Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest
Housewives, hard hats, and an Ohio town’s restoration of the radioactive wasteland in its backyard

In 1984, a uranium leak at Ohio’s outdated Fernald Feed Materials Production Center highlighted the decades of harm inflicted on Cold War communities by negligent radioactive waste disposal. Casey A. Huegel tells the story of the unlikely partnership of grassroots activists, regulators, union workers, and politicians that responded to the event with a new kind of environmental movement.

The community group Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) drew on the expertise of national organizations while maintaining its autonomy and focus on Fernald. Leveraging local patriotism and employment concerns, FRESH recruited blue-collar allies into an innovative program that fought for both local jobs and a healthier environment. Fernald’s transformation into a nature reserve with an on-site radioactive storage facility reflected the political compromises that left waste sites improved yet imperfect. At the same time, FRESH’s outsized influence transformed how the government scaled down the Cold War weapons complex, enforced health and safety standards, and reckoned with the immense environmental legacy of the nuclear arms race.

A compelling history of environmental mobilization, Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory details the diverse goals and mixed successes of a groundbreaking activist movement.

1144249406
Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest
Housewives, hard hats, and an Ohio town’s restoration of the radioactive wasteland in its backyard

In 1984, a uranium leak at Ohio’s outdated Fernald Feed Materials Production Center highlighted the decades of harm inflicted on Cold War communities by negligent radioactive waste disposal. Casey A. Huegel tells the story of the unlikely partnership of grassroots activists, regulators, union workers, and politicians that responded to the event with a new kind of environmental movement.

The community group Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) drew on the expertise of national organizations while maintaining its autonomy and focus on Fernald. Leveraging local patriotism and employment concerns, FRESH recruited blue-collar allies into an innovative program that fought for both local jobs and a healthier environment. Fernald’s transformation into a nature reserve with an on-site radioactive storage facility reflected the political compromises that left waste sites improved yet imperfect. At the same time, FRESH’s outsized influence transformed how the government scaled down the Cold War weapons complex, enforced health and safety standards, and reckoned with the immense environmental legacy of the nuclear arms race.

A compelling history of environmental mobilization, Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory details the diverse goals and mixed successes of a groundbreaking activist movement.

30.0 In Stock
Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest

Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest

Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest

Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory: Grassroots Activism and Nuclear Waste in the Midwest

Paperback

$30.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

Housewives, hard hats, and an Ohio town’s restoration of the radioactive wasteland in its backyard

In 1984, a uranium leak at Ohio’s outdated Fernald Feed Materials Production Center highlighted the decades of harm inflicted on Cold War communities by negligent radioactive waste disposal. Casey A. Huegel tells the story of the unlikely partnership of grassroots activists, regulators, union workers, and politicians that responded to the event with a new kind of environmental movement.

The community group Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) drew on the expertise of national organizations while maintaining its autonomy and focus on Fernald. Leveraging local patriotism and employment concerns, FRESH recruited blue-collar allies into an innovative program that fought for both local jobs and a healthier environment. Fernald’s transformation into a nature reserve with an on-site radioactive storage facility reflected the political compromises that left waste sites improved yet imperfect. At the same time, FRESH’s outsized influence transformed how the government scaled down the Cold War weapons complex, enforced health and safety standards, and reckoned with the immense environmental legacy of the nuclear arms race.

A compelling history of environmental mobilization, Cleaning Up the Bomb Factory details the diverse goals and mixed successes of a groundbreaking activist movement.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780295752556
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication date: 07/23/2024
Series: Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books
Pages: 328
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Casey A. Huegel is an adjunct professor of environmental studies at the University of Cincinnati and a public historian with the National Park Service.

What People are Saying About This

Jacob Darwin Hamblin

"Huegel’s fascinating exploration of the Fernald nuclear site shows us that strikes, whistleblowers, and marching were hallmarks of the nuclear age, as much as the bombs themselves. By focusing on labor organizers and activists rather than politicians and officials, Cleaning up the Bomb Factory offers a model of new scholarship on the environmental movement in the twilight years of the Cold War."

Andrew Kirk

"Joins recent scholarship on Pantex and Oakridge in reshaping the map of the US nuclear industrial complex during the Cold War and in so doing better reveals the complicated role of nuclear protest to the evolution of American environmentalism."

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews