Don’t attack Dunavant and Nenon for their work
To the editor:
In their advertisement, “Reality Check III,” Virginia Uranium Inc. - or whatever name they’re going by this week - stated that they “… are asking for an independent, scientific study, paid for by us in a hands-off manner and authorized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, to determine if mining can be done safely in Virginia.”
The “independent scientists” conducting any such study would be acutely aware of who was buttering their bread. How could they not?
Furthermore, any study authorized by the state government would be under the auspices of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who thinks uranium mining is a fine idea. But he does not live here, or anywhere near Coles Hill. He and his family would never know it was happening, much less have to suffer the inevitable devastating consequences of uranium mining. It is not his home that would be affected.
This whole idea is so transparent, I am amazed anyone lends it any credibility at all. It is a classic example of the fox minding the henhouse. And we all know what happened to those chickens.
It is also beyond comprehension that Virginia Uranium would feel the need to personally attack Jack Dunavant and Eloise Nenon, two citizens of the commonwealth, who have dared to challenge VUI and its propaganda machine. I have never heard or read any such vitriolic nonsense perpetrated by Southside Concerned Citizens against any individual in the employ of VUI. Nor do I believe they would feel the need to stoop to such petty attempts to discredit Walter Coles Sr. or any of his associates.
I believe VUI makes the rules up as it goes along, with little regard for the outcome for the thousands of citizens who stand to suffer the catastrophic results of uranium mining. The truth is that Coles and his cronies are the only people who truly stand to benefit from this dangerous idea. None of the rest of us who live here can be honestly promised anything except a ruined environment, higher cancer rates, a higher incidence of birth defects and the burden of having to relocate to a safer place.
If VUI is so confident that they are “creating a glorious new era for Southside” as they have claimed, then they should not feel the need to publish these low-blow attempts to discredit people who are asking honest, well-conceived questions about how VUI intends to conduct this mining safely.
After all, the study they offered to pay for would be dealing strictly in conjecture. The results would necessarily have to say, “We believe this mining could be done safely.” No one, no matter who is paying them, could honestly say that uranium could be mined in a safe manner. It has not been up to this point, anywhere.
Why does VUI think we should believe they have some secret new mining method that would make it safe? Why won’t they just come out and tell us? Because they don’t have anything new to offer to that discussion.
JESSE P. ANDREWS
Halifax
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