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The following is a list of Special Collections & archives material about Nuclear Testing in Nevada/Utah, and its Downwinders victims. Other related material is available for check out in Library Stacks.
Some materials are still being processed, so please ask Special Collections staff if you don't see what you're looking for.
Downwinders / Nuclear Testing Materials
Cuba Lyle papers
Collection Number: WASH-013
Dates: 1867-1995
The Cuba Lyle papers comprise historical and personal research, including photocopies of documents and newspaper clippings accompanied by notes; correspondence; photographs; newspaper clippings on the filming; call sheets for filming; a guest book of Hollywood crew and actors; and an assortment of commemorative brochures and programs.
Irma Thomas Downwinder Collection
Collection Number: WASH-035
Dates: 1953-2004
Irma Thomas materials related to her activism in the 1950s to 1980s to call attention to the hazards of radiation exposure from above-ground atomic bomb testing at the Nevada Test Site on citizens in Southern Utah called "Downwinders." The collection consists primarily of Thomas' notes, correspondence, writings, activist group meetings, research, legal documents, and a large collection of newspaper and magazine articles.
Nancy H. Williams Downwinder collection
Collection Number: WASH-036
Dates: 1981-1995
Nancy H. Williams Downwinders Collection contains materials related to her activism in the 1990s to call attention to the need for compensation for nuclear test veterans and atomic bomb testing downwinders. The collection consists primarily of research papers, handouts, pamphlets and news articles she obtained from her attendance at the First International Nuclear Test Veterans & Atomic Bomb Survivors Conference held 26-30 Jun 1995 at the University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
Saint George Area Chamber of Commerce collection
Collection Number: WASH-064
Dates: bulk 1977-2015
The Saint George Area Chamber of Commerce collection consists of the Saint George Area Chamber of Commerce files, events, local area and business information, chamber newsletters, newspaper articles and photographs including many that are digitized. The collection is from 1977-2015, and was created and organized by the Saint George Area Chamber of Commerce in St. George, Utah.
No More War! by Call Number: JX 1974.7 .P3 1983ISBN: 0396081576Publication Date: 1983The end of war -- The nature of nuclear weapons -- Radioactivity and fallout -- Radiation and heredity -- Radiation and disease -- What are the facts about fallout? -- The nature of nuclear war -- The scientists appeal for peace -- The need for international agreements -- A proposal: research for peace -- Appendix 1. "Only then shall we find courage" / Albert Einstein -- Appendix 2. The Mainau Declaration of Nobel Laureates -- Appendix 3. A declaration of conscience / Albert Schweitzer -- Appendix 4. Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences among the signers of the petition to the United Nations -- Appendix 5. An appeal -- Appendix 6. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto -- Appendix 7. The dangers of nuclear war: declarations of the Pugwash Movement and 97 Nobel Laureates.
The Hanford Plaintiffs by Call Number: KF 228 .H285 P75 2020ISBN: 9780700629046Publication Date: 2020-02-25... In The Hanford Plaintiffs, Trisha Pritikin - a Hanford downwinder, attorney, and named plaintiff - tells the story of Hanford, its downwinders, and their battle for justice. She gives historical context to both Hanford and the larger issue of American nuclear testing, drawing especially on the experiences of Nevada Test Site downwinders. She details In Re Hanford, the class action suit, and the multitude of uphill battles downwinders face in a legal system that protects the government on all fronts. But the core of the book, its greatest contribution, is the set of 24 oral histories from Hanford plaintiffs. Here is the personal cost of America's nuclear power, told in the words of those who struggled not just with illness and loss but also to be believed in the face of government insistence that nothing was wrong-- Provided by publisher
Low Dose Radiation by Call Number: QD 117 .R3 B76 2018ISBN: 9780874223545Publication Date: 2018Antone Brooks grew up close enough to Nevada Test Site nuclear detonations to see the sky light up, feel the shockwaves, and be exposed to radioactive fallout. His long scientific career--from early days trekking into the Uinta Mountains to hunt contaminated deer for tissue samples, to thousands of hours devoted to careful microscope work on chromosomal aberrations in animal studies--has been an increasingly sophisticated search for answers to questions these fallout exposures raised. How dangerous were they? Could they produce cancer? How afraid of low dose radiation should people be?- Nevada test site byCall Number: QE 137 .G46 1968Publication Date: 1968
Downwind: a people's history of the nuclear West by Call Number: RA 569 .F69 2014ISBN: 9780803255371Publication Date: 2014-11-01An unflinching tale that reveals the intentional disregard for human and animal life through nuclear testing by the federal government and uranium extraction by mining corporations during and after the Cold War. Sarah Alisabeth Fox highlights the personal cost of nuclear testing and uranium extraction in the American West through extensive interviews with "downwinders," the Native American and non-Native residents of the Great Basin region affected by nuclear environmental contamination and nuclear-testing fallout. These downwinders tell tales of communities ravaged by cancer epidemics, farmers and ranchers economically ruined by massive crop and animal deaths, and Native miners working in dangerous conditions without proper safety equipment so that the government could surreptitiously study the effects of radiation on humans. In chilling detail Downwind brings to light the stories and concerns of these groups whose voices have been silenced and marginalized for decades in the name of "patriotism" and "national security."--Publisher description.- Final report : a case-control study of leukemia deaths in Utah (1952-81) and exposure to radioactive fallout from the Nevada test site (1952-58) byCall Number: RA 1231 .R2 F563 1990Publication Date: 1990
- Assessment of leukemia and thyroid disease in relation to fallout in Utah : report of a cohort study of thyroid disease and radioactive fallout from the Nevada Test Site byCall Number: RA 1231 .R2 F563 1992Publication Date: 1992
- Gloria : a downwind saga byCall Number: RC 93 .G74 M58 1989Publication Date: c1989Story of Gloria Leavitt Gregerson of Bunkerville, Nevada, one of the downwind radiation victims of Nevada nuclear testing.
Radioactive Clouds of Death over Utah: downwinders? fallout cancer epidemic updated by Call Number: RC 965 .R25 .M64 2013ISBN: 1466975385Publication Date: 2013-01-01- Off-site radiation exposure review project : Fact book byCall Number: TD 879 .R34 F754 1986Publication Date: 1985 (1986 2nd printing)
- Announced United States nuclear tests : July 1945 through December 1992 [Rev. 13] byCall Number: U 264 .A56 1993Publication Date: [1993]
- A perspective on atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada : Fact book byCall Number: U 264 .F754 .P477 1992Publication Date: [1992, 1985]This fact book provides historical background and perspective on the nuclear testing program at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Nuclear tests contributing to the off-site deposition of radioactive fallout are identified, and the concept of cumulative estimated exposure is explained. The difficulty of associating health effects with radiation is presented also. The status of litigation against the government and legislation are summarized.
Under the Cloud--the Decades of Nuclear Testing by Call Number: U 264 .M55 1991ISBN: 1881043053Publication Date: c1991PART 1. Prelude -- PART 2. The beginning -- Trinity -- Hiroshima -- Nagasaki -- Fallout -- Postwar -- PART 3. The testing begins -- Ranger -- The race for the super -- Buster-Jangle -- Part 4. Maneuvers -- Tumbler-Snapper -- Upshot-Knothole -- Castle: Bravo -- Part 5. Watching the bombs go off -- The Soviets 1 : bombs in the Kremlin -- Hot Spots -- Teapot -- 1956 : the year of fallout -- PART 6. Hot dust, hard rain -- Plumbbob -- Hot dust, hard rain -- Fallout : the questions -- Hardtack 1-2 -- Plowshare -- PART 7. Accidents -- Bombs over Mars Bluff -- Bombs over Goldsboro -- The Soviets 2 : Chelyabinsk -- PART 8. The abyss -- Khrushchev -- Slowdown -- Novaya Zemlya -- Deadly October -- The hot years -- PART 9. Confrontation -- Deadly rain -- PART 10. Evidence -- PART 11. Epilogue : the last nuclear weapon -- Appendix A. The radiation of fallout -- Appendix B. City list of selected trajectories -- Appendix C. Maps of fallout trajectories -- Appendix D. Fallout in selected cities from Operations Tumbler-Snapper and Upshot-Knothole.
Fallout by Call Number: U 264.4 .N3 F73 2004ISBN: 1555663311Publication Date: 2004-03-15An older edition is available in Library stacks.
When the United States government conducted atmospheric nuclear tests in southern Nevada during the 1950s and early 1960s, radioactive fallout drifted downwind onto the unsuspecting citizens who were never adequately warned of its approach or told what precautions to take. Instead, the government assured them there was no danger. While the fallout spread across the whole nation, it was residents of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona who received the largest doses and later exhibited an unusually high incidence of cancer. In this Pulitzer-nominated investigation of America's nuclear testing, Fradkin exposes a tragic episode in American history.--from back cover- The nature of radioactive fallout and its effects on man. : Hearings before the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Congress of the United States, Eighty-fifth Congress, first session byCall Number: UF 767 .U52 1957 PT.1 & PT.2Publication Date: 1957-58
- Fallout from nuclear weapons tests. : Hearings before the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Congress of the United States, Eighty-sixth Congress, first session byCall Number: UF 767 .U52 1960 V.1-V.3Publication Date: 1959-60
See the Historical Newspapers guide for a list of (and access to some) Washington County, Utah, National, and International newspapers.
Ranching on Utah Hill and the Beaver Dam Slope : Interview with Grant Hafen and Kelton Hafen
Call Number: ORALHIST 1994-013
Publication Date: 2002
Grant Hafen and Kelton Hafen were interviewed on August 22, 1994 to share their knowledge about ranching on Utah Hill and the Beaver Dam Slope with the supervisory committee appointed by the Washington County Commission. Participants in this interview were: Loren Webb, Chairman; Douglas Alder; J. L. Crawford; Lyman Hafen; Heber Jones; and Cuba Jones.--leaf 5
Medicine : Interview with Bart Anderson, Renee Ballard, Dr. Craig Booth, Dr. Norman Fawson, and Dr. Konrad McGregor
Call Number: ORALHIST 1994-018
Publication Date: 2001
Bart Anderson, Renee Ballard, Dr. Craig Booth, Dr. Norman Fawson, and Dr. Konrad McGregor were interviewed in 1994 to share their knowledge about the history of healthcare in Washington County, Utah with the supervisory committee appointed by the Washington County Commission. Participants in this interview were: Loren Webb, chairman; Douglas Alder; Karl Brooks; J. L. Crawford; Dorothy Gardner; Heber Jones; and Cuba Lyle.--leaf 5
Nuclear fallout : Interview with Karl Brooks
Call Number: ORALHIST 1996-005
Publication Date: 2001
Karl Brooks prepared a draft in 1996 about the nuclear fallout in Washington County, Utah, for the supervisory committee appointed by the Washington County Commission to use in the book From Isolation to Destination: A History of Washington County. It ended up not being included. Some of this information was provided by Bruce Church, a teacher in Mesquite, Clark County, Nevada and Douglas Hafen. They both accompanied Karl Brooks on a tour of the Atomic Energy facilities. Participants in this interview were Douglas Alder, Gail Gill, Harriett Leavitt, Lavoid Leavitt, Don Mortenson, and Barnard "Barney" Seegmiller.--leaf 5
Interview with Dr. Andrew Barnum by Douglas D. Alder
Call Number: ORALHIST 1996-010 & 1996-012
Publication Date: 2001, 2003
Dr. Andrew Barnum was interviewed on October 16, October 23, October 30, and November 13, 1996 to share his knowledge about the history of Dixie College with Dr. Douglas Alder, a member of the supervisory committee by the Washington County Commission.--leaf 7
Interview with Barbara Jean (Bundy) Carroll by Kelton Hafen
Call Number: ORALHIST 1998-020AB
Publication Date: c2019
Barbara Jean (Bundy) Carroll was interviewed by Kelton Hafen on November 18, 1998 in St. George, Washington County, Utah. She related her experiences living on the Arizona Strip. --leaf 5.
Interview with Elizabeth (Cottam) Adams by Shirley Craig
Call Number: ORALHIST 2003-003
Publication Date: 2004
Elizabeth (Cottam) Adams was interviewed [by Shirley Craig] on February 3, 2003 at her home to share her life experience of living in St. George, Washington County... Participating in this interview was Lorna (Little) Cottam Snell.--p. 5
Nursing in early Washington County hospitals : interview with Effie Marie (Bennett) Cottam by Douglas D. Alder
Call Number: ORALHIST 2003-022B
Publication Date: 2004
Effie Marie (Bennett) Cottam was interviewed on July 3, 2003 by Douglas Alder to share her nursing experiences when she worked in the early hospitals in Washington County, Utah. Participating in the interview was her daughter, Alice Cottam.--leaf 5
Interview with Jeannine (Harris) Holt by Lisa Michele Church
Call Number: ORALHIST 2015-009
Publication Date: c2016
Jeannine (Harris) Holt was interviewed September 23, 2016 in St. George, Washington County, Utah by Lisa Michele Church.--leaf 4.
- Utah in the '50's [videorecording] : St. George/ Cedar City byCall Number: DISCVIDEO F 834 .S7 U8 2002BPublication Date: c2002Host Ted Capener takes viewers on a nostalgic journey using archival photographs, film and interviews with those whose lives were shaped by the 1950s. It was an idyllic time in Cedar City and St. George. Children ran barefoot across the red sandstone. Each town had only one stoplight, and two movie houses. Hundreds of Southern Utah men who went to fight an "undeclared war" in Korea came home safely. Few worried about fallout from atomic testing on the Nevada desert. Competition between Branch Agricultural College in Cedar City and Dixie College in St. George, and between the high schools, was intense. Young people found lifelong friends while working summers at national parks.--from container jacket