While the US government assured the employees and families who lived in the area that they were safe from exposure to radioactive materials, declassified documents revealed that early protective measures were inadequate, while people were dying of radiation-induced illness.

[6] Contrary to declarations made by government officials, declassified documents revealed that the early safety procedures and waste disposal practices were inadequate, releasing significant amounts of radioactive materials into the air and the Columbia River, threatening the health and lives of residents in the area.

[7] Overall, the culture of secrecy and deception permeated the Hanford site, with the Department of Energy keeping the effects of radiation from the public, which resulted in a sense of betrayal on behalf of the employees and people living in the area.

In the late 1980s, decades of environmental contamination and deception at the plutonium production facility were revealed, as community residents, employees, and family members were dying of radiation-induced illness.

Mary Ann Gwinn of The Seattle Times wrote that "[m]any of the poems wrestle with the bomb factory's legacy of environmental contamination, illness and even death from exposure to radiation.

"[2] Jeannine Hall Gailey of The Rumpus remarked that the work is "[n]ot only an education about Washington State and its role in the Nuclear Age but of an awakening in the American public as well as the poet herself to the peculiar dangers of invisible poisons and of trusting too much the authorities.

[6] Martha Collins, poet and author of Blue Front and White Papers, lauded Flenniken's ability to "deftly" present the "timely and important subject matter as well as the meticulous craft of its poems".