The following was researched and written by Emma Penrod for The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune.
There once was a time when the children of White Mesa played outdoors without their parents fearing for their health.
But for as long as Yolanda Badback can remember, the remote town in southeastern Utah has worried about the smell emanating from the plant to the north and the trucks that signal the plant’s awakening after periods of dormancy.
“I see the trucks that go in and out every day now,” Badback said.