United States' Poisoned Places

Private companies pumped toxic waste into the environment while doing secret work for the US during the cold war. Now the secret is out.

1 minute read

September 11, 2000, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

USA Today publishes a multi-part special feature on the hundereds of communities throughout the United States that have nuclear and toxic pollution in their backyards -- and don't even know it. USA Today reports from New York, Indiana, Chicago, and Pennsylvania. "In the 1940s and '50s, the U.S. government secretly hired scores of private companies to process huge volumes of nuclear weapons material. But the companies were not prepared for the hazards of handling nuclear material. Workers were not informed of the risks. Thousands were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Government reports were classified and buried. The result is a legacy of poisoned workers and communities that lingers to this day. The full story of the secret nuclear contracting has never been told, until now."

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Poisoned Workers and Poisoned Places

Saturday, September 9, 2000 in USA Today

Environment United States

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