Comment: Great letter, Ms. Maute to the response to letter below "Educate yourself about radiation,”! Please review the other letter to compare the information. Also, review the comments following "Educate yourself about radiation,” so you will know the class was presented by the nuke bunch! Uranium mining and radiation are not the same, all forms of radiation are dangerous, but uranium mining is the most harmful to the community, to the water, to the land and the air!
By Published by The Editorial Board
Published: August 23, 2009
To the editor:
I applaud the author of, “Educate yourself about radiation,” (Aug. 16, page A11), for taking the time and initiative to learn about radiation. Much of what she mentions is readily available on the Internet. In fact, Virginia Uranium’s Web site has an American Nuclear Society Radiation Dose Chart so you can calculate your estimated millirems exposure to common sources of radiation. However, this chart lacks information regarding millirems of exposure for uranium mines and mills. Perhaps that is due to the myriad of unique variables that need to be considered for such a calculation.
I hope the author will explore classes that will enable her to navigate the Internet. I think she’ll be surprised at the number of reputable documents regarding mining and milling of uranium and associated risks. Unfortunately, heavy metal contamination resulting from mining and milling was not part of her recent curricular activity.
She might also consider the study of real estate so as to be informed regarding the potential effect that a uranium mine and mill will have on area property values. Of course, if you happen to own land near the proposed mine and mill, and become a proponent of uranium mining and milling, there may be some personal reward.
She writes, “Nothing I learned supported the wild claims of radiation ruining the air and water in a modern, properly managed uranium mining and milling operation.”
I am hopeful that she will provide examples of such operations. It would be helpful, for comparison sake, if the examples had similar climate, population, hydrology, geology and watershed to ours.
She asks, “Has anyone noticed that we are living in a time of powerful government oversight regulating everything from where we can smoke to whether a child can ride in the back of a pick-up truck?” The answer is yes. Let’s give the federal government one more thing to screw up.
KAREN B. MAUTE
Mount Cross
http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/risks_of_mining_are_many_well-known/13380/
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/08/21/chatham/opinion/opinion01.txt
The Path to the Truth (Educate yourself about radiation,”)
By CAROL S. EAST/Special to the Star-Tribune
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:06 AM EDT
My husband's and my families have lived and farmed in eastern Pittsylvania County for more generations than I can easily count.
We live less than four miles from the Coles Hill uranium site and were here during the controversy of the early 1980s.
We have no financial connection with Virginia Uranium, although we consider the company's principals to be responsible friends and neighbors.
Twenty-five years ago, when our children were small and I was very busy, I never learned enough about the uranium project to know whether I thought it was risky or actually a wonderful opportunity for the community and the region.
But one thing was certain: The people who claimed to know the most about it were clearly driven by agendas that had little regard for factual information.
The folks who talked the most seemed to know the least.
This time around, I decided to find out the truth for myself.
I decided against using the Internet for my research and, instead, headed to the classroom to find out what I needed to know for the sake of our children and grandchildren and all those who might follow.
A good place to start seemed to be radiation, since the root of most concerns seems to lie in the radioactive nature of uranium.
I signed up for a course called "Understanding Nuclear Radiation" at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg.
While there, I heard about a week-long workshop on the subject at the University of Richmond, so I signed up for that also.
What I learned is that radiation has been a life-sustaining force since the formation of the Earth. It is essential to our lives.
I learned that we have always been exposed to radiation in the air, from outer space and from the water and food we consume. Without radiation, the Earth would be a cold and barren place.
The common measure used for exposure to radiation is the millirem. On average, each person in the United States is exposed to 360 millirem of radiation each year.
How you reach that average exposure level for the year depends upon factors such as the elevation of your hometown, the construction materials in your house, how much time you spend in the sun and many other circumstances.
Some people receive less than 360 millirem per year-and some receive more. But 360 millirem is the average amount received by each of us across the United States.
We pick up radiation from watching television, and additional radiation from flying cross-country on an airliner.
Life-saving medical procedures increase our dosage of radiation. A routine chest X-ray delivers six millirems, while the much more serious CAT-scan delivers 110 millirems.
What I learned is that under normal conditions, radiation causes no harm to our bodies.
Intense exposure to radiation can be harmful, and that is why you see medical and dental technicians taking precautions as they go about their work on a day-after-day basis.
Nothing I learned supported the wild claims of radiation ruining the air and water in a modern, properly managed uranium mining and milling operation.
For what it's worth, if you live within 50 miles of a coal-fired power plant, you get more exposure to radiation than if you live the same distance from a nuclear power plant.
If you've noticed, nearly everything being thrown around about uranium mining-things like death zones, deformed babies, destroyed rivers-all are rooted in unregulated mining activities 30 to 50 years ago.
Has anyone noticed that all those activities are illegal today? Has anyone noticed that we are living in a time of powerful government oversight regulating everything from where we can smoke to whether a child can ride in the back of a pick-up truck?
What this knowledge means to me is that if the Coles Hill project goes forward with all the safeguards we can expect from federal and state authorities, our region will see a multi-billion-dollar expansion of economic opportunity that will benefit all of us in countless ways.
It also means that we will contribute to our nation's energy independence-which is a vital factor in our national security.
One of the most peculiar arguments I hear against this project is that the uranium has always been in the ground and man has no business removing it-that we should leave it alone.
But water is also in the ground-as well as oil and gas and all the marvelous minerals man has mined and used to build our civilization.
After taking the classes and learning the truth about radiation exposure, I see this local uranium resource as yet another gift to be extracted from the Earth and used intelligently for the good of mankind as well as our region.
Carol East is a Pittsylvania County native and self-described "farm gir" her whole life.
Comments:
JH
wrote on Aug 23, 2009 12:12 AM:
" Mrs. East writes, "if the Coles Hill project goes forward with all the safeguards we can expect from federal and state authorities..." Well, that's a big "if".
Can we also expect the lax over-sight like at the CF plant just outside of Chatham where they burn about a million pounds of plastic laden plywood because of a loop-hole in their classification? Can we expect the same industrial accidents from the French company Areva that now owns a portion of Virginia Uranium? Do a google search with these words: Areva accident radiation. That's in their own country - will they care about ours? "
PR professional
wrote on Aug 20, 2009 8:06 AM:
" Carol,
As someone who seeks more education on this topic, you should seek out more details about all the risks a very large open pit mine(s) and mill would pose to the area -- excluding radiation from the conversation. Uranium's properties as a heavy metal should concern you when recent and ongoing studies indicate an increased risk of kidney disease in humans in communities with environmental exposures to mining features (deLemos, in preparation); or that uranium has estrogenic properties in cultured animal cells (Raymond-Whish, 2007); or that uranium damages DNA as a heavy metal, independent of its radioactive properties (Stearns, 2005). These studies were and are being conducted in the US, and are beginning to reveal previously unknown concerns about uranium's effects on health. As for national security and economic prosperity, those are up for debate -- This nation has "surplus" uranium and also purchases it from foreign countries for obvious strategic reasons, and any economic benefit to this area will be temporary before the monumental costs for monitoring (which would have to be conducted essentially forever) and the cost to remediate any contamination. Please also educate yourself on the millions and millions of dollars spent to attempt to remediate decommissioned uranium mills, most of which are now SuperFund sites. While you may personally no longer be concerned about radiation, there's so much more that factors into this equation. PS - Just look out in the Atlantic at the Cat 4 Hurricane Bill and imagine if that moved onshore and sat as a major tropical system in south-central Virginia for a day or so. Do you honestly think a very large open pit uranium mine(s) is immune from flash-flooding? And I highly doubt even the best stormwater management system could contain a well-developed tropical system when it dumps inches of rain on a region in a matter of hours. Please keep educating yourself - it's a good start. "
MaxTheDog
wrote on Aug 19, 2009 9:49 PM:
" It was nice of Ms. East attending the class to learn about radiation but the name of the article: "The Path to the Truth, is a not a true statement.
What the author fails to inform her readers was American Nuclear Society hosted the class, so it was not the truth but only their truth, their bias truth!
The Class: American Nuclear Society did not only host Understanding Nuclear Radiation but also look below at the Nuclear Side of things:
Topics to be discussed: Radiation: Basics, Biological Effects, Beneficial Uses, Nuclear Energy & Technology, Nuclear Power Plant Basics & Safety, Visit of North Anna Power Station, Hands-on Lab using Geiger-Muller Counters, Visit of VCU's Nuclear Medicine Facilities in Richmond, Dozens of applicable Virginia SoLs will be covered.
Staff: Dr. Kevin McCoy, AREVA in Lynchburg, VA.,Dr. Pascal Brocheny, AREVA, Lynchburg, VA, Tom Lotz, AREVA NP, INC.,Scott Robertson,AREVA, Ms. Wanda Brooks-Crocker, AREVA, and the last one really worth mentioning:
Mr. Norman W. Reynolds,2009 4D-STW Guest Speaker, In his current position, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Uranium, Inc!
Now, the title of the article title: "The Path to the Truth" according to the nuke bunch!
Real medical doctors will tell you the problem of radiation, from nuclear plants to uranium mining is dangerous.
According to the Academy of Science all forms of radiation is dangerous.
I mean what are the nuke bunches going to say about nuclear power, they love it!But again nuke power it is not the same as uranium mining but it still poison the land, water, and air around all nuke plants!
Yes, I think we all should the classes hosted by American Nuclear Society; it is always good to hear other options!
Now are the sponsors: AREVA NP INC, WESTINGHOUSE,VIRGINIA URANIUM, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Surry Professional Society.
Now the Employers: AREVA NP, the Babcock and Wilcox Company, Central Virginia Community College, Cumberland Consulting, Dominion, Jefferson Lab, Mega-Tech Services, nHance Technologies, Inc.,Northrop Grumman Newport News, NovaTech, the MITRE Corporation
Final thought, all the above people really believes Nuke Power is wonderful because it pays them well.
The taxpayers pays for Nuke power, so France, makes lot of money off nuke power and carries it back home!
No To Nuke Power and No to Uranium Mining!
http://local.ans.org/virginia/index.html "
By Published by The Editorial Board
Published: August 23, 2009
To the editor:
I applaud the author of, “Educate yourself about radiation,” (Aug. 16, page A11), for taking the time and initiative to learn about radiation. Much of what she mentions is readily available on the Internet. In fact, Virginia Uranium’s Web site has an American Nuclear Society Radiation Dose Chart so you can calculate your estimated millirems exposure to common sources of radiation. However, this chart lacks information regarding millirems of exposure for uranium mines and mills. Perhaps that is due to the myriad of unique variables that need to be considered for such a calculation.
I hope the author will explore classes that will enable her to navigate the Internet. I think she’ll be surprised at the number of reputable documents regarding mining and milling of uranium and associated risks. Unfortunately, heavy metal contamination resulting from mining and milling was not part of her recent curricular activity.
She might also consider the study of real estate so as to be informed regarding the potential effect that a uranium mine and mill will have on area property values. Of course, if you happen to own land near the proposed mine and mill, and become a proponent of uranium mining and milling, there may be some personal reward.
She writes, “Nothing I learned supported the wild claims of radiation ruining the air and water in a modern, properly managed uranium mining and milling operation.”
I am hopeful that she will provide examples of such operations. It would be helpful, for comparison sake, if the examples had similar climate, population, hydrology, geology and watershed to ours.
She asks, “Has anyone noticed that we are living in a time of powerful government oversight regulating everything from where we can smoke to whether a child can ride in the back of a pick-up truck?” The answer is yes. Let’s give the federal government one more thing to screw up.
KAREN B. MAUTE
Mount Cross
http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/risks_of_mining_are_many_well-known/13380/
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/08/21/chatham/opinion/opinion01.txt
The Path to the Truth (Educate yourself about radiation,”)
By CAROL S. EAST/Special to the Star-Tribune
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:06 AM EDT
My husband's and my families have lived and farmed in eastern Pittsylvania County for more generations than I can easily count.
We live less than four miles from the Coles Hill uranium site and were here during the controversy of the early 1980s.
We have no financial connection with Virginia Uranium, although we consider the company's principals to be responsible friends and neighbors.
Twenty-five years ago, when our children were small and I was very busy, I never learned enough about the uranium project to know whether I thought it was risky or actually a wonderful opportunity for the community and the region.
But one thing was certain: The people who claimed to know the most about it were clearly driven by agendas that had little regard for factual information.
The folks who talked the most seemed to know the least.
This time around, I decided to find out the truth for myself.
I decided against using the Internet for my research and, instead, headed to the classroom to find out what I needed to know for the sake of our children and grandchildren and all those who might follow.
A good place to start seemed to be radiation, since the root of most concerns seems to lie in the radioactive nature of uranium.
I signed up for a course called "Understanding Nuclear Radiation" at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg.
While there, I heard about a week-long workshop on the subject at the University of Richmond, so I signed up for that also.
What I learned is that radiation has been a life-sustaining force since the formation of the Earth. It is essential to our lives.
I learned that we have always been exposed to radiation in the air, from outer space and from the water and food we consume. Without radiation, the Earth would be a cold and barren place.
The common measure used for exposure to radiation is the millirem. On average, each person in the United States is exposed to 360 millirem of radiation each year.
How you reach that average exposure level for the year depends upon factors such as the elevation of your hometown, the construction materials in your house, how much time you spend in the sun and many other circumstances.
Some people receive less than 360 millirem per year-and some receive more. But 360 millirem is the average amount received by each of us across the United States.
We pick up radiation from watching television, and additional radiation from flying cross-country on an airliner.
Life-saving medical procedures increase our dosage of radiation. A routine chest X-ray delivers six millirems, while the much more serious CAT-scan delivers 110 millirems.
What I learned is that under normal conditions, radiation causes no harm to our bodies.
Intense exposure to radiation can be harmful, and that is why you see medical and dental technicians taking precautions as they go about their work on a day-after-day basis.
Nothing I learned supported the wild claims of radiation ruining the air and water in a modern, properly managed uranium mining and milling operation.
For what it's worth, if you live within 50 miles of a coal-fired power plant, you get more exposure to radiation than if you live the same distance from a nuclear power plant.
If you've noticed, nearly everything being thrown around about uranium mining-things like death zones, deformed babies, destroyed rivers-all are rooted in unregulated mining activities 30 to 50 years ago.
Has anyone noticed that all those activities are illegal today? Has anyone noticed that we are living in a time of powerful government oversight regulating everything from where we can smoke to whether a child can ride in the back of a pick-up truck?
What this knowledge means to me is that if the Coles Hill project goes forward with all the safeguards we can expect from federal and state authorities, our region will see a multi-billion-dollar expansion of economic opportunity that will benefit all of us in countless ways.
It also means that we will contribute to our nation's energy independence-which is a vital factor in our national security.
One of the most peculiar arguments I hear against this project is that the uranium has always been in the ground and man has no business removing it-that we should leave it alone.
But water is also in the ground-as well as oil and gas and all the marvelous minerals man has mined and used to build our civilization.
After taking the classes and learning the truth about radiation exposure, I see this local uranium resource as yet another gift to be extracted from the Earth and used intelligently for the good of mankind as well as our region.
Carol East is a Pittsylvania County native and self-described "farm gir" her whole life.
Comments:
JH
wrote on Aug 23, 2009 12:12 AM:
" Mrs. East writes, "if the Coles Hill project goes forward with all the safeguards we can expect from federal and state authorities..." Well, that's a big "if".
Can we also expect the lax over-sight like at the CF plant just outside of Chatham where they burn about a million pounds of plastic laden plywood because of a loop-hole in their classification? Can we expect the same industrial accidents from the French company Areva that now owns a portion of Virginia Uranium? Do a google search with these words: Areva accident radiation. That's in their own country - will they care about ours? "
PR professional
wrote on Aug 20, 2009 8:06 AM:
" Carol,
As someone who seeks more education on this topic, you should seek out more details about all the risks a very large open pit mine(s) and mill would pose to the area -- excluding radiation from the conversation. Uranium's properties as a heavy metal should concern you when recent and ongoing studies indicate an increased risk of kidney disease in humans in communities with environmental exposures to mining features (deLemos, in preparation); or that uranium has estrogenic properties in cultured animal cells (Raymond-Whish, 2007); or that uranium damages DNA as a heavy metal, independent of its radioactive properties (Stearns, 2005). These studies were and are being conducted in the US, and are beginning to reveal previously unknown concerns about uranium's effects on health. As for national security and economic prosperity, those are up for debate -- This nation has "surplus" uranium and also purchases it from foreign countries for obvious strategic reasons, and any economic benefit to this area will be temporary before the monumental costs for monitoring (which would have to be conducted essentially forever) and the cost to remediate any contamination. Please also educate yourself on the millions and millions of dollars spent to attempt to remediate decommissioned uranium mills, most of which are now SuperFund sites. While you may personally no longer be concerned about radiation, there's so much more that factors into this equation. PS - Just look out in the Atlantic at the Cat 4 Hurricane Bill and imagine if that moved onshore and sat as a major tropical system in south-central Virginia for a day or so. Do you honestly think a very large open pit uranium mine(s) is immune from flash-flooding? And I highly doubt even the best stormwater management system could contain a well-developed tropical system when it dumps inches of rain on a region in a matter of hours. Please keep educating yourself - it's a good start. "
MaxTheDog
wrote on Aug 19, 2009 9:49 PM:
" It was nice of Ms. East attending the class to learn about radiation but the name of the article: "The Path to the Truth, is a not a true statement.
What the author fails to inform her readers was American Nuclear Society hosted the class, so it was not the truth but only their truth, their bias truth!
The Class: American Nuclear Society did not only host Understanding Nuclear Radiation but also look below at the Nuclear Side of things:
Topics to be discussed: Radiation: Basics, Biological Effects, Beneficial Uses, Nuclear Energy & Technology, Nuclear Power Plant Basics & Safety, Visit of North Anna Power Station, Hands-on Lab using Geiger-Muller Counters, Visit of VCU's Nuclear Medicine Facilities in Richmond, Dozens of applicable Virginia SoLs will be covered.
Staff: Dr. Kevin McCoy, AREVA in Lynchburg, VA.,Dr. Pascal Brocheny, AREVA, Lynchburg, VA, Tom Lotz, AREVA NP, INC.,Scott Robertson,AREVA, Ms. Wanda Brooks-Crocker, AREVA, and the last one really worth mentioning:
Mr. Norman W. Reynolds,2009 4D-STW Guest Speaker, In his current position, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Uranium, Inc!
Now, the title of the article title: "The Path to the Truth" according to the nuke bunch!
Real medical doctors will tell you the problem of radiation, from nuclear plants to uranium mining is dangerous.
According to the Academy of Science all forms of radiation is dangerous.
I mean what are the nuke bunches going to say about nuclear power, they love it!But again nuke power it is not the same as uranium mining but it still poison the land, water, and air around all nuke plants!
Yes, I think we all should the classes hosted by American Nuclear Society; it is always good to hear other options!
Now are the sponsors: AREVA NP INC, WESTINGHOUSE,VIRGINIA URANIUM, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Surry Professional Society.
Now the Employers: AREVA NP, the Babcock and Wilcox Company, Central Virginia Community College, Cumberland Consulting, Dominion, Jefferson Lab, Mega-Tech Services, nHance Technologies, Inc.,Northrop Grumman Newport News, NovaTech, the MITRE Corporation
Final thought, all the above people really believes Nuke Power is wonderful because it pays them well.
The taxpayers pays for Nuke power, so France, makes lot of money off nuke power and carries it back home!
No To Nuke Power and No to Uranium Mining!
http://local.ans.org/virginia/index.html "
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