HEAL has been tracking nuclear and radioactive issues in Utah for over 26 years. As Utah is gearing up for another wave of nuclear industry development, HEAL wants to ensure that our communities have access to clear, accurate, and transparent information.
The recent expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include all of Utah is a recognition of the lasting harm nuclear fallout has had on communities across the state. For decades, Utahns were exposed to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing, leading to increased risks of cancer, respiratory illnesses, and other serious health impacts that continue to affect families and communities today.
Utah is at the center of a rapidly expanding nuclear landscape, from uranium mining and milling to waste storage, enrichment, and new reactor proposals. We are concerned that the voices of impacted communities, including Downwinders, Tribal nations, rural residents, emergency responders, and workers, are too often missing from the narrative and decision-making process. Even with new technologies, there are still real risks to public health, and communities deserve the knowledge and transparency needed to make informed decisions about projects with long-term consequences.
What Utah Needs
- ANSWERS from our decision makers and industry leaders
- Independent study that gives us details about jobs, costs, risks associated with Utah pursuing nuclear energy
- Realistic comparisons between energy sources
- Representation of affected communities in decision-making
- Independent oversight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Transparent decisionmaking
Questions to be Asking
- How much will this project cost?
- When will it come online and can we afford to wait? Is nuclear energy an effective climate change solution?
- How much power will it provide and who is the power for?
- Do the operators have experience building and operating a commercial reactor?
- Where will radioactive waste be stored?
- Who will bear the burdens of uranium mining and milling, cost, and waste disposal?
- How are local communities being included in decision-making?
- Are there alternative energy projects we could be pursuing?
Learn more about Utah’s Risky Gamble With Nuclear Power and fill out HEAL’s survey today!
What HEAL Utah Is Doing
HEAL Utah works to build a future where clean air, accessible transit, and healthy communities are the standard, not the exception.
Smart Transit Policy
We support reforms that strengthen public transportation, improve service, and give transit agencies the tools they need to operate effectively and sustainably. We want transit to be a realistic alternative for everyone.
Protecting Communities
We oppose harmful projects like the I-15 expansion and champion alternatives such as freeway caps, land bridges built over highways that reconnect neighborhoods, reduce noise, and improve local air quality.
Community-Powered Data
Through mobility and walk audits, residents identify missing sidewalks, unsafe crossings, and barriers to walking or biking. Their findings help shape safer, more equitable street design, making it safer and easier for pedestrians to get around.
Collaborative Clean Air Solutions
Working with state partners and community coalitions, we’ve:
- Installed mobile air-quality monitors on electric buses to collect neighborhood level air quality data
- Helped secure funding for the Zero Fares for Clean Air program, offering free transit on high-pollution days
Led mobility audits to collect data on improvements needed for safer and more connected street design
Mapping Utah's Nuclear History
Across Utah, interest in nuclear energy and nuclear-related industries is increasing, but information about where projects are located, who is behind them, and how they affect communities is often hard to find. HEAL Utah created Mapping Utah’s Nuclear Industry to change that.
This project tracks existing and proposed nuclear-related activities across the state, including uranium mining and processing, research facilities, energy production, and radioactive waste storage and disposal. We compile this information into an interactive, publicly accessible map, paired with regular blog updates that explain what’s happening, where, and why it matters.
Our goal is to provide Utahns with clear, accurate, and timely information so communities, journalists, researchers, and decision-makers can better understand the scope of nuclear activity in Utah, and the potential impacts on air, water, land, and public health.
What the project includes
- A living map of nuclear-related facilities and proposals in Utah
- Tracking of existing operations and newly proposed projects
- Ongoing updates on project status, regulatory actions, and policy decisions
- Information on proximity to communities, schools, water sources, and sensitive lands
- Details on radioactive waste onsite and the intended use of energy produced
Why This Matters
Nuclear projects often move quickly and with limited public visibility. By centralizing information and making it accessible, HEAL Utah aims to support public transparency, informed participation, and community-led decision-making, especially for communities most likely to be impacted.
This map and blog will be updated at least monthly as new information becomes available. Want to help our map out? Fill out this survey!
About the Map Creator:
Wyatt O’Connell is a geographic information specialist from New Orleans Louisiana, he graduated from the University of Maryland for Environmental Management and is a certified wetland delineator. Wyatt specializes in creating maps and combining information from numerous sources into simple visuals.
If you’d like to reach out to Wyatt, contact policyteam@healutah.org.
Additional Information:
Utah’s Risky Gamble With Nuclear Power
Expanding RECA: Providing Justice and Support for Victims of Nuclear Testing – HEAL Utah
Nuclear Expert Webinar: The Impact of Radiation on Families
“They’ve Been Downwind Before”
Public Money, Private Risk: The Nuclear Industry’s Hidden Motives – HEAL Utah
Nuclear Testing is Safe? Utahns have heard this story before. – HEAL Utah
For the first time in US history, Foreign Nuclear Waste to Be Dumped in the US. – HEAL Utah
Utah's Risky Nuclear Gamble
Read today to learn more about Utah lawmakers’ pursuit of bringing nuclear energy to the state and the potential risks!