Let’s put uranium mining to a vote

Comment: Uranium mining should be referendum!!!

Published: January 28, 2009

Let’s put uranium mining to a vote

To the editor:

Uranium mining?! Are you kidding me? Uranium mining?! I don’t see how one can justify the potential risks over the potential rewards. I’ve read that the estimated amount of uranium ore at Coles Hill would equate to two years worth of energy.

Who in their right mind would want to gamble the long-term welfare of an entire region for a paltry two years worth of fuel? No matter how small the risk Virginia Uranium Inc. might promise is involved in mining and milling uranium, it cannot guarantee that there is no risk to it. For me, zero is the only acceptable risk regarding a radioactive substance.

The potential depth and extent of an accidental radiation exposure is a great unknown. If a radiation spill occurs, how large might it be, and how long before it’s detected and contained? As an OB-GYN physician, I can guarantee many pregnant patients from the county will be asking, “Will this uranium mining affect my baby?” All I’ll be able to truthfully answer is, “I hope not.”

I’m not trying to be an alarmist, but many people throughout the 20th century have been damaged by unanticipated or uncontrolled exposure to radioactive substances. Before knowledge of the atomic bomb, I’m sure the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not have felt overly threatened if they were told that a single bomb was to be dropped on their cities. There are just too many unknowns concerning radiation exposure.

I have not heard or read anything in favor of this mining save from those who stand to gain financially from it. I feel the issue of uranium mining should be put up to a referendum, rather than made by politicians or several members on a committee or panel. The people of Pittsylvania County should have a direct say on this issue that so strongly affects their livelihood and well-being.

Let’s all remember that our home is Pittsylvania County, not “Coles County.”

RANDOLPH NEAL, M.D.
Danville