A quiet French country district is the site of a nuclear waste processing plant. Françoise Zonabend describes how those working there, and living nearby, reconcile themselves to the possibility of nuclear catastrophe. By analyzing work practices and language, the author provides a superb sociology of the nuclear workplace, with its divisions and hierarchies, and explains the often unexpected responses of the workers to the fear of contamination. This is a major contribution to the anthropology of modern life.

A quiet French country district is the site of a nuclear waste processing plant. Francoise Zonabend describes how those working there, and living nearby, reconcile themselves to the possibility of nuclear catastrophe. By analyzing work practices and language, the author provides a superb sociology of the nuclear workplace, with its divisions and hierarchies, and explains the often unexpected responses of the workers to the fear of contamination. This is a major contribution to the anthropology of modern life.