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Opinion - Southeast county in Utah has a radioactive target on its back

An Energy Fuels truck carries uranium ore from a mine near the Grand Canyon through Bears Ears National Monument to a mill in San Juan County, Utah.
Zak Podmore
An Energy Fuels truck carries uranium ore from a mine near the Grand Canyon through Bears Ears National Monument to a mill in San Juan County, Utah.

Grand County, in southeast Utah, experienced a uranium boom during the Cold War, leaving behind many health crises. Since then, the county’s Moab area has become an international destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Now, that economy is threatened because the federal Energy Department has targeted Grand County as the perfect place to store highly reactive nuclear waste, writes Zak Podmore, who lives in the area.

What’s alarming is that the Biden administration awarded $2 million to two, pro-nuclear groups in California, including Mothers for Nuclear, to help persuade Utah locals that nuclear waste is not only safe but also the basis for something it calls “nuclear tourism.”