Kelly Mcmasters, author of Welcome To Shirley: A Memoir From An Atomic Town

In the 1950s two communities grew on Long Island. Small towns like Shirley, committed to a blue–collar suburban ideal; and the Brookhaven National Laboratory dedicated to pure nuclear research. The two did not mix well. In time residents of Shirley had illness and death rates well above normal. The arrogant refusal of the Laboratory to investigate matters further riled passions. In the end the downfall of a small town signaled the poor state of communication about nuclear issues in small communities. Kelly McMasters, author of Welcome To Shirley: A Memoir From An Atomic Town describes what happened.