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9 Yellowcake Towns During the Commercial Boom and Bust, 1970–1988
- University Press of Colorado
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I N T H E E A R L Y 1 9 8 0 S , residents of America’s oldest uranium town, Uravan, Colorado, could look back on their town’s past and see the evolution of uranium in U.S. national security. After providing yellowcake for the Manhattan Project’s first atomic bombs during World War II, the town had mirrored the boom and bust of the postwar uranium industry. During the glory days of the government’s procurement program, the Union Carbide company town grew from a handful of workers to more than 1,000 residents. The mill operated around the clock to provide yellowcake for national defense . New houses were constructed and trailers were crammed into any available space in the narrow San Miguel River valley. The company provided a recreation hall, tennis courts, a library, and a store. A new school was constructed for the growing numbers of children, and the company operated a small medical clinic for the town. Union Carbide converted the cooling reservoir at the original power plant into a heated Olympic-sized pool, giving residents the only respite from the summer heat for miles around.1 9 Yellowcake Towns During the Commercial Boom and Bust, 1970–1988 Chapter Yellowcake Towns During the Commercial Boom and Bust, 1970–1988 150 During the stretch-out program, the new government contract ended the boom but assured employees of continued economic security. As the housing expansion ended and the population stabilized at around 850 residents, the town still had many advantages for such a small, isolated community. In addition to a new swimming pool, Uravan boasted its own doctor, a town ball team, service organizations, clubs, and typical smalltown life. When the country turned to uranium for power during the 1970s and yellowcake prices rebounded, Uravan responded with record production . But Uravan also had a deep, dark secret shared by few small towns: radiation.2 With a history of producing radioactive materials going back to the 1910s, a radioactive processing mill located in the center of town, 10 million View of Uravan looking northwest, 1978. The uranium-processing mill was literally the center of life in Uravan. This view shows the A and B plants, center, with the original 1914 two-story boardinghouse nearby. Across the street from the boardinghouse is the recreation center and post office. Courtesy, Ed Norton and the Estalee Silver Collection. [18.222.23.119] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 19:54 GMT) Yellowcake Towns During the Commercial Boom and Bust, 1970–1988 151 tons of radioactive tailings ponds on a hill above the town, another 2.5 million tons in ponds next to the town, and unknown amounts of old radioactive tailings used as fill dirt scattered around the community, by 1980 Uravan had radon levels 10 times higher than federal standards. Although the mill was regarded as “safe,” the fact that industrial limits for radiation were 200 times higher than those for the general public brought little comfort given the mill’s location.3 To alleviate the environmental problems, Union Carbide spent $12 million trying to stabilize the tailings ponds. Then yellowcake prices tumbled. The company closed the mill for the first time in forty years and laid off half of its workforce. The mill was reopened for a short time, and Union Carbide spent the next four years trying to meet environmental guidelines. Finally, in 1984 the company closed the mill and agreed to spend another $25 million to reclaim the site. By year’s end, most of the town’s residents had left. Despite Uravan’s many health concerns and the dwindling uranium market, many residents did not want to leave the company town that had become their home. Locals claimed the tailings piles were not harmful, that the so-called radioactive soil produced beautiful roses and gardens, and that no one in the town had ever been diagnosed with cancer. One Uravan resident later joked that locals used to kid each other about glowing in the dark, but he wished that perception would disappear. Describing his feelings about leaving he concluded, “It makes my kids feel like they don’t have a hometown.”4 Uravan’s story and the attitudes expressed by its departing residents are typical of the yellowcake towns during the commercial boom and bust of the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike the government procurement program in the 1950s, the market price of yellowcake was the driving force in the uranium industry in the 1970s. As...