Why VA Uranium is Unique

(From Danville Register and Bee 09/23/2007)

One of the big arguments against uranium mining inPittsylvania County 25 years ago was environmental:What could be done to prevent radioactive materialfrom spreading into the surrounding air, water andland? That question was, for the most part, forgotten whenVirginia imposed a moratorium on uranium mining.
Butwith renewed interest in nuclear power - and the hugedeposit of uranium located in the Sheva community -everything is being considered again. One of the recommendations in the recently releasedVirginia Energy Plan deals specifically with uranium mining: "Virginia should assess the potential value of and regulatory needs for uranium production in Pittsylvania County."
If the General Assembly follows that particular recommendation, a uranium mining study bill could passthe legislature next winter. During the years when most people forgot about theColes Hill uranium deposit in Sheva, a Virginia Techsenior geologist, A.K. Sinha, was studying its mysteries.
Now Sinha wants to find out why the uraniumhas stayed put. His research could lead to safer uranium mining allover the world. "What we discovered was there was a big researchchallenge. Why didn't the uranium physically migrateinto the water system, the rivers and the ponds? Wefound it does not," Sinha said recently.
"We were able to discover that. We have a very good handle on that.It's because of the chemical reactions that take placein the region. The chemicals and the reactions in thatplace trap the uranium." Sinha wants the time and money to properly study whatMother Nature has done at Coles Hill.
The mysteries of Coles Hill could lead to safer uranium mining, whichcould guide future decisions about mining not only inPittsylvania County, but other Virginia sites withuranium deposits. Advocates of uranium mining in Virginia have long claimed that the valuable ore could be safely extracted from the ground without harming the folks who lived down wind, down river and down stream.
In the years since the moratorium, many technological advances have taken place that will probably be incorporated into future proposals to mine uranium locally. For now, the Coles Hill uranium ore deposit should be properly and completely studied to determine why ithasn't contaminated the surrounding environment. Thisi s the perfect time to try to learn more about whatSinha has discovered - and how it can shape futuredecisions about the Sheva site and others like it.