For 50 years, Uravan, Colorado, was a uranium hub of America. Mining “yellowcake” was at the center of everyday life, where kids played on radioactive tailings and residents used mine waste for garden beds. Then residents started getting sick. Through interviews with historians, health experts, environmentalists, and uranium workers past and present, local documentarian Alec Cowan explores how uranium transformed the American West. As nuclear energy revives the controversial industry today, will the scars of uranium’s past influence the future? Or are some things best left underground?
With the promise of nuclear energy on the horizon, the demand for uranium is reviving a once-dormant industry. After a trip to a nearby uranium mine, it’s clear the region sees this development as a kind of deja vu. Residents are optimistic their prized industry can return. But can uranium mining...
Published 08/12/24
After Uravan closed and was set for demolition, its residents were forced to scatter elsewhere. Today, its nearby baseball park hosts an annual picnic for former townies who refuse to let the last memories of Uravan die out. In an interview with EPA superfund officials, we learn the philosophy of...
Published 08/05/24