A Re-Print: Alarm Bells Are Ringing [Re: Uranium Mining], Will Virginia Residents Heed Their Warning?

The following letter by SCC member, and medical professional, Anne Cockrell (Danville, VA) has been published in at least a couple of local newspapers. Sadly, though, the papers, for whatever reason, did not publish Anne's sources for the statements she's made. Since VUI investors and Team Members consistently claim that SCC members make statements regarding health problems and environmental issues for which there is no substantiation or quoted source, we thought it only fair that we reprint Anne's article here, including her sources, one of which is VUI's own Prospectus, the document it prepared in order to entice investors when it incorporated in Canada.

Our thanks to Anne for her hard work in documenting her information so well and for letting us reprint her entire letter here.

Please note that information in italics and a different color print are original emphases.

To the Editor:

Before Virginia considers lifting its moratorium on the mining and milling of uranium, critical questions need to be asked and thoroughly answered.

I have many, but here are two sets of questions dealing with health risks and water usage. (Does Virginia Uranium Inc. have any answers to add to mine?):

1) Will radiation, emanating from the huge piles of tailings, those produced by a uranium mining and milling facility, operating over a 30-year period, create health risks for Virginia residents? Will the health risks be mine site-specific or a statewide concern?

...Scientist Dr. Gordon Edwards recently wrote, “Uranium ore bodies are among the deadliest mineral deposits on earth. They harbor large quantities of dangerous radioactive materials” (pacificfreepress.com). Radium, a decay product of uranium commonly found in uranium mine tailings piles, has been labeled by the British Columbia Medical Association as a superb carcinogen because microscopic quantities can cause bone and head cancers, anemia, and leukemia. Polonium-210, which is as radioactive as uranium and a billion times more toxic than cyanide, is a by-product of uranium mining and found in mine tailings. A uranium mine releases radon, which blankets the ground hundreds of miles downwind from a uranium mine as solid radioactive fallout." (http://www.nunnglow.com/impacts/)

About a ton of ore is required to extract two pounds of uranium. Huge quantities of pulverized rock (uranium tailings) are left over from the milling process. They contain thorium, radium, and all the other uranium by-products and retain 85 per cent of the ore's original radioactivity. The tailings give off at least 10,000 times as much radon gas as the undisturbed ore. Radon atoms produced inside hard rock have a low chance to escape from the grain, but when the rock is pulverized, radon gas escapes easily. (http://www.radonseal.com/radon-facts.htm#minesfallout)

In 2005, the US National Academy of Sciences* released results of a study reporting: “There is no safe level of exposure to radiation—that even very low doses can cause cancer. Risks from low dose radiation are equal or greater than previously thought". (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Dr.Gordon+Edwards,+uranium+mining+radiation+dangers&start=10&sa=N)

*Note: This is the very same science academy, named in Senate Bill 525, which would have been tapped to perform the study to determine if uranium mining and milling could be done safely in the state of Virginia. Senate Bill 525 was defeated March 3, 2008 by a House Panel of the Virginia General Assembly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR2008030302815.html?nav=emailpage

2) Will a uranium mining & milling facility require large volumes of water to operate? How much and from where? Will the Banister River, running east of the proposed Coles Hill mine, be utilized as the mine's main water supply? Will downstream Raleigh, N.C. (Kerr Lake Reservoir) and Virginia Beach (Lake Gaston) residents, mind sharing their drinking water with a uranium mine? Considering the drought conditions the south experiences most years during the summer, will there be enough water for all on the receiving end? Will it be safe to drink?

From the 2005 World Nuclear Association Symposium Proceedings (a pro-nuclear group): "...Most uranium mines are power and water intensive, so that delivering the required wattage and volumes to site become a major cost centre. This is especially significant when development of a mine means the introduction of power and water to a region. While site-specific power can be installed, the energy source still needs to arrive at site (e.g. diesel fuel for on-site power generation). Similarly, while water treatment, recycle and discharge (also specific cost centres) are designed around water usage optimization, an initial water source must be introduced to site such that water transport systems can service base load water requirements for the life-of-mine." (Garrow, Dustin. Limitations to Progress in Developing Uranium Resources, http://www.world-nuclear.org/sym/subindex.htm

Towns and cities (Halifax, Clarkesville, Raleigh, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. etc.) and their drinking water sources, downstream from the proposed Coles Hill mine, can be viewed online by googling: Piedmont Environmental Council, Hot Issues and, then, Uranium Mining Maps. http://www.pecva.org/

Available data indicate that radium concentrations in the discharge waters of a producing mine tend to increase substantially as the ore body is developed. Whereas natural background radium concentrations are generally about several picocuries/liter (pCi/l), 100 to 150 pCi/l appear in the effluents of operating mines. The discharge of such highly contaminated mine effluents to streams and seepage from tailings ponds, creates a long-lived source of ground-water contamination.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

In addition to the leaking of contaminants from tailings management facilities (TMFs) and waste-rock storage sites, uranium mines and mills release radioactive (principally uranium), hazardous (e.g. heavy metals) and conventional (e.g. total suspended solids) contaminants to groundwater and surface water through discharges of mill and mine waters, and general run-off from mine sites. (http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/ClearingAir_UraniumMining.pdf)

One last question: Should all Virginia residents be concerned about the proposed Coles Hill mine or just those living in close proximity, namely the quaint town of Chatham?

According to the Canadian IPO (Initial Public Offering) of Virginia Uranium Ltd:

Virginia Uranium Ltd. was incorporated on August 31, 2007 under the laws of the Yukon Territory [Canada] to invest and to actively participate in the management, business and operations of Virginia Uranium Inc. ("Holdco") through its representation on the board of Holdco and its shared management with Holdco. Holdco is focused on the exploration and development of significant uranium deposits located in the southern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States... Holdco's goal is to become a significant producer of uranium through the development and construction of a mining and milling operation at the Coles Hill Property. If developed and permitted, the Coles Hill Property would be the first uranium mine in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Holdco will commence a regional exploration and acquisition program to target and acquire both new and historic uranium prospects in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. http://ipo.investcom.com/cgi-bin/ipodetails1.cgi?ID=1&string=Virginia+Uranium+Ltd&exact=yes&com=yes

Taking VUI at its word, not only will the Coles Hill mine be its "first" uranium mine in Virginia, but it will "target and seek both new and historic prospects in Pittsylvania County."

Pittsylvania County is a big county--Virginia's largest land mass county. Where will VUI explore next after Coles Hill? Once the state's moratorium is lifted, what's to keep other mining corporations (foreign or domestic) from following Virginia Uranium Inc.'s lead and opening additional mines, since we're reportedly uranium-rich in Southside Virginia?

Even if the old mineral leases (approx. 466) Marline held with Virginia landowners in the early 80s have expired, does this mean uranium is no longer on those properties?

Folks, alarm bells are ringing, will Virginia residents heed their warning?

A proposed uranium mine isn't just Chatham's little problem, it's a statewide issue that should be given grave consideration.

Anne Cockrell

Southside Concerned Citizen Member

Danville, Virginia

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Additional website info, if above webpages do not open:

1) http://www.nunnglow.com/impacts/ Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction, In-Situ Leaching (ISL) Impacts: Spills, Leaks, and Excursions are Common Hazards of In-Situ Uranium Mining

2) Radon and Radioactivity - Facts and Controversies

Radon mitigation stacks, radon potions, health risk controversies, radon in tobacco, radioactive fallout, radiation experiments, nuclear accidents.
www.radonseal.com/radon-facts.htm - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

3) Good evening … let me introduce myself … my name is John Kittle

File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML
In 2005, the US National Academy of Sciences released results of a study reporting: ... Dr. Gordon Edwards, founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear ...
www.lakemississippi.ca/Almonte%20V3%20speech.doc - Similar pages

4) House Panel Rejects Study of Uranium Mining - washingtonpost.com

RICHMOND, March 3 -- Lawmakers concerned about land, air and drinking water contamination killed a proposal Monday that would have allowed a study of ...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/ AR2008030302815.html - Similar pages

5) World Nuclear Association Symposium Proceedings

Uranium Institute Symposia Home Page.
www.world-nuclear.org/sym/index.htm - 3k - Cached - Similar pages

6) Piedmont Environmental Council of Virgina (PECVA) - Piedmont ...

Promotes and protects the Virginia Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty.
www.pecva.org/ - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

7) Effects of Uranium Mining and Milling on Ground Water in the Grants Mineral Belt, New Mexico
RF Kaufmann, GG Eadie, CR Russell - Ground Water, 1976 - Blackwell Synergy
Effects of Uranium Mining and Milling on Ground Water in the Grants Mineral Belt,
New Mexico by Robert F. Kaufmann, Gregory G. Eadie, and Charles R. Russell3 ...
Cited by 7 - Related articles - Web Search - All 4 versions

8) Uranium Mining:

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Uranium Mining: Nuclear Power’s Dirty Secret | The Pembina Institute | 1. Pembina Institute’s Life Cycle Study of Nuclear Power. Uranium Mining: ...
pubs.pembina.org/reports/ClearingAir_UraniumMining.pdf - Similar pages

9) Canadian IPO

Virginia Uranium Ltd. was incorporated on August 31, 2007 under the laws of the Yukon Territory to invest and to actively participate in the management, ...
ipo.investcom.com/cgi-bin/ipodetails1.cgi?ID=1&string=Virginia+Uranium+Ltd&exact=yes&com=yes - 13k - Cached - Similar pages