From Library Journal
Given current concerns about the safe disposal of by-products from nuclear weapons and power plants, this is a highly relevant historical work. Gerber reminds us that some communities have already confronted this issue by telling the story of the Hanford Nuclear Site, a facility in Washington state for manufacturing radioactive raw materials that was begun at the time of the Manhattan Project. Although aware of the potential dangers, those involved in developing the facility placed short-term needs ahead of long-term health and environmental issues. In addition, the promise of economic development led many nearby residents to avoid asking questions about their future well-being. Postwar pressure to deliver products necessary for the massive build-up of weapons during the Cold War, combined with an inadequate understanding of the consequences of the activities at Hanford, led to an irreversibly hazardous situation by the 1980s. Though a bit wooden in style, Gerber's treatment is both scientific and humane. Well worth reading.
- Charles K. Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"The revelations of the environmental damage done to air, land, and water are daunting. . . . Gerber has access to all the Hanford data and is an acknowledged expert, so continued access and assessment will lie with her."-Choice (
Choice )
"Really the first history of the bureaucratic and institutional development of atomic weaponry and power [and] how these are embedded in the larger public and national sphere . . . not only an important scientific story but an important political, national, and human story."-Peter Gould, author of Fire in the Rain: The Democratic Consequences of Chernobyl (Peter Gould )
"Gerber expertly described the construction of the Hanford Engineer Works and its role in the creation of the plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The book's focus, however, was the nuclear buildup of the Cold War and the environmental legacy of those years of waste and secrecy. The second edition is essentially the same book, but with an extensive new epilogue that covers the 10 tumultuous years since the publication of the first edition. Structured in that way, the book now provides an instructive counterpoint to the Cold War years of secrecy and waste. Gerber skillfully demonstrates that the environmental cleanup and governmental openness of the last decade have not reduced the controversy and complexities surrounding Hanford."-Robert Bauman, Society and Natural Resources (Robert Bauman
Society and Natural Resources )
"[Declassified documents] reveal a five-decade pattern of environmental insult that is breathtaking in its scope and pervasiveness. . . . The story [Gerber] tells grips us: the sticky web of strategic choices involving Hanford and its purposes has ensnared every inhabitant . . . of the Pacific Northwest for more than half a century."-Oregon Historical Quarterly (
Oregon Historical Quarterly )
"Although [Gerber] eschews sweeping conclusions for the most part, the evidence she assembles establishes a damning indictment of AEC [Atomic Energy Commission] management. This is a notable achievement."-Pacific Historical Review (
Pacific Historical Review )
"A work of history dispassionately told, thoroughly footnoted, the literary equivalent of a nuclear explosion."-Michael E. Long, National Geographic (Michael E. Long
National Geographic )
