{"product_id":"uranium-frenzy-saga-of-the-nuclear-west-9780874214321","title":"Uranium Frenzy: Saga of the Nuclear West","description":"\u003cp\u003eNow expanded to include the story of nuclear testing and its consequences  Uranium Frenzy has become the classic account of the uranium rush that gripped the Colorado Plateau region in the 1950s. Instigated by the U.S. governments need for uranium to fuel its growing atomic weapons program  stimulated by Charlie Steens lucrative Mi Vida strike in 1952  manned by rookie prospectors from all walks of life  and driven to a fever pitch by penny stock promotions  the boom created a colorful era in the Four Corners region and Salt Lake City (where the stock frenzy was centered) but ultimately went bust. The thrill of those exciting times and the good fortune of some of the miners were countered by the darker aspects of uranium and its uses. Miners were not well informed regarding the dangers of radioactive decay products. Neither the government nor anyone else expended much effort educating them or protecting their health and safety. The effects of exposure to radiation in poorly ventilated mines appeared over time.  The uranium boom is only part of the larger story of atomic weapons testing and its impact in the western United States. Nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site not only spurred uranium mining  they also had a disastrous impact on many Americans: downwinders in the eastward path of radiation clouds  military observers and guinea pigs in exposed positions  and Navajo and other uranium mill workers all became victims  as deaths from cancer and other radiation-caused diseases reached much higher than normal rates among them. Tons of radioactive waste left by mines  mills  and the nuclear industry and how to dispose of them are other nagging legacies of the nuclear era. Recent decades have brought multiple attempts by victims to obtain compensation from the federal government and other legal battles over disposal of nuclear waste. When courts refused to grant relief to downwinders and others  Congress eventually interceded and legislated compensation for a limited number of victims able to meet strict criteria  but did not adequately fund the program. Recently  Congress attempted to fix this shortfall  but in the meantime many downwinders and others holding compensation IOUs had died. Congressional and other efforts to dispose of waste have lately focused on Nevada and Utah  two states all too familiar with nuclear issues and reluctant to take on further radioactive burdens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647251046453,"sku":"ByrdShop_0874214327","price":26.01,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780874214321.jpg?v=1781690788","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/uranium-frenzy-saga-of-the-nuclear-west-9780874214321","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}