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?
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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?
For 50 years Uravan, Colorado, was a uranium hub of America. Mining “yellowcake” was at the center of everyday life here, where generations of kids grew up playing on the tailings of radioactive ore and residents used mine waste as garden beds and doorstops. But then, residents started getting sick.
Boom Town: A Uranium Story visits a company town that grew alongside America’s nuclear stockpile, then was buried (literally) underground. 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 the promise of nuclear energy revives the controversial industry today, will the scars of uranium’s past influence the future? Or are some things best left underground?
Releasing July 8 2024 wherever you get your podcasts. Find photos and transcripts for the series at www.aleccowan.com/boomtown
Boom Town: A Uranium Story
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?
