Colorado Experience: Uranium Mania
Colorado Experience: Uranium Mania
America’s explosive successes in peace and war were fueled by the radioactive wealth from the Colorado Plateau. The mineral carnotite was a “Pandora’s rock” of scientific, medical, industrial and military power for 20th Century America with its unleashed resources of radium, vanadium and uranium. Even though the energetic and frenetic mining and refining of uranium ore in Western Colorado has mostly ceased, its remaining trace elements of memory and controversy still radiate from Uravan and Grand Junction throughout the state, the nation and the world.
My grandparents, their children, my great uncle and his family and my great grandparents lived in Uravan. The men of course worked in the mine and the kids played in the tailings. Every man has had cancer and most of the male children have too.
I earned my ‘school clothes’ money by detasseling corn. Not quite the same thing l suppose, but……l don’t glow in the dark or have lung cancer.
I lived in Uravan from 1977 until 1983, and worked in the instrument shop in the mill. It was the greatest place I’ve ever lived.
These people seem very proud to be a part of the pollution and cancers of this planet….
Yeah, that’s where I want to have a picnic….
Fascinating history
I live on the Western Slope and have driven through there numerous times. Thank you for this episode.
Very recommendable! The naive optimism of the 1950s became tragic
Stalin had spies within the project.
WOW! I took my sophomore geology courses at the colorado Mesa university and took historical geology from dr. Rex Cole. He is a human encyclopedia on the colorado plateau geology. Honor to have learned from him
More people have died falling from windmills than all the world nuclear accidents combined.
Nuclear is very safe when plants are properly designed.
Yes, gotta beware of future manias
Shame on you PBS how about you report on the damage caused to the residents and the fact Colorado State considered all of us collateral damage! They refused to give us downwinder designation yet some of us are suffering untold medical problems that as my hematologist stated … I have the same health issues as a survivor of heroshima! How about you report that truth!!!
Yellow cake.
All I think of is the Fallout games. lol
Oh, goody! More Colorado history for me!
My grandpa worked these mines, he is in one of those pictures. He died in 1985 from Lung cancer from those mines.
Chernobyl and Fukushima……ugh
I can watch this stuff all day!