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The True Story of a Uranium Miner and His Family

On the evening that Salvador Iturralde—renowned for his skills and vast knowledge of underground mining—came home to his family, his wife knew something was terribly wrong. Salvador confirmed it when he told her that he and the other miners in his crew had been handling a radioactive poison—uranium ore, essential to America’s nuclear arsenal—in one of the first uranium mines in Grants, New Mexico. No one had warned the miners of the hazards of uranium and radium poisoning, and when the dangers were finally revealed, it was too late for the miners, haulers, millers, and lab workers—or their families. The Yellow Cake Genie is the true tale of one miner and his family who found themselves part of a human experiment conducted by world leaders during President Harry Truman’s administration. Written by Salvador Iturralde’s widow, the book documents Salvador’s brilliant career as well as the devastating physical effects uranium mining had on him and his children. It describes the psychological blow delivered when the government we are raised to respect fails to protect its citizens—indeed puts them deliberately in harm’s way—and how an evil phenomenon came into being in New Mexico—a land of enchantment, mystic beliefs, and peaceful people who would be forever changed.

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