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PARTON 3
allowed people to believe that such dreams were possible. However, as World War II came to a close, the human species learned of a place called Hiroshima. The genie was let out of the bottle and the scientists from all the universities in Arizona were quick to want to study the magic. The only complication was the waste left behind, so someone at the UA thought of Page Ranch. They grabbed a shovel and dug a hole. Most of the available accounts of the Page Ranch prior to 1981 come in the form of photocopies of newspaper articles. Most of the articles are illustrated with grainy photographic images of unrecognizable people standing on berms of earth. At their feet are wide holes jumbled full of haphazardly thrown containers. In the background, somewhere out of the frame, sits a backhoe ready to push the dirt back over the grave. It is interesting to note that it was a wild time for the waste disposal employees back in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. One memo dated March 24, 1981 from Martha Anderson, Assistant Director, UA Department of Risk Management, to Bob Dorsey, Director of UA Dept. of Risk Management (4) begins: “I agree with everyone that the trips to Page have to be more streamlined and controlled. I feel that most of the potential or real problems occur from our haste to get the chemical waste off campus and then to empty the truck and get back to Tucson. In fact I know that many of our mistakes have come from hurrying through the operation. I appreciate the concern of others in the department and will try to improve the operation.””Later in the document, in section 4, she states: “I will not use a rifle to break the acid bottles into the acid pit. The bottles which do not break upon impact can be broken open with rocks. Cautious judgement in the sequence of acids thrown in could alleviate potential problems. Life itself is a potentially explosive situation.”(4)
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