Rising fossil fuel prices and concerns about greenhouse gas emissions are fostering a nuclear power renaissance and a revitalized uranium mining industry across the American West. Environmental sociologist Stephanie Malin offers an on-the-ground portrait of several uranium communities caught between the harmful legacy of previous mining booms and the potential promise of new economic development.

Contents
List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

1   Introduction: The Paradox of Uranium Production in a Neoliberal Era

2   Booms, Busts, and Bombs: Uranium’s Economic and Environmental Justice History in the US

3   Lethal Legacies in Uranium Communities: Left in the Dust in Monticello, Utah

4   The Piñon Ridge Uranium Mill: A Transnational Corporation Comes Home

5   ‘Just Hangin’ on by a Thread’: Isolation, Poverty, and Social Dislocation

6   ‘Better Regs’ in an Era of Deregulation: Neoliberalized Narratives of Regulatory Compliance

7   Conclusions and Solutions: Social Sustainability and Localized Energy Justice

Appendix: Research Methods and Data Collection

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

STEPHANIE A. MALIN is an assistant professor of sociology at Colorado State University and a faculty affiliate with CSU’s Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis and the Water Center.