and we never knew what went on at rocky flats. we had no idea what it really was. and we had no idea of the environmental contamination that was happening in the area. plutonium and carbon tet ro clear rise and a number of different things in the environment, we had no idea. later, like many kids in my neighborhood, i worked at the plant myself, and, um, got a sense of what it was like to be on the inside of the plant. there was one evening when i came home from working at rocky flats ask turned on the -- and turned on the television, and there was a show ott -- show on nightline, it was an expose of what was really happening at the plant. and it was the first time that i really had an awareness, an understanding of what was happening at rocky flats and how extraordinary the contamination was. it was on that day that i decided to quit my job at rocky flats, and the day that i quit was the day that i decided i would write a book about it. it took me about ten years in research and writing to pull this story together, and i wanted to write a book that reads like a no

not as residents like me and my family, but workers at rocky flats.thousands of people in colorado and beyond who are affected by rocky flats. another reason we were talking about the story is that we continue to deal with the legacy production of this country. the environmental industry and also the cultural legacy of how important this plant was in the way it affected people -- people that weren't aware at how they were being affected. when i worked at the plant, it was common for workers to refer to them as cold war warriors. for the people that grew up in a rocky flats, we were also warriors, but nobody told us that we didn't know what was happening at the plant. the plant was operated by chemicals, and we thought they were making household cleaning supplies. my mother thought they were making scrubbing bubbles. it was not apparent what actually happened.

all they did at rocky flats was change the criteria in terms of what would be considered cleanup, andlace the plutonium contamination that basically put denver at risk. we're on the verge of having that activity that was occurring at rocky flats moved here to los alamance, the pitch production part. i think people need to be concerned. finally, leona morgan, what you want to see. >> something you said earlier as you referred to as the nuclear fuel cycle. we like to call it a nuclear fuel chain. there is no cycle. there is no way to recycle the waste at the end. being at the front end of the nuclear chain, the uranium mining is extremely dangerous. we have already lived with the effects. basically, the us epa region 9 and 6 are the entities dealing with us, specifically we are working with region six. i want to say the epa and the navajo nation are at a critical time right now to prevent any future contamination to our drinking water. >> i want to teach you all for being with us, leona morgan, with eastern navajo dinÉ against uranium mining. also, thank you very y much to e well-known

we never knew what went on at rocky flats. we had no idea of the environmental contamination happening in the area. tritium, plutonium and other items we had no idea. i worked at the plant myself and got a sense of what it was like to be on the inside. one evening i came home from working at rocky flats and there was a show on "nightline" that was the expos' veba was happening for the the first time i had an awareness of understanding and how extraordinary the contamination was. on that day i decided to quit and i decided to write a book. it took me 10 years of research and writing i wanted to read like a novel but heavily plan noted and it is all factual. i wanted to write the story from the perspective of the people who is live this had been affected. but the workers and the activist, thousands of people in colorado and beyond that were affected. another reason, we continue to do with the legacy of the nuclear weapons production. environmentally and cultural legacy of how important the plant was. and people were not aware ho

that even though in california and in the country as a whole i think we would like to forget that rocky flats ever happened, it's a story we would like to put in the past and pretend it's all fixed and we don't have to deal with it anymore, but the truth of the matter is that it's a very important story we will have to continue to deal with now and into the future. blew -- plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years. >> you can watch this anytime on line at booktv.org. >> salman rushdie recounts the fatwa issued against him in 1989 which was deemed, quote, against islam, the prophet and the quran, end quote. this is about an hour, 20. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. and welcome to this evening's conversation with salman rushdie. i want to just begin by explaining that in march of 1992 i interviewed mr. rushdie for the first time. it was near dulles airport. i had to meet a stranger at a hotel bar who would take me to his secret location. i'd know him by the fact that he was carrying a "wall street journal" -- [laughter] and we had a lengthy interview by my standards. and i went ba

i think we would like to forget to rocky flats ever happened and pretend it is fixed but the truth is it is a very important story to deal with now into the future. plutonium has that half-life of 24,000 years. it is not going away anytime soon. . . thomas mallon who has written this book, watergate a novel. now, we are a nonfiction work. how do you write a novel about watergate? how you approach that? >> the reader will find that the agreed upon facts, most of the big ones are still intact. president nixon resigns in 1974, the same basic time line. it is not what sometimes it's altered, the history. but i think what they can do with the existing history is in certain things in between. and then try to get an inside the heads of some of the peripheral players as well as some of the main players. >> a republican operative in the nixon white house without a business card bought in the white house directory. it fell to have to be the man who coordinated the payments to the burglars. >> historical fact. >> is this historical fact. and a very small softspoken intriguing man. he had a trage

growing up 7 miles from the rocky flats nuclear weapons plant.our first house was 7 miles away. 1969 we move to a subdivision that was closer to the plant about 3 miles away. my siblings and i had the idyllic childhood. horse is, spending time outdoors writing in the fields and swimming in the lake. we had no idea what went on at rocky flats. we had no idea of the environmental contamination. put 10 -- carbon tetrachloride and plutonium and things in the environment. i worked at the plant myself and got a sense of what it was like to be on the inside. one evening i came home and turn on the television there was a show on and "nightline" the expos a of what was happening at the plant for the first time i had an awareness and understanding of what was happening and how extraordinary the contamination was. on that day i decided to quit my job and then i decided i would write a book. it took me 10 years of research. i wanted to write a book that reads like a novel but have believe what noted but it is all factual but i want to write it from that pers