Study may help slay 'Yellow Monster'

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Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane Stearns top working with student researchers like Hertha Woody has discovered that uranium damages DNA as a heavy metal independent of its radioactive properties. Photo by Jerry Foreman
Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane Stearns, top, working with student researchers like Hertha Woody, has discovered that uranium damages DNA as a heavy metal, independent of its radioactive properties. Photo by Jerry Foreman

Low-grade uranium ore is nicknamed "yellowcake" for its color and powdered consistency. The Navajo have another name: Leetso, or "yellow monster." The yellow monster surfaced on the Navajo Nation with uranium mining that started in the 1940s and continued for the next several decades. In its aftermath came illnesses such as lung cancer among mine workers and worries about environmental contamination among people who live on that land.


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