URANIUM MINING AND THE GOVERNOR'S RACE IN VIRGINIA

The Richmond Times-Dispatch published a letter last month entitled “Mined Uranium Is Harmless Mineral” written by William Schmidt, a long-time power company employee.

We at Southside Concerned Citizens (SCC) have found that Schmidt’s half truths and distortions are typical of many paid nuclear power proponents. Schmidt spoke about weeks of exposure, a U. N. study showing no increased risk of lung cancer in uranium miners, and alpha radiation being harmless. Here is what he didn’t tell us:

Alpha radiation lasts forever (millions of years), and it accumulates in the body.

“Uranium in groundwater leads to health hazards.”

“Normal functioning of kidney, brain, liver, heart and other systems can be affected by uranium exposure, because, in addition to being weakly radioactive, uranium is a toxic metal. Uranium is also a reproductive toxicant.”

“---absorbed uranium tends to bio-accumulate and stay for many years in bone tissue---”

“Alpha radiation is not dangerous to life unless it is inhaled or ingested---it is the most destructive form of ionizing radiation—and can cause any or all of the symptoms of radiation poisoning”.

“It is estimated that chromosome damage from alpha particles is 100 times greater than that caused by equivalent amounts of other radiation.”

“Not only do alphas themselves cause damage, but approximately equal ionization is caused by the recoiling nucleus after alpha emission, and this energy may in turn be especially damaging to genetic material.”

“Miners who worked in uranium filled mines have a very high incidence of cancer relative to the rest of the United States population. Though the Navajo workers and families noticed this in the 1950s, bureaucrats dragged their feet and companies ignored their warnings.”

(Quotes are from Wikipedia’s research of available worldwide information. Also note that our govt. won’t release much health related information related to uranium for liability reasons.)

SO MUCH FOR MINED URANIUM BEING A HARMLESS MINERAL!

Let me repeat the above revelation concerning alpha radiation: Alpha radiation is dangerous to life when it is inhaled or ingested!

Well, duh! Guess what uranium mining does? It blasts and crushes solid bedrock into a fine powdery dust. Then the problems become three-fold:

1. How can the dust be confined to the site during the 40 year mining period?

2. How can a mountain of toxic, radioactive, powdery waste 200ft. tall by 400ft. wide and 14.2 miles long be kept out of our streams?

3. How can millions of cubic feet of deadly radon gas be confined to the site?

The answer to each of the three questions is the same: it cannot be done.

It is also important to remember that aside from being radioactive in all of its configurations, uranium is a toxic heavy metal which has proven to poison and genetically alter humans and animals.

Imagine the devastation to the farming community! Who would buy crops from tainted fields? Who would buy meat products raised on tainted fields or tainted waters?

Imagine the blow to tourism!

Now guess who would be the first candidate for a high level (and low) uranium waste repository? Virginia!

ABOUT THE ELECTION

Our Governor has the power to veto any legislation passed by the General Assembly; and that makes this year’s election so very important.

Creigh Deeds is a past member of SCC who has studied the uranium mining issue in depth and has vowed to oppose any uranium mining legislation that threatens the health, safety and welfare of the people.

Bob McDonnell, on the other hand, is a big business Republican who puts corporate profits above the welfare of people. As Attorney General, McDonnell ruled that towns, cities and counties do not have the power to enact legislation to protect their citizens from uranium mining.

Furthermore, he said he will “wait and see what the study says”. Those are buzz words used by the paid supporters of uranium mining! Also, remember the study will be paid for by Virginia Uranium Inc..

VUI is a well funded organization that employs as many as 25 lobbyists to do their dirty work, and they are adept at greasing the palms of pliable politicians. If We, The People, do not stand up for our rights we will have uranium mining with all its problems shoved down our throats.

Sincerely,

Jack Dunavant, P.E.
Chariman, Southside Concerned Citizens

National Research Council Agrees to [Consider] Uranium Study

By John Crane

Danville Register & Bee
Published: September 23, 2009

A National Research Council official says a formal request for a study to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in Virginia is worth pursuing.

Delegate Terry Kilgore, head of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, sent a written request to the NRC on Aug. 20. The NRC responded Sept. 8, saying the proposed study merits consideration.

“The fact that the request comes from a body created by the Virginia General Assembly … is a strong indication to us of the importance of this study to the commonwealth and one that deserves our serious attention,” wrote E. William Colglazier, chief operating officer of the NRC, in a letter to Kilgore.

The NRC is an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia currently has a moratorium on uranium mining.

Mining supporters say an operation at Coles Hill would bring economic benefits to Southside and supply hundreds of jobs. Opponents believe the project would destroy the environment and threaten public health, turning Pittsylvania County into a sacrifice zone.

As for the NRC’s response, Kilgore said he thinks the study will happen.

“I get a good feeling they’re going to do it,” Kilgore said Tuesday. “I think we can expect a positive outcome.”

VUI, through Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research, will pay for the study’s first phase focusing on the technical and public-safety aspects of mining.

The study’s first portion will cost $1.2 to $1.4 million. Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research will implement funding and will contract with the NAS for the study. Kilgore said the second part of the study, dealing with the socioeconomic aspects of mining, still needs to be worked out by the commission. VUI will not fund the second part.

William Kearney, an NRC spokesman, said the group’s Governing Board has not approved the study request, and will likely discuss it at the board’s regular meeting in October or November. In the meantime, NRC staff will prepare a prospectus, or study proposal, that will include a scope, timeline, likely costs and sponsorship, Kearney said. The board would review the prospectus before deciding whether to approve the request.

If the board approves the request, the next step would be the NRC negotiating and entering into a contract with Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research. The board would then appoint a provisional committee of about a dozen scientific experts to perform the study and write its report, Kearney said. There will be public comment regarding the makeup of the committee, Kearny said.

The committee’s members would make a site visit to Coles Hill and possibly hold a public meeting, Kearney said.

Eloise Nenon, a founding member of Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes mining, said there needs to be citizen input during the study.

“To ignore the people makes no sense at all,” Nenon said Tuesday. The study needs local viewpoint, which is different than that of scientists from outside the area, she said.

VUI spokesman Patrick Wales praised the NRC’s response to Kilgore’s request.

“I think this is another important step in getting the nation’s preeminent independent scientific institution to evaluate this energy resource in Pittsylvania County,” Wales, a geologist with VUI, said.

http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/southside/article/national_research_council_agrees_to_uranium_study/49146/

Deeds’ ‘Country Tour’ Stops in Chatham: Supporters Cheer Democratic Candidate

Developing...more to come...

By Tim Davis, Editor
Chatham Star Tribune

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, brought his “Deeds Country” tour to Pittsylvania County on Monday.

Deeds spoke with about 50 enthusiastic supporters at George and Janet Stanhope’s home on Strader Road in Chatham. Stanhope is an active member of Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes uranium mining in the county.

Deeds, who joined the anti-mining group in the mid-1980s while working as a lawyer in Danville, is no friend of uranium. “I’m not afraid of science,” he said, “but I don’t think the science is going to suggest that you can do it here.

“I think there is way too much risk. I’m very skeptical you can mine uranium [here].

http://www.wpcva.com/

Uranium Safety Priority Leaves Doubts

By John Crane

Published: May 22, 2009

The Uranium Mining Subcommittee’s approval Thursday of the final draft of a study to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in Virginia drew a variety of reactions from local opponents and a supporter.

“We’re very gratified,” Patrick Wales, geologist and spokesman for Virginia Uranium Inc., said Friday. “An independent study of uranium mining and milling has been the one thing we’ve been proposing since the inception of our company.”

VUI seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia currently has a moratorium on uranium mining.

Among changes the subcommittee brought to the final draft of the 11-item statement of task was to move the public health and safety aspect of the study from the No. 7 spot to No. 1. The previous first priority of the study was a review of global and national uranium market trends. The subcommittee also added language that calls for analysis of mining impacts on public health and safety in areas with comparable geologic, hydrologic, climatic characteristics and population density to Pittsylvania County.

A request that study language include methods for tailings management to prevent or mitigate leakage was nixed. However, Delegate Lee Ware, the subcommittee’s chairman, said after the meeting that Michael Karmis, director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research, has assured him that tailings will be included in the study. Karmis will take the approved final draft to the National Research Council and the study will begin, Ware said. The study will take about two years.

Wales said that public health and safety has “always been our No. 1 priority.” Wales, who attended the meeting, told the subcommittee he hopes “it will follow scientific evidence where it leads us.” VUI also hopes the study’s results will include recommendations on how mining and milling can be done safely in a manner that protects public health and the environment, Wales told the subcommittee.

“This is our home, our community,” Wales said Friday.

But not everyone was pleased with Thursday’s vote. Mining opponent Karen Maute, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting, said Friday she wasn’t surprised by the decision and that elevating public health and safety to the top of the list makes no difference.

“You’ve got seven rocks in your pocket and you take one out first, it’s still a rock,” Maute said.

Also, there’s no guarantee that the study will provide a clear answer to the question of mining’s safety, Maute said. She questions the credibility of a study that arose from a circumvention of the legislative process. A proposal for a study in the General Assembly, Senate Bill 525, was killed in a House of Delegates subcommittee in early 2008. But the following November, the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission approved the study and tasked the Uranium Mining Subcommittee with overseeing it.

“The whole thing is bogus,” she said.

Although public health and safety now head the list, it’s not enough, said Eloise Nenon, a board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes uranium mining.

“I’m still concerned that they are ignoring the people,” Nenon said.

Health is an important part, Nenon said, but the study still needs to examine the economic impacts of mining and milling on the community, its effects on agriculture and the people who have lived and farmed here for several generations. In addition, taxpayers will be left with the bill to clean up the site, she said.

Nenon said she was disappointed that the subcommittee didn’t wait 60 days to allow more public comment before making a decision on the study. Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, had asked the subcommittee to post Thursday’s citizen input on its Web site and wait 60 days before deciding whether to approve the study.

“There needs to be more time to allow for more public input,” she said.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/uranium_safety_priority_leaves_doubts/11213/

Uranium Study OK’d

Please...could someone please take the Kool-Aid away from Patrick Wales? It's making him talk out of his head. This is his quote from the local story:

Patrick Wales, a VUI geologist, spoke in favor of the study, saying that health and safety are important issues, and that he hopes uranium can be mined in a way that would protect citizens and the environment.

This is his quote from The Richmond Times-Dispatch:

But Patrick Wales of Danville, a Virginia Uranium geologist, said he hoped the study would show how to mine uranium "in a way that protects the health of our neighbors, protects our environment and brings hundreds of well-paying jobs to our region."

Besides being a bit dismayed by Mr. Wales' complete misunderstanding of the study and of mining processes, we are deeply disappointed that the proposed amendment to study tailings, leaching, leaking, and water contamination failed. Tailings should be a major consideration given the weather and water-flow patterns in Virginia.

By John Crane
Media General News Service
Published: May 22, 2009

RICHMOND — The uranium-mining study has begun. The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee, tasked with overseeing a study to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in the commonwealth, approved a revised final draft of the study Thursday.

But Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said he is disappointed with the decision. Marshall asked the subcommittee to post Thursday’s citizen input on its Web site and wait 60 days before deciding whether to approve the study.

“We’re not in a hurry to do this,” Marshall said during an interview before the meeting.

Subcommittee members pressed ahead after taking public comment, rearranging and adding amendments to the study’s 11-item “statement of task” before approving it by an 8-2 vote. Delegate William Janis, R-56th District and Delegate Watkins Abbitt, I-59th District, opposed.

One of the biggest alterations the subcommittee brought to the document was making the public-safety and health-impact items the top priority on the statement of task, moving them from No.7 on the list to No. 1. Reviewing global and national uranium market trends had been in the top spot.

Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia currently has a moratorium on uranium mining.

Subcommittee members received an earful from uranium mining skeptics and opponents. More than 100 people attended the meeting and about 20 publicly commented.

Eloise Nenon, a board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, said uranium mining and milling causes male sterility and would spell disaster for Pittsylvania County farmers.

“This is going to destroy agriculture,” Nenon said.

George Stanhope, an SCC member, said mining would send dust with low-level radiation into the Banister River heading toward Lake Gaston.

Mining opponent Phillip Lovelace told the subcommittee that if health is not the No.1 topic of the study, “I don’t want it.”

Lovelace said he is against lifting the moratorium on mining and milling uranium. If the state allows mining across the commonwealth, five major rivers will be contaminated in other parts of Virginia, he said. Major military installations would relocate from the state as a result, causing major damage to Virginia’s economy and leaving the commonwealth vulnerable to terrorists, he said.

“(If the moratorium is lifted) you’re putting the whole East Coast in jeopardy,” Lovelace said.

Marshall Ecker, a Pittsylvania County supervisor who represents the Staunton River District, said the subcommittee should make health, safety and the economic concerns of uranium mining its main focus.

“Your decisions will affect the citizens of Pittsylvania County and the citizens of Virginia forever,” Ecker said.

Amanda Wydner, a Pittsylvania County native, said the study should address what uranium mining could portend for culture and quality of life in the area. Land values, population density and demographics should be measured and compared before and after mining. She said the study should find out how it will affect the area’s skyline, aesthetic appearance and reputation as a quaint Southern town, she said.

“How will the perception of Chatham change?” she said.

Some opponents also called for a site-specific study to examine areas similar to Pittsylvania County in geology, hydrology, climate and population density, and to find out how those regions were affected by mining.

“What we have heard here is a real strong desire to make clear that safety is our top priority,” said Delegate Kristen Amundson, D-44th District, a subcommittee member.

Amundson proposed moving the seventh item listed, addressing health and safety, under the statement of task to the top slot. The subcommittee unanimously approved the motion. Another motion from Amundson to amend language in part of the statement also passed unanimously.

Patrick Wales, a VUI geologist, spoke in favor of the study, saying that health and safety are important issues, and that he hopes uranium can be mined in a way that would protect citizens and the environment.

The subcommittee also green-lighted added language proposed by Abbitt that calls for analysis of mining impacts on public health and safety in areas with comparable geologic, hydrologic, climatic characteristics and population density.

In response, Sen. Frank Wagner, R-7th District, proposed language stating that if negative consequences were found in those areas, then options would be presented by the National Research Council for elimination or mitigation of the effects. The language was approved.

Abbitt requested that the study include available methods for management of tailings to prevent or mitigate leachates (leakage). The motion failed 4-2.

As a result, Abbitt voted against approving the revised draft.

“I can’t vote for this,” Abbitt said.

Janis voted against the study because he was absent during discussion. Janis had a scheduling conflict and was unable to attend the meeting until it was almost over.

Sen. John Watkins, R-10th District, told attendees that the subcommittee’s aim is not to hurry through the study, but to be conscientious.

“We’re not here to run this through without due diligence,” he said.

Delegate Lee Ware, R-65th District, said Michael Karmis, director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research, will take the revised document to the National Research Council and “things will get under way.”

The study will take about two years.

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/state_regional/article/uranium_study_okd/16179/

Uranium Topic of the Day Thursday [Maybe]

By John Crane

Published: May 14, 2009

Virginia Uranium Ltd. hopes to formalize its merger with Canadian-based Santoy Resources Ltd. during a meeting next Thursday in Chatham. That’s the same day a state subcommittee convenes in Richmond to mull the final draft of a study that would determine whether uranium mining can be done safely in the commonwealth.

Walter Coles Sr., chairman of Virginia Uranium Inc., said the meeting among VUL shareholders was planned prior to the announcement of the subcommittee’s date and will probably be rescheduled.

“It was set long before the subcommittee (meeting),” Coles said Thursday. “We may change it.”

A 300-page circular for the meeting also gives notice of a regular meeting of Santoy’s shareholders on the same day. VUL’s meeting in Chatham will be closed to the public.

Virginia Uranium Ltd. is the funding arm for Virginia Uranium Inc.’s proposed project at Coles Hill, where VUI hopes to mine and mill a 119-million pound uranium ore deposit about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982.

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee is overseeing a study, to be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, to determine whether the practice can be performed safely in the state. The subcommittee is holding a meeting at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in Room D at the General Assembly Building in Richmond.

Once the merger between Virginia Uranium Ltd. and Santoy Resources Ltd. is finalized, the merged company will be referred to as Newco and will appear on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It will provide funding for Virginia Uranium Inc.

A 300-page circular, outlining the merger’s aspects, including risks, was drawn up for the meeting. The circular mentions that Virginia Uranium Holdings, or Holdco, which owns 100 percent of VUI, has bought and has an option to buy more properties surrounding Coles Hill to provide “sufficient setback from local residents” to minimize impact of mining operations on those areas.

Coles said there are no plans in the near future to purchase additional land around Coles Hill, and they would depend on how the uranium mine and mill would be designed. Coles said a circular is routinely provided during mergers to outline all aspects of the transaction to shareholders, including investment risks such as possible drops in share prices, project delays and other issues.

A wide range of risks is included in a circular to make sure the transaction is not fraudulent, Coles said.

“In this day and age of full disclosure, it’s important to be upfront and conservative,” said Patrick Wales, VUI geologist and spokesman.

Eloise Nenon, a board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes uranium mining, said it was “strange” that VUL would schedule its meeting the same day as the subcommittee’s. She said Santoy is investing in uranium mining here because there is a strong push to ban the practice in Canada.

The Coles and Bowen families currently own 78 percent of Holdco, but will have 71 percent after the merger is finalized, Coles said. VUL currently has 12 percent ownership of Holdco. After the merger, Newco will have a 20 percent share in Holdco, which owns all of Virginia Uranium Inc.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/uranium_topic_of_the_day_thursday/11015/

Uranium mining: After Safety, What’s Next?

Interesting question, Mr. Crane. My guess is that, given that the safety issues are at the bottom of the list of things the study will address, we'll never get there.

The question of mining uranium in Virginia...the list document says that the study will address nothing specific to individual sites (like Coles Hill or Southside)...will be decided on money issues alone.

But...should a miracle happen and the scientists realize/admit early on that U mining in VA cannot be done safely, then there is no reason at all to study the economic aspects. No amount of money can be generated by this mining to override any danger. Period.

By John Crane

Published: May 13, 2009

The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee meets next week in Richmond to mull a proposed final draft of a study that would determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in the commonwealth.

But even if the draft — which addresses mining’s technical and public-health aspects — gets a thumbs-up, the subcommittee’s job will only be half done.

Its members must decide on the study’s second part, which would analyze the socio-economic aspects of uranium mining. Members disagree on when to proceed with the second part of the study.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982.

Subcommittee member Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Russell County, said he opposes conducting the study’s second portion if mining is found to be unsafe.

“If that is a ‘no,’ we don’t have to answer any more questions,” Puckett said Wednesday. “To me, the safety part is more important.” Delegate Bud Phillips, D-Sandy Ridge, agrees, calling the socio-economic aspects “secondary.” The most vital question is whether mining can be done in a manner safe for citizens and the environment, Phillips said Wednesday. Puckett’s and Phillips’s districts are in coal-mining areas. Phillips once worked in the coal-mining industry, like his father.

Subcommittee Chair Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, wants to see the second phase begin quickly.

“My own preference would be for the Uranium Mining Subcommittee … to authorize as soon as possible a study of the socio-economic implications of uranium mining generally, the proposed mining at Coles Hill specifically,” Ware said via e-mail Monday.

During the subcommittee’s meeting in March, Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said the economic part of the study is important. “I think we have to ensure there is a market for it (uranium)” he said.

Other members expressed concerns similar to Puckett’s and Phillips’s during the subcommittee’s March meeting. Delegate Kristen Amundson, D-Mount Vernon, questioned giving the economic aspects of the issue priority when safety and environmental matters should be the main focus. Delegate Watkins Abbitt, I-Appomattox, said the marketing aspects of uranium mining should be left for the private sector to study and if mining uranium is found to be unsafe, examining its costs and benefits would be a waste of time.

Amundson and Abbitt could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Patrick Wales, VUI spokesman and geologist, said he would like to see the second part of the study address the economic benefits, including high-paying jobs for the area’s available work force uranium mining would bring to Southside.

Eloise Nenon, a board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes uranium mining, said the practice’s possible detrimental effects on agritourism and other types of tourism must be examined in the study’s socio-economic part. Other sources of energy, including solar, should be looked at, she said. Nenon questions whether Virginia Uranium’s plan would bring employment to locals, who likely have no mining experience. She said transient mine workers from West Virginia and other areas farther west would take those jobs.

Wales said Southside has hardworking people capable of working in uranium mining and milling, and that anytime a new industry locates to an area, local workers are trained in that field.

The subcommittee unanimously approved in March the first draft of the study’s first phase outlining the technical and scientific aspects of the analysis that Michael Karmis, director of the Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech, said would take about 18 months.

The technical phase includes 11 aspects, such as reviewing global and national uranium market trends and public health and safety considerations.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/uranium_mining_after_safety_whats_next/10984/

Demands put uranium mining foes at odds

It should be noted that Eloise Nenon is a founding member of Southside Concerned Citizens who remains actively committed to SCC and to the defeat of uranium mining at Coles Hill.

By John Crane

Published: April 22, 2009

A board member of Southside Concerned Citizens said she does not support the petition that would demand that the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors ban uranium mining.

If supervisors refused to ban uranium mining in the county, they would be declared “illegitimate under the Virginia Constitution,” according to the petition The Alliance and the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund planned to circulate at a meeting at Averett University on Wednesday night. Averett officials asked that the petition not be circulated at the meeting, and the groups complied.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham.

Virginia currently has a moratorium on uranium mining.

The petition demands that supervisors ban uranium mining within three months of receiving it. It also calls on residents to vote on ratification of a proposed county constitution banning uranium mining and to declare that the supervisors be given the choice to adopt it. If the board doesn’t, the constitution wouldstill become law and a special election would be held to elect new supervisors.

The petition also states the Pittsylvania County Chapter of Southside Concerned Citizens, an anti-uranium mining group, would oversee a county election of 11 people to draft a county constitution banning uranium mining and recognizing the right to community self-governance.

Eloise Nenon, a board member of Southside Concerned Citizens, said the group would not be a part of the effort to overthrow the county’s Board of Supervisors.

“We are opposed to that process, and we will not participate in that,” Nenon said during a telephone interview Wednesday.

Gregg Vickrey, a founder and chairman of The Alliance, said the petition mentioning the SCC was the wrong one. Vickrey used to chair the Pittsylvania County SCC, but left the group in February to form The Alliance.

Shireen Parsons, Virginia community organizer with the CELDF, said the petition mentioning SCC was an old copy, and that the voting process would be determined later if the scenario described in the petition became reality.

Nenon said she prefers to work within the existing system of government to educate lawmakers about the environmental consequences from uranium mining. The Pittsylvania County chapter of SCC never formally existed, Nenon said.

Parsons said whatever Nenon does is her choice.

“This is democracy,” Parsons said. “She can do whatever she wants.”

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/demands_put_uranium_mining_foes_at_odds/10563/

Geologist Supports Uranium Mining [at Coles Hill]

We are simply taken aback by much of what this geologist has to say, particularly regarding radon dangers and water contamination. It flies in the face of everything we've read from many other experts, including Dr. Doug Brugge and Dr. Gordon Edwards. Dr. Brugge has a letter addressing some of these issues just a few page-scrolls below this article. The article on "The Nuclear Goliath" also just a few page-scrolls down tells a different story too. Of course, Dr. Beard does preface many of his comments with "I don't think..." which indicates his lack of certainty about some very important issues. Would it have been less misleading to have said, "Well, yeah, this could happen..."?

We think it's important note that in addition to his being with the Museum of Natural History, Dr. Beard is also an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech and that he's been a part of Virginia Tech's work project at Coles Hill, including the core sampling which was begun several months ago.

It is also important to remember that the Virginia Museum of Natural History has been the recipient of large monetary donations from entities connected to the mining of Coles Hill and the core samples drawn from Coles Hill by Marline in the late 1970's and early 80's have been donated to the Museum. It is unlikely that someone connected to the Museum and to Virginia Tech's Geosciences Department and doing work at Coles Hill, would be too critical of the activities at Coles Hill, including mining.

How the powers that be, including the Study Committee, can state that there will be an unbiased study done is beyond me. It would seem that Virginia Tech and Coles Hill are so used to being in bed together, they don't even fight over the covers anymore.

Dr. James Beard addresses the Rotary Club on Tuesday. (Bulletin photo by Kim Barto)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

By KIM BARTO - Bulletin Staff Writer

A geologist from the Virginia Museum of Natural History said Tuesday he does not forsee major health or environmental risks from a proposed uranium mining operation in Pittsylvania County.

Dr. Jim Beard told the Martinsville Rotary Club that he hopes a state study will allow mining to proceed at the Coles Hill deposit in Chatham. With 119 million pounds of untapped uranium ore worth about $10 billion, the deposit is believed to be the largest trove in the country and the seventh largest in the world.

The Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy voted in November to study whether uranium can be safely mined there. No uranium can be mined in Virginia unless the General Assembly lifts a 1981 ban.

“Uranium has this aura of horribleness around it, but it’s not that toxic,” Beard said. “I would have no objection to living a mile from that mine myself,” he added. “I think the risks are going to turn out to be small.”

Beard said he thinks the state “is proceeding in a responsible fashion” by doing the study. “If they determine it should be mined, I think it should be mined,” he said. “I hope for the sake of Virginia, and Southside Virginia in particular, that it works out.”

Beard said uranium mining would create an important domestic source of energy for the United States. “The energy potential of that mine is 100 times the total potential of offshore drilling” for oil off Virginia’s coast, he said, adding that the uranium’s potential equates to one-fourth of the country’s oil reserves over the next 15 to 20 years.

“If we’re going to have some energy stability in this country, we have to make some choices,” he said. Nuclear power is “the wave of the future” and already is widely used in Europe, Beard said.

“This is an opportunity for Southside Virginia to move forward in an industry that will be very, very important in the 21st century,” he said.

Beard said there is “certainly a problem with the waste” created from using nuclear energy, “but everything has a cost.” He added that there is “not a huge volume of waste from nuclear power. I think that’s a solvable problem.”

One of the biggest concerns is whether contaminants from the mining will leach into groundwater. “I don’t think it will be a problem,” Beard said, because he said the ore minerals are stable.

Mining opponents have expressed concern that communities downstream of the mine could experience serious water contamination, but “no way is that going to happen,” Beard said. Another concern is whether mining would release radioactive dust into the air.

“Airborne dust is going to be a problem with any mining operation, not just uranium,” Beard said. Radon already is escaping from this deposit, he said. More radon probably will be dispersed if mining begins, he said, “but it’s going to be so dispersed, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

The mine would be roughly the scale of the quarry in Fieldale and would entail some of the same disruptions, with “trucks and blasting,” Beard said. “You can’t say everything’s going to be rosy and perfect” near the mine site, he said. “But there’s very little disruption for a lot of good.” In uranium mining, ore is taken out of the ground and processed into yellow cake. The substance does not become dangerous until it is enriched, Beard said.

The Martinsville Rotary Club has heard opinions from both sides of the uranium mining issue. Past speakers have included a geologist from Virginia Uranium Inc., the company formed by families whose land sits above the uranium, and the head of Southside Concerned Citizens, an organization that opposes the proposed mining operation.

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=18313

Hats Off to Virginia Uranium! [Says Cole]

Oh, my...the VUI Kool-Aid is running like water here. Whew!

Mr. Cole must not have read the recent statement by Walter Coles that the study must only establish that it's "fairly clear" that the mining will be safe. Thus we needn't be reading any more quotes about "If it can't be done safely, it won't be done at all"; the new standard must now be quoted as "If it can't be done fairly safely...blah, blah blan." All we need to determine is what "fairly" means. With uranium, particularly with radon and water contamination, it's pretty much all or nothing...there's no "fairly safe" to it.

I live in KY...lots of mines and miners in KY. I've never yet met a wealthy miner. Wealthy mine owners, yes. Fairly wealthy off-site mining supervisors, yes. Comfortable mine inspectors, yes. But wealthy miners, never.

Chatham Star-Tribune
Opinion

Just to set the record straight, I recall it was Virginia Uranium that originally said, "If it can't be done safely, it won't be done at all" in reference to the feasibility and possible development of a mine in the area.

Instead of raking Virginia Uranium over the coals with unfounded accusations, anti-mining groups should applaud a company that makes a statement like that and wants to stand behind it.

In the next decade the supply for domestic energy will nearly double and alternative energy just won't meet the demand.

But oddly enough, the SCC, Alliance and other naysayers insist that uranium - the very mineral that produces 30 percent of the domestic electricity in Virginia - should not be mined.

Simply put, these groups don't like mining, whether uranium, coal or otherwise, but they enjoy the daily benefits of a warm house, lights, computer, etc.

If you are so adamant, please call the power company and disconnect your electric service.

Better yet, stop driving your car and move into a mud hut, because those are all made from mined materials.

Although the existing moratorium is what carries the real weight, agencies and supervisors are being pestered with proposals for bans and resolutions.

A detailed study is being overseen by the Coal and Energy Commission and the opportunity to comment was given.

Yet before the study even started, the naysayers declared it "bogus" and publicly accused sub-committee members of taking bribes, which is untrue.

If opposers had any integrity, they would either prove their accusations or make a public apology.

Some accuse Virginia Uranium of greed, then turn around and want to tax a mineral deposit before it's even mined. How reasonable is that?

Until the study is completed all this posturing and conjecturing is a waste of time and money.

Homer Hickham, NASA engineer and author of "Rocket Boys," which was made into the movie "October Sky," gave a most stirring and inspirational speech last Monday at a benefit dinner for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Danville and Chatham.

His roots go deep into the coal-mining town of Coalville, West Virginia, and he is proud of his heritage.

He said that this nation has been carried on the backs of coal miners like those of West Virginia.

So why don't we honor the mining industry instead of demeaning it?

Let me salute Virginia Uranium and Walter Coles for trying to do the right thing in the face of such opposition.

Frank Cole

Sheva

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/03/25/chatham/opinion/opinion03.txt

New Uranium Mining Group Forms

By John Crane

Published: February 26, 2009

Gregg Vickrey, who was chairman of Southside Concerned Citizens’ Chatham-Pittsylvania County chapter, has split from the anti-uranium mining group and formed a separate organization.

Vickrey is seeking nonprofit status for the Alliance, which he said will expand its reach statewide and nationally in other issues in addition to uranium mining in Pittsylvania County. He said the group’s mission is to help people organize and assert their right to self-governance in the face of corporate assaults on the environment and in communities.

“I feel like we can be more effective operating under the Alliance,” Vickrey said Thursday.

The community activist said he and two others, John Chaney and Deborah Dix, officially started the Alliance on Wednesday. Vickrey said the group will continue to work with SCC in opposing uranium mining in the county.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since the early 1980s.

Jack Dunavant, head of the Halifax-based SCC, said there is no animosity between SCC and the Alliance.

“Gregg felt he could do better under another banner,” Dunavant said. “People have different ideas about how to fight this battle.”

Dunavant added that SCC will team up with the Alliance and other groups on issues affecting the quality of life in Southside.

“We all have the same goal: to prevent uranium mining,” Dunavant said.

SCC, with a membership that’s reached more than 300 people, started in 1982 in Chatham to oppose Marline Corp.’s plans to mine and mill the Coles Hill deposit. The group moved to Halifax in 1983, Dunavant said.

Vickrey said people can access the Alliance’s Web site through the old SCC site, sccchatham.blogspot.com, where they will be directed to the Alliance’s site, thealliance123.blogspot.com.

Dunavant said he expects to have a separate site for SCC in about 10 days.

People can join the Alliance with a one-time fee of $25 through May 25 and become founding members, Vickrey said. Those joining the organization thereafter will pay a $25 fee annually. Vickrey said he knows of up to 20 people who will join soon and he hopes to grow it further.

“We’ll eventually have as many members as SCC,” Vickrey said.

Regardless of membership, the Alliance’s blog can still be accessed for free, he said.

The Alliance is not an environmental organization, but a rights-based group, he said.

Henry Hurt, a uranium mining supporter and VUI investor, expressed a hope regarding the Alliance not likely to be realized.

“I hope that they will see the promise of our uranium resource,” Hurt said. “I hope they see the light.”

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/new_uranium_mining_group_forms/9364/

Group [Founder] Calls for Uranium Mining Solution

The National Trust for Historic Preservation angle sounds interesting. Hope someone follows up on getting them involved.

Published: February 9, 2009

BY JOHN R. CRANE

Register & Bee staff writer

CHATHAM — A founding member of Southside Concern Citizens asked the Chatham Town Council to pass a resolution calling for a study to determine whether uranium can be mined safely in the commonwealth, as well as a companion study to examine issues other than scientific aspects.

The resolution needs to be broader than the one passed by the town of Hurt last week, Eloise Nenon, SCC founding member, said to Chatham Town Council members Monday night. Like Hurt’s, Chatham’s resolution should call for the study to open to scrutiny by the press and public, but another study should address concerns not covered in the study’s “hard science” aspects, Nenon said.

“We need something more than what the town of Hurt has done,” Nenon said during Chatham Town Council’s regular meeting.

Nenon praised Hurt’s move, but said a study by the National Academy of Science, or another similar entity, would not cover issues such as the community, heritage or history of Chatham and Pittsylvania County or quality-of-life issues.

Nenon said Hargrave Military Academy and Chatham Hall could be vulnerable to the environmental effects of uranium mining and milling.

Other questions Nenon wants answered is what type of emergency plan Chatham has in place in case of disaster.

Nenon also wants to know the names of at least five communities with similar geography to Pittsylvania County that have had uranium mining and milling but have not suffered environmental consequences. In addition, Nenon asked who would be held liable in the event of a disaster at Coles Hill.

Dust at uranium mining sites has never been controlled, she said.

“Are we destined to become the Pittsylvania dustbowl?” Nenon said.

Nenon said the National Trust for Historic Preservation could possibly conduct a separate study.

The town of Chatham passed a resolution opposing the lifting of the state’s moratorium against uranium mining in the absence of a thorough study in February 2008. Chatham Mayor George Haley said he would discuss Nenon’s request with the town manager and report back to the council.

VUI wants to mine and mill a uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill six miles northeast of Chatham.

Patrick Wales, a geologist and spokesman for Virginia Uranium Inc, said profits made from mining and milling at Coles Hill would go toward land conservation and maintaining the area’s history and agriculture. VUI would impose an excise tax on itself and use the funds to help pay for initiatives to improve the county’s schools, Wales said during a phone interview Monday night after the meeting.

All VUI has asked for is a study to determine the safety of mining and milling uranium, he said. Also, the study has nothing to do with lifting the moratorium on mining, he said. That decision will be up to the General Assembly, Wales said.

John Crane can be reached at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/group_calls_for_uranium_mining_solution/8924/

Hurt Wants Independent Uranium Study; Passes Anti-Mining Resolution

Finally...the news story to go along with the rumor that Hurt, VA had passed an anti-mining resolution.

By John Crane

Published: February 5, 2009

The town of Hurt has passed a resolution opposing the mining and milling of uranium without an independent, conclusive study determining its environmental impact.

Mayor Lillian Gillespie said the town is neither for nor against uranium mining, but it wants a study.

Hurt’s resolution also states the study should include a thorough evaluation of risks resulting from floods and other natural events; be open to the public and press; include the town of Hurt as participants in the study; be conducted by impartial experts such as the National Academy of Sciences; and be given ample time for completion.

Patrick Wales, geologist and spokesman for Virginia Uranium Inc., said he is puzzled by the resolution since a study already is in progress.

“It’s exactly what’s taking place,” Wales said.

VUI seeks to mine and mill a uranium ore deposit six miles northeast of Chatham. The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission approved a study in November and urged the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research to contract with the National Academy of Sciences or another institution to conduct it.

The town’s resolution requests that a peer review group independent of the VCEC and the VCCER monitor and critique the study.

Gillespie said sources of energy, including wind, solar and water, and those from uranium, should be explored.

VUI and members of the community working with Southside Concerned Citizens, who oppose uranium mining in Pittsylvania County, each drafted resolutions and presented them to the town council, Gillespie said. SCC members praised the town’s unanimous decision, which took place during the council’s meeting Tuesday night.

Gregg Vickrey, president of SCC’s Chatham-Pittsylvania County chapter, called the town’s move a “huge victory.”

“It is a great first step,” Vickrey said in an e-mail. “Obviously, this local governing body is trying to protect its citizens – the highest priority of any government that truly serves the people.”

The town of Gretna also is considering a resolution regarding uranium mining and milling. The town council will discuss it during its regular meeting Monday night, Town Manager David Lilly said. Gretna and Chatham both considered chemical-trespass ordinances, but abandoned the idea due to legal constraints of the ordinance.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/hurt_wants_independent_uranium_study/8872/