In addition to the coal extracted, one-third of all uranium mined in the U.S. has come from Dineh land. The nation's largest power plant was built adjacent to the site. This plant generates so much pollution from the burning of coal that Apollo astronauts saw the toxic clouds it emanates from the Moon. It is the largest single point source of greenhouse gasses in North America. Many Native Americans who worked in the uranium mines have suffered from radiation sickness.
Many children suffer from birth defects.
In an effort to force out those that remain on the land, a U.S. court ordered that the Dineh cannot repair their homes or build new ones, denied them access to fresh water, and confiscated their livestock upon which they depend. Firewood is confiscated in winter, and law enforcement officials harass and threaten them with eviction and jail sentences. Taking the livestock from these elderly people is tantamount to issuing a death sentence. Two Dineh sisters, both over 80 years old, had their two horses and donkeys confiscated by 13 armed law enforcement agents and Bureau of Indian Affairs agents on February 23, 1999. Without those animals, their survival is uncertain.