The film Downwinders and the Radioactive West has been airing on PBS Utah. Today we’re going to review a different part of America’s nuclear history. Susan Dawson and Gary Madsen are retired Utah State University professors whose research and Congressional testimony contributed to passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. In addition to providing financial compensation to downwinders and uranium miners and others, RECA also acknowledged that Congress "apologizes on behalf of the nation" to individuals who were "involuntarily subjected to increased risk of injury and disease to serve the national security interests of the United States." Professors Dawson’s and Madsen’s research from 1988 to 2010 focused on radiation exposures to underground and above ground uranium miners, uranium millworkers, and uranium transportation workers.
Susan Dawson is a retired professor of social work at Utah State University. Her research interests included public social policy and occupational and environmental health, focusing on technological disasters related to the uranium and coal industries.
Gary Madsen is a retired professor of sociology at Utah State University. His research interests focused on occupational and environmental sociology, including the study of psychosocial effects of working in hazardous conditions.
National Cancer Benefits Center 800-414-4328
Office of Navajo Uranium Workers 505-368-1260
