are still visible in the area.

An initial trip by principal investigator of the Geiger Group to Shiprock, NM in June 2003 resulted in a collaboration with Dr. Fred Begay to address this issue. The United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA) collected data from this area in the 2000 Abandoned Uranium Mines Superfund Project. This information was first published only on CD and utilized a scientific format for data presentation which is not understandable by the entire population on the reservations. This web-based data should be highly beneficial to the Navajo populations due to its wide accessibility through the extensive chapterhouse and library network that exists in the Navajo Nation and user friendly presentation.