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Southern Utah Uranium Mills On Tuesday's Access Utah

Department of Energy

Russ Beck, an author and a Senior Lecturer in the USU English Department, recently spent some time in southeastern Utah researching the history of uranium mining and milling and talking with local residents about the after-effects of the uranium boom in the Moab/Monticello/Blanding area.

Today we’ll hear the radio feature he produced for UPR. We’ll also talk with Russ Beck; Kira Withrow, who works for the Moab Museum; and Kirk Benge, who until recently was director of San Juan County Public Health and is now director of TriCounty Health Department (Duchesne, Daggett, and Uintah counties).

If you know someone who has been adversely affected by uranium mill down winding contact the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to see if you qualify for medical funding. Especially if they lived near or on the Colorado Plateau between the 40s and 90s and experienced lung cancer, pneumoconiosis, tuberculosis, or emphysema. You can call 800.728.RECP or look to CDC’s website for more information. Other resources:

National Cancer Benefits Center  800-414-4328

Office of Navajo Uranium Workers  505-368-1260

 

Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.