by Bruce Selcraig

About the author: Bruce Selcraig is a writer in Austin, Texas.

When the wind blows eastward across Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which is to say most of the time, a long yellowish plume of chlorine often drifts from the stacks of a giant magnesium factory on the desolate west side, across the saline waters, fouling the view and sinuses of anyone in its path. Upon first sniff, downwinders wonder who spilled the Clorox.

About 30 miles to the south, in the pleasant small town of Grantsville, a bus comes through several times a day to ferry workers to and from that massive plant. It’s not an easy bus to miss. You can smell it coming.

For Tooele County, Utah, the jobs pay well—$12 to $17 an hour. But...