Cancer Factories

The author argues convincingly that from the start U.S. authorities were aware of the risk to the miners' health... [and] skillfully documents the pathetic consequences of a government policy steeped in cynicism... I know of no other book that explores in an overview the policy, health, and compensation perspective as this one does. Leonard Cole, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

Studies the political, legal, social, medical, engineering and ethical problems that emerged when American leaders developed a nuclear arsenal to contain the USSR without considering the potential cost in innocent lives; intended for medical and public health personnel, policy-makers and others.

For the first time, the sad story of America's uranium miners and the duplicity of our government is revealed. This expert study examines, in microcosm, the political, legal, social, medical, engineering, and ethical problems that emerged when American leaders developed a nuclear arsenal to contain the Soviet Union without considering the cost this could have on innocent lives. Medical and public health personnel, policymakers and political scientists, lawyers and legal historians, and citizen watchdogs will find this account illuminating.

Ball provides the context in the 1940s and 1950s for understanding the Communist hysteria that swept the country and led policymakers to develop risky nuclear technology and to engage in uranium mining and production while assuring Navajo and Mormon miners of their safety. The study analyzes the medical consequences and the etiology of cancer among miners, the politics behind radioactive policy, the miners' long legal battles, and compensatory legislation in 1990. An appendix provides a federal report about three decades of radiation experiences on U.S. citizens. A bibliography points to primary and secondary source material of note.