HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE URANIUM INDUSTRY: A COLD WAR LEGACY

Largescale uranium mining in the southwestern United States began during World War II as a result of the nuclear weapons development program. Despite historical information on lung disease in underground miners from Eastern Europe, in the rush to produce uranium for defense purposes, little to no attention was paid to the potential health risks to uranium industry workers in the United States. It was not until an unusual number of lung cancers began to be reported in underground uranium miners that the U.S. Public Health Service and others began to be concerned about the health impacts of the uranium industry. A number of epidemiological studies of uranium industry workers have shown that these individuals, particularly those who worked in the early, "boom" years of the industry, were at increased risk for developing lung cancers and other health conditions related to their occupational exposures. Although less well-studied, the uranium industry has left a legacy of concern among family members of workers and residents of uranium communities that their health was also at risk because of the presence of the industry.