Nurse to BZA: The PEOPLE Have Spoken

(The following is a letter that was sent to the Board of Zoning Appeals by a local Registered Nurse.)

I am writing you to express my concerns about the special use permit being requested by Southside Cattle Co. aka Virginia Uranium Inc. I was born and raised in Pittsylvania County. My sisters and parents still reside there. I now live on a farm that borders the Banister River in Halifax County.
I was appalled to learn, at the January 3rd meeting of the Planning Commission, that exploratory drilling has been going on for over 2 weeks at Coles Hill and when VUI was asked, by the Planning Commission, where the samples were being stored the answer given was they are lying on the ground. We have had significant rainfall during that time.
If Southside Cattle Co., aka Virginia Uranium Inc., has no more regard for our health than that at this stage, do you really think that will change?? They are a Limited lLiability Company(LLC). They stand to gain billions of dollars at the expense of the citizens of Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties. That is wrong.
I have attended several meetings where Walter Coles and his representatives have been asked about safety issues, inclement weather patterns, etc. and we have been given the same answers every time. They don't know.
I have been a registered nurse for almost 18 years and worked in healthcare even before I became a nurse. I have worked with countless patients suffering from cancer, asthma, brown lung, black lung, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis and the list goes on and on.
It is a devastating thing for the patients and families when victims are gasping for breath, dependent on oxygen and have no quality of life. Everything that I have read about Uranium mining talks about the dangers of the radioactive tailings.
Are we supposed to take comfort in the fact that VUI says that they will have a 100 acre holding pond, lined with plastic that will contain the wastes??? My husband and son both suffer from asthma.
My husband suffered from a pesticide exposure when the home he was living in was sprayed for termites. That company said that it was safe too and now that pesticide has been taken off of the market(and might I add that it was never approved for residential use to start with) but it's too late for my husband and all the others that trusted the company that claimed their product was safe.
My husband was asked to join a class action lawsuit but declined. What good would it have done??? He can't get his health back. He's on medication every day and will be for the rest of his life.
I've not only read about the high incidence of lung cancer in people that live near Uranium mining but also of the increased incidence of birth defects. My sister is mentally retarded. My parents did everything right and have cared for her like a baby for almost 37 years and will continue to do so for the rest of their lives.
Has it been easy?? No, and if it is known that something can cause birth defects it shouldn't even be up for discussion. Pittsylvania County is a wonderful place to call home.
Please listen to the people that live there and in Halifax County. We don't want to leave our homes just because a Corporation stands to gain billions of dollars. The Nuclear Power Plants currently in operation only produce 3% of the power used in the United States.
There hasn't been a new Nuclear Power Plant built in the past 20+ years. They are expensive and who wants to live beside a Nuclear Power Plant?? I certainly don't.
Besides, who's to say that Walter Coles isn't planning to sell the Uranium to other countries that do rely on Nuclear Power heavily. After all, isn't a product usually sold to the highest bidder??
I have nothing against Walter Coles or any of the investors in his company, however, I do love my home, my family, my friends and most of all my health. Walter Coles' rights end where ours begin and no amount of money can be worth losing life or decreasing quality of life.
Therefore, I beg you to deny the special use permit at the January 8th meeting. That permit, if granted, puts VUI one step closer to destroying the place that I call home.
The people of Pittsylvania and Halifax counties have spoken. Please listen.
If this permit is issued it will mean that they have everything in place to start drilling and it sends a message, loud and clear, to the legislators that we don't care.

Sincerely,
Terry Andrews, RN
(434) 476-2467