County Planning Bd Meet> Thurs Jan 3 7:00pm

Action Call for All SCC Affiliates !!

Southside Concerned Citizens has issued a call for a rally immediately prior to the Pittsylvania County Planning Commission meeting this Thursday evening at 7:00 pm at the Educational & Cultural Center on Bank St in Chatham. All affiliates are asked to attend and bring a friend!

We must show our appointed and elected officials our opposition to every step in the process to bring a uranium mine to our land by the multinational and local corporations!

Be There......Bring a Friend !!

SCC Strategy Meet>>Thursday, Jan 3 in Halifax

Action Call for All SCC Affiliates !!

SCC Chairman Jack Dunavant has called a special meeting of the SCC to set strategy for the upcoming General Assembly session. The meeting will be held at St Johns Church, Mountain Rd, Halifax, VA at 3:00 pm. (This meeting will precede the 7:00 pm Pitsylvania County Planning commission session for the same day in Chatham, VA at which all SCC affiliates are strongly encoraged to attend and show opposition to uranium mining.)

Dunavant said that State Delegate Clark Hogan will speak to the group at the afternoon session about his plans to oppose any lifting on the mining ban. Additionally, the SCC will discuss its own short-term and long-term plans for opposition.

Winery Owner Calls Mining Opposition "Illiterate Hysterics"

In the interest of fairness, this Blog presents a featured Post from an appararently reasoned opposing viewpoint, although this will be left to the reader to judge.)

(From the Letters to the Editor- Star Tribune 12/27/2007)

Uranium argument 'laced with hysteria'

I have read several letters from environmentalists in your newspaper recently. Every one of these letters is laced with the hysteria so emblematic of the environmental movement over the last 50 years.
This hysteria has brought us several disasters:
A) We are now totally dependent for oil on those in the world who would like to destroy us, while huge deposits of oil in this country remain in the ground.
B) We are forced to buy toilets that do not work satisfactorily.
C) Several good insecticides and fungicides are no longer available even though the hysteria which had them removed was found to be not true many years later.
All of the streams and rivers in this county are choked with fecal coli-form and e-coli while the environmentalists do nothing because there is no company to destroy if they tackle this issue.
If these folks would like me to take them seriously, I would like them to tell me the exact method by which uranium mining will kill me and then demonstrate their qualifications for making these statements.
Now they are asking for a public hearing to discuss uranium mining. This so they can pack the meeting with their illiterate and further sway public opinion with more unfounded hysteria.
No way!!
Corky Medaglia, PE
Climax

(Blogger's Note: Corky Medaglia, along with his wife Nancy, own Tomahawk Mills Winery and Vineyard near both Chatham, VA and the proposed urnanium mine site.)

New Poll>> Prohibit Uranium Mining?

Please take part in our On-line Poll on the right-hand portion of this Blog! We value your opinion!

Coles' Uranium Rights End Where the Public's Begin

(From the Star-Tribune 12/274/2007)

County should pass resolution to keep moratorium


In response to the Register and Bee editorial on Dec. 10, titled "The First Shot," I attended the meeting of Southside Concerned Citizens in October, where Walter Coles outlined the type of uranium mining and concluded by saying that the proposed mine at Coles Hill would in fact be an open pit mine.
Strip mining and in-situ leach mining were ruled out as possibilities in Coles' presentation.
When asked what an open pit mine would look like, Coles states that it would be a hole in the ground of about 100 acres in size and several hundred feet deep. Imagine that, an open pit as large as many farms, from which the radioactive ore would be taken and processed on the site.
The "tailings," or solid waste from that processing would be piled up until the mining was complete, about 30 years, according to Coles.
The liquid waste would be stored in holding ponds.
The tailings would then be put back into the pit and covered up.
Keep in mind that both the tailings and the liquid wastes from uranium processing contain large amounts of radioactivity.
These mountains of waste (thousands of tons) would be open to the weather for as long as the mine was in operation.
When Coles was asked directly what could be done to keep the radioactivity from those tailings from leaching into the groundwater or blowing into the air during those 30 years, his answer was that he did not know.
To my thinking, that answer puts an end to the speculation about whether or not uranium can be mined and processed safely at Coles Hill. It cannot.
Walter Coles is asking us to risk our health and safety and that of generations to come on faith.
And the fact is that there is no new technology in place that can assure any amount of safety.
Walter Coles' rights end where everyone else's begin.
Just as a smoker cannot control where the smoke from his cigarette goes, Mr. Coles has admitted that he has no idea how to contain the poisonous residue from his uranium ore.
That one fact should be enough information for the elected officials of Pittsylvania County to follow the lead of Orange and pass a resolution to continue the state's ban on uranium mining.
But at a recent meeting held at Dan River High School to discuss Pittsylvania County's new 30-year Comprehensive Plan, I was told my a member of the Zoning Board that they had "not considered uranium mining as an issue" in drawing up the plan. Why not? If that attitude is typical of Pittsylvania County officials, we are in real trouble.
Citizens of Pittsylvania County will have two opportunities to speak out against uranium mining on Jan. 3 and Jan. 8.
Don't be afraid to speak out against this flawed idea. Otherwise we will have no one else to blame when we find ourselves living in a radioactive waste dump.

Jesse Andrews

Halifax

Colorado Town Says No to In-Situ Leach Mining

(From the Rocky Mountain News 12/19/2007)

SPEAKOUT:
Vote against uranium mine a state first
By GaryWockner and Becky Long,

On Dec. 4, the Fort Collins City Council made Colorado history. With a standing-room-only crowd that had just spent one hour testifying, the council took the bold leadership
step of helping to secure the future of northern Colorado's economy and environment. Amidst hoots, hollers and eruptive applause, Fort Collins became the first Colorado city to pass a resolution against uranium mining in the
northern part of our state.
Councilmember Lisa Poppaw introduced the resolution - it passed with a 6-0 vote with one member abstaining.
The threat in northern Colorado comes from a proposed project - the Centennial uranium mine - near the town of Nunn and just seven miles from Fort Collins. The mining company - a Canadian corporation named Powertech - is proposing an in-situ leach mining operation that will pump chemicals into the groundwater to leach out the uranium, and then pump the groundwater to the surface to chemically extract the uranium from the water. In addition, the mining company has not ruled out the possibility of digging a massive open-pit mine to
extract the uranium by mechanical means.
Both types of mining - in-situ leach and open pit - pose serious health risks for local residents, and pose serious environmental and economic risks for Fort Collins and northern Colorado.
The potential health risks have caused both the Larimer County Medical Society and the Colorado Medical Society to pass resolutions against the mine. The environmental and economic risks have caused a multitude of people - elected officials from both political parties, farmers and ranchers, medical professionals, real estate agents and conservationists - to take a stand against the mine, the city of Fort Collins being the latest in opposition.
One of the biggest health and environmental risks is to groundwater. The groundwater aquifer that Powertech will inject chemicals into feeds a huge network of drinking-water wells in northern Colorado, and also provides water for livestock and crop irrigation. Unfortunately, the track record of in-situ leach uranium mining is littered with groundwater pollution, spills, mistakes and clean-up problems that are left wanting for both money and
often a government bailout.
The economic risks were also highlighted at the meeting when a local real estate agent described a potential buyer immediately backing out of a potential sale upon learning that the property was in the vicinity of the proposed mine. The bottom line: Nobody wants to live near a uranium mine.
Risks to property values - even seven miles away in Fort Collins - are a serious concern.
Uranium mining in northern Colorado poses additional risks, including decreased tourism and sales tax revenues, loss of protections for the surface land owners, increased dust emissions and air pollution, and a host of other legal, technical and political detriments.
Uranium exploration is booming across the state, fed by a huge increase in the price of uranium and ample deposits in the bedrock below ground. Colorado ranks third among all states for its uranium reserves, only trailing Wyoming and New Mexico.
We encourage other communities in Colorado to take a long and hard look when uranium mines are proposed in their areas. Always ask hard questions of the mining company, always attend all public hearings, and don't be afraid - like the people of northern Colorado - to organize your own watchdog group.
The coalition against the Centennial mine has created www.nunnglow.com, and its e-mail list already has several thousand members.
On Dec. 4th, the city of Fort Collins made history by opposing this mine, but what it also did was help write a new history of Colorado. Instead of the history our generation inherited - one dotted with mines, endless pollution and endless Superfund clean-up costs - the next generation might inherit a cleaner, greener Colorado, one that protects both the economy and the environment.

Gary Wockner, Ph.D., is a writer and conservationist in Fort Collins (garywockner.com). Becky Long is the
water coordinator for the Colorado Environmental Coalition (ourcolorado.org).

Leetso Rears Its Ugly Head Again in Dine`'tah

The first monster the Twins destroyed was Yeetso ("Big Monster"), who roamed the sacred mountain Tsoodzil (Mount Taylor) in New Mexico. One of the best ways to overcome or weaken a monster is to name it. The Navajo name for uranium is Leetso, meaning "yellow brown" or "yellow dirt," after the color of the uranium-bearing ore. Tsoodzil is where the world's largest underground uranium mine would be built. Leetso, the yellow monster, was let loose in Dinè'tah, in Navajoland.>
on July 16, 1979, thirty-four years to the day after Leetso's birth. (emphasis mine)
The disaster at Church Rock was not an isolated event. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledges ten accidental releases of tailings solutions into major watercourses in the region between 1959 and 1977. Runoff of rainwater from tailings piles also contributes to the contamination of surface water. In 1984, a summer flash flood in Hack Canyon washed four tons of high-grade uranium ore into Kanab Creek and on to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. In many communities, abandoned open pit uranium mines serve as stock tanks and swimming holes.
Downstream from most of America's uranium mines and mills sits Lake Mead, a huge reservoir that supplies drinking and irrigation water for southern California, Las Vegas, and parts of Arizona. The 40-year-old Atlas mill tailings pile at Moab, Utah, located 750 feet from the Colorado River, covers 130 acres and leaks on average 57,000 gallons per day of contaminated fluids into the river. The radioactive isotopes that are released in the mining and milling process have very long half-lives and are slowly making their way downriver into the sediments and water of the lake. The implications of a contaminated western water system are catastrophic.
Surface water is not the only threatened resource. Seepage from tailings ponds and "direct injection" of wastes into the subsurface contribute to ground water contamination. Wells that tap into these aquifers provide much of the drinking and irrigation water for the arid Colorado Plateau. Both people and livestock are affected by drinking this water and eating plants that are irrigated with it.
The mining and milling process greatly altered the land itself. The removal, transportation, and milling of vast quantities of rock resulted in the deposition of radioactive tailings piles at mine sites and at mill facilities. By 1978, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) recorded 140 million tons of on site tailings piles at twenty-two abandoned and sixteen operational mills. Continued production resulted in the addition of six to ten tons of tailings per year. One site, a 1.7-million-ton tailings pile, covers seventy-two acres in the center of Shiprock, New Mexico. Durango and Grand Junction, Colorado, and Monticello, Utah, are some of the other affected communities.
In 1992, the Navajo Nation president issued an executive order to reiterate the moratorium on uranium mining activity. Leetso, the yellow monster, is again raising his head. The world market for uranium is strong; the world's reactors require 70,000 metric tons of U3O8; current world production is approximately 46,000 metric tons. An operation to mine uranium in situ by leaching with an alkaline solution has been proposed in the Crownpoint and Church Rock communities in New Mexico. Fears of groundwater contamination resulted in litigation by an association of community members to challenge the project's operating license. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires that the mining company file an approved financial assurance plan to ensure cleanup of the mining site prior to commencing operation, which has effectively halted the project.

Just Follow the Yellow-Cake (err..) Brick Road

Ah, yes.... The labeling has begun. All those who are opposed to a uranium mine in Virginia are "environmentalists." They've told us who we are, so now we know.

We're not concerned parents, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends. We're not landowners, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. We're not citizens engaged in the democratic process, determined to protect from catastrophe all that we hold dear (which includes the ecosystem that sustains all life). We're simply "environmentalists" -- tree-huggers who care more for spotted owls than corporate profits.

And there is no right side or wrong side in this dilemma. It's all a matter of opinions. And since it cannot be proven that uranium mining cannot be done safely in Virginia, we'll just try it and see what happens. And our regulatory agencies will actually regulate and monitor this time, and when the first scintilla of any toxic substance escapes into the air, water or soil, it will be immediately detected and the regulations will be tweaked to allow just a scintilla of toxins -- only a scintilla. No harm no foul. We just have to have faith in the system. We can all relax now, knowing that VUI and the Commonwealth of Virginia will take care of us because, after all, they have our best interests at heart.

And now I'm off on the Yellow Brick Road....

Shireen

Paper: Coles Must Prove Uranium Mining is Safe

(Editorial from the Danville Register and Bee 12/23/2007)

Their case to make

Fairness compels the community to take Walter Coles at his word.
When Coles talks about mining uranium in Pittsylvania County only if it can be done safely - and if it can be, providing work for local people and companies - we have to believe that’s what he wants to do.
“I’ve always believed this was more than a mining operation,” Coles said this week.
Coles and his company, Virginia Uranium Inc., are sitting on an estimated 110 million pounds of uranium, a naturally occurring, radioactive substance that in high enough concentrations for long enough exposures causes disease and death in humans.
Coles’ interest in mining the uranium that sits under his property along Coles Road south of Chalk Level Road has reignited a bitter environmental debate that could alter the future of the Dan River Region.
If the environmentalists are right, allowing Virginia Uranium to mine the Coles Hill site will both stigmatize and pollute the community. We will be known as that town with the uranium mine, and that uranium mine will poison our land, water and air.
That’s one vision of the future, and if it’s correct, it will affect everyone who lives here, not just the people who are downstream and downwind from Coles Hill.
For now, Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining is still in effect, but that doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
This week, Virginia Uranium began the state-approved drilling of 20 test holes at the site northeast of Chatham. The purpose of drilling those new holes - and uncovering the same number of 25-year-old, capped holes - is to collect core samples and take readings for further study.
In response to the growing controversy, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors listened to environmental complaints for approximately 30 minutes before passing a prepared resolution this week to do a study of uranium mining. That inaction angered environmentalists, but it accurately reflects the ambiguity that exists in the community today.
But that ambiguity doesn’t help Virginia Uranium.
Uranium mining has a long history of spoiling the environment. The new technology that has been developed in the years since uranium mining was last tried here is so new that we have to question its long-term effectiveness. We also don’t know of anyplace where uranium is mined that has as many people as Pittsylvania County or as many rivers and streams flowing into larger rivers, lakes and the ocean.
What we do have are regular rains, occasional wind storms, tornadoes and the remnants of hurricanes passing through. We have homes all around the county that rely on well water.
And at Coles Hill, we have a naturally occurring, radioactive rock that today is geologically stable. What will happen if it’s mined?
Virginia Uranium officials have not proved that uranium can be safely mined in the Dan River Region - but it’s their case to make. Because we will live with any mistakes made long after the uranium is gone and the investors have banked their money, we have one chance to get uranium mining right - and many chances to lose out because we got it wrong.

VA Governor to Gut Environmental Permit Boards?

(Editorial From the Lynchburg, VA News and Advance 12/22/2007)

It was Abraham Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, who best described American democracy as “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
More than 140 years ago, in the midst of a bloody civil war fought in large part over the “right” of one man to own another, that phrase was more a dream, an aspiration than reality.
Today, in 2007, the dream, the ideal is more reality than not, but that doesn’t mean that citizens, the true masters of their government, don’t have to stand vigilant to protect that concept of government from interests that would destroy it by a thousand tiny cuts.
That’s what is going on behind the scenes in Virginia and in Richmond regarding three citizen environmental panels that foes of citizens actually calling the shots in their government want to eviscerate.
The State Water Control Board, the Air Pollution Control Board and the Waste Management Board are three citizen-run boards that set policy in their respective areas of expertise for the professional staff of the state Department of Environmental Quality to carry out. The boards are also the final appeal body for state permits in their respective portfolios.
In the 2007 session of the General Assembly, a member of Lincoln’s Republican Party, Del. Steven Landes of Weyers Cave, tried to kill the boards outright and consolidate all permit-granting authority in the office of the director of the DEQ, a gubernatorial appointee.
Adding insult to injury, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, D, self-proclaimed man of the people and an environment-friendly governor, provided powerful logistical support from his office to get the bill through the legislative hopper in the dead of night and away from public scrutiny.
That blatant attempt to stifle citizens input failed, thanks in no small part to the efforts of three Central Virginians: Del. Ben Cline, R-Amherst, Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell, and Shelton Miles of Campbell County, the chairman of the State Water Control Board.
But the foes of citizens actually running their own government refused to slink quietly back beneath the rocks from whence they came and are preparing to kill the boards by other means in the upcoming 2008 session of the Assembly.
Powerful business interests and governmental bodies in Northern Virginia and Tidewater are lining up behind a so-called compromise that would retain the boards in name only but would strip them of any permitting powers, placing all that again in the office of the DEQ’s chief bureaucrat. Under federal law, since the boards would no longer permitting powers, their membership could include representatives of the very industries they would have a hand in writing the regulations for.
Talk about the fox guarding the hen house.
And of course, the civic-minded opponents of the three boards never considered that possibility. Right.
You don’t have to be a tree-hugging environmentalist to be scared of and angry about this blatant attempt by powerful business and government types to bar the average citizen from actually having a voice in forming and carrying out environmental policy.
It should be incumbent upon those pushing such a drastic change in environmental policy to clearly state the reasons for their proposals. Show us where the current system is broken or is not working, sit down with everyone involved and attempt to devise solutions.
Curiously, the boards’ foes point to only one issue: the time, they claim, it takes for permits to be granted. Shelton Miles, of the water board, admits up front there have been a handful of permits over the years that have taken longer than they should have, but points out that often the delays were the cause of the applicant himself.
But is that reason enough to gut the authority of these three citizen-run boards to help set environmental policy in Virginia and oversee the use of some of our most precious natural resources?
Absolutely not.
The 2008 session of the General Assembly starts in just under a month, and now’s the time for proponents of citizen-run government in Virginia to make their voices heard before it’s too late.
Contact the members of Central Virginia’s delegation - Sen. Steve Newman and Dels. Cline, Byron, Lacey Putney, Watkins Abbitt and Shannon Valentine - to express your concerns.
And we’ll say it again because it bears repeating: You don’t have to be a tree-hugger to be alarmed at this power grab by government and business lobbyists. This issue cuts to the heart of what representative democracy is all about.

No scientists needed to see danger

(From Colorodoan.com)


It's not surprising that Powertech, the company that wants to mine uranium near Nunn, took a full-page ad in the paper (Dec. 14) expressing its disappointment with the Fort Collins City Council for passing a resolution against the uranium mining. This company stands to make many millions of dollars taking the uranium from underground. The proposed mining site is about 11 miles from Fort Collins, so our City Council is rightfully concerned about the damage such a mine could cause.

Powertech maintains that no scientific data were used to craft or pass the resolution. It takes very little scientific research to understand that uranium is radioactively toxic. And you don't need to be a nuclear physicist to grasp that the "in-situ" mining process, which disturbs the uranium ore underground, dissolves it in chemically treated water, pumps it to the surface and then transports it to Wyoming for treatment, (could) pose a threat to the environment and the health of humans and animals living in a large area around the mine. It also doesn't require scientific research to figure out that area real estate values would be negatively impacted by this sort of mining.

Powertech states in its letter that there would be constant monitoring of the process. Monitoring a spill or other accident after the fact would do nothing to lessen the damage done. The poisons created and exposed by this mining can't be cleaned up or de-activated - they simply stay around for hundreds of years. Why take a chance with this dangerous proposal? There is no acceptable level of risk, no matter how small, of a spill or escape of radioactive toxins or other heavy metals, and no acceptable level of contamination of the water, air or earth.

Unless you are one of the very few who would reap large money profits from this mining, where is any long-term benefit for the ordinary citizens of Northern Colorado?

This is a very large and complicated issue, and I am speaking from common sense and my heart. For anyone who needs more hard data, please visit the Web site of Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction, or C.A.R.D., at www.nunnglow.com for links to a wealth of scientific data and history of uranium mining damage.

There was no need for the City Council to spend months researching the scientific data. It is, after all, just a resolution they passed Dec. 4. The City Council, as an elected body, has a responsibility to safeguard the city's environmental and economic health, and to reflect the valid concerns of its citizens. I thank them for taking a stand on this very important issue.

Diane Rhodes lives in Fort Collins.

“America's Secret Chernobyl”

(Submitted by Shireen Parsons, Virginia Community Organizer
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
http://www.celdf.org/

DO WE WANT TO BE IN THIS SITUATION, OR DO WE WANT TO STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW? (GV)

“America's Secret Chernobyl”

Uranium Mining and Nuclear Pollution in the Upper Midwest:

1. World War II ended with the nuclear bomb and introduced the use of nuclear energy
for the production of electricity which caused the price of uranium to rise. Uranium
mining in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota began in the middle of
the 1960s. As the economy of the Midwestern states depends primarily on agriculture,
when uranium was discovered in the region, many get-rich-quick schemes were adopted.
Not only were large mining companies pushing off the tops of bluffs and buttes, but small
individual ranchers were also digging in their pastures for the radioactive metal. Mining
occurred on both public and private land, although the Great Sioux Nation still maintains
a claim to the area through the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868, the March 3rd
Act of 1871, Article VI of the US Constitution, and the 1980 Supreme Court decision on
the Black Hills.

2. In northwestern South Dakota, the Cave Hills area is managed by the US Forest
Service. The area currently contains 89 abandoned open-pit uranium mines. Studies by
the USFS show that one mine alone has 1,400 millirems per hour (mR/hr) of exposed
radiation, a level of radiation that is 120,000 times higher than normal background of 100
millirems per year (mR/yr)! In the southwestern Black Hills, the US Forest Service
reported on 29 abandoned open-pit uranium mines, one of which is about 1 square mile in
size.

3. It is estimated that more than 1,000 open-pit uranium mines and prospects can be
found in the four state region from a map developed by the US Forest Service. The water
runoff from the creeks and rivers near these abandoned uranium mines eventually
empties into the Missouri River which empties into the Mississippi River.

4. The following agencies are aware of these abandoned uranium mines and prospects:
US Forest Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Bureau of Land
Management, SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and the US Indian Health Service. Only after public concern about these
mines was raised a few years ago did the USFS and the EPA pay for a study in 2006 of
the off site effects caused by only 1 abandoned mine.

5. More than 4,000 exploratory holes, some large enough for a person to fall into, are
found in the southwestern Black Hills with an additional 3,000 holes just 10 miles west of
the town of Belle Fourche, SD near the Wyoming border. These holes go to depths of 600
feet. This exploratory process itself allows radioactive pollutants to cross contaminate
underground water sources. More exploratory holes for uranium are being drilled in
Wyoming and South Dakota.

6. The US Air Force also used small nuclear power plants in some of their remote radar
stations. No data is available on the current status or disposal of these small nuclear
power sources or of their wastes. The US Air Force is responsible for monitoring these
sites although there is no stopping the radioactive pollution that could contaminate
aquifers.

7. In Wyoming, hundreds of abandoned open-pit uranium mines and prospects can be
found in or near the coal in the Powder River Basin, and the coal is laced with uranium
ore. The coal is shipped to power plants in the Eastern part of the United States.
Radioactive dust and particles are released into the air at the coal fired power plants and
often set off the warning systems at nuclear power plants. The same radioactive dust and
particles are released into the air that travels across South Dakota and to the South and
East in the coal strip mining process.

8. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed a secret Executive Order declaring this four
State region in the Upper Midwest to be a 'National Sacrifice Area’ for the mining and
production of uranium and nuclear energy.
Conclusion
This Fact Sheet regarding past and planned uranium and coal mining in the Upper
Midwest region should give cause for alarm to all thinking people in the United States.
This is the area that has been called “the Bread Basket of the World.” For more than forty
years, the people of South Dakota and beyond have been subjected to radioactive polluted
dust and water runoff from the hundreds of abandoned open pit uranium mines,
processing sites, underground nuclear power stations, and waste dumps.
There needs to be a concerted effort to determine the extent of the radioactive pollution in
the environment, and the health damage that has been and is currently being inflicted
upon the people of the United States.
It is imperative that a federal bill be passed in Congress appropriating enough funds for
the cleanup of ALL the abandoned uranium mines in this four State region. This harmful
situation must not be placed on the end of the Superfund list of hazardous sites to be
addressed in twenty years. Those responsible for this disaster must be held responsible
for the consequences, but the cleanup and health concerns of the nation need to be
addressed first. The health of the nation is at stake!
The cleanup of all of these mines and underground sites must begin NOW!
We hope you will consider our request for concerted actions to be taken at the national
level regarding these grave concerns. This problem of radiation pollution spreading
throughout the United States has been allowed to continue quietly for much too long.

********* What you can do ***********

1. Contact your Congressional Representative and Senators by phone (202) 224-3121,
through the mail, and email. Ask that they consider sponsoring a bill for the cleanup of all
the abandoned uranium mines and prospects, and underground nuclear sites in the Upper
Midwest Region of South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming.

2. Ask your Congressional Representatives and Senators to support the Expansion of the
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include also those harmed by
abandoned uranium mines and prospects in the Upper Midwest Region.

3. Encourage the use of alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, and
geothermal. Nuclear energy is not the answer and only creates very long term problems
to the entire environment.

Thank you!
Produced by Defenders of the Black Hills, PO Box 2003, Rapid City, SD 57709, a nonprofit
corporation.
For more information check out www.defendblackhills.org

No Yellowcake for Me, Thank You!

(Editorial from the Halifax County Gazette-Virginian 10/11/2007)

BY Sonny Riddle
G-V STAFF WRITER

The possibility of uranium mining has once again reared its head in our area. For those of you who don't know, a rich deposit of uranium ore was discovered about 25 years ago near Chatham in Pittsylvania County.
Marline Uranium, Inc. had intentions of mining and milling the ore deposit estimated to contain about 110 million pounds of uranium. To make a long process short, the uranium ore would be mined and milled into a form called "yellow cake."This "yellow cake" is converted for use as a source of energy at nuclear power plants.
Efforts spearheaded by a group of concerned citizens and landowners in Halifax County and surrounding localities 25 years ago led to Virginia's enacting a moratorium on uranium mining in the Commonwealth.Now, there is renewed interest in extracting the uranium and a new company, Virginia Uranium, Inc., has been formed for that purpose.
And so it begins! If mining and milling operations become a reality, it could mean 400 to 700 new jobs in Pittsylvania County.With current unemployment figures at 6.4-percent in Pittsylvania County and 6.3-percent in Halifax County, that many new jobs so nearby would be a boon to the economies of both counties.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has encouraged Virginia to find alternative sources of fuel and power so we won't be so dependent upon petroleum and petroleum-based fuels.The General Assembly has also taken a stand on weaning the state from petroleum and its derivitives. The uranium at Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County has been estimated at around $10 billion in value, and Virginia Uranium, Inc. anticipates putting shares up for sale to individual investors on the open market in the future.
There's money to be made if the project comes tofruition, but what threat would a uranium mining and milling operation in nearby Pittsylvania County poseon the environment and ground water supply in HalifaxCounty?
The mining and milling of uranium is a touchy subject with environmentalists. Most are not satisfied that the process could be done safely without harming the environment. Geologists at Virginia Tech who havestudied the uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill have indicated that the deposit shows no signs of leakage into the surrounding soil and rocks.
But what happens when mining operations begin? What are the chances that leakage will occur when machinery begins digging ore out of the ground? Can anyone assure the citizens and landowners of Halifax County that our water supply will remain untainted by the uranium tailings left behind by the operations? I don't think so!
Although investors could stand to profit from the operation, how can we place a monetary value on our health and safety and that of our children. Who is to say that our water supply won't become tainted in the future?
We must protect our children and future generations.We owe it to them to provide a healthy environment in which they can grow and thrive. As always, this is my opinion.and you know about opinions.everybody has one. But I feel this is important.
My daughter and son-in-law own a house in a rural part of Halifax County, and I don't want to jeopardize the health and well being of any children they may have in the future. Our children and their children will be forced to deal with any mistakes we may make in regards to the environment.
No one likes to clean up someone else's mess, and that's what future generations may be doomed to do if we damage our environment by permitting uranium mining and milling so close to our county.I would like to think that we have better sense than to sacrifice our children's future for the sake of money and alternative fuel.
True, we need to find additional sources of alternative energy, but not at the expense of harming our environment. I believe Halifax County is worth more than uranium ...... at anyprice!

More Debate Called for

(From the Danville Register and Bee 10/27/2007)

To the editor:
Thank you for your editorials calling our attention toproposed uranium mining in Pittsylvania County. Iappreciate the informative reporting on this issue, as well.
Four replies are common when I talk with people aboutpossible mining here:
-- It's good. It means jobs, money and energy;
-- It's bad. Uranium mining has brought devastation toworkers and communities wherever it's occurred;
-- We need more information; and
-- It's a done deal.
The last of these opinions I find most disheartening.Virginia's political and legislative response toproposed uranium mining is just beginning. We need tobe informed and attentive. We need to ask questionsand express our concerns.
Thorough study of the risks, costs and benefits ofuranium mining could easily take two years. Virginia'ssenators and delegates must then review the study,weigh the risks and decide whether to lift Virginia'smoratorium. If they allow uranium mining, the statewould write regulations specifically for Virginia -another long process if done well.
We need to think beyond a knee-jerk yea or nay andconsider what living near a uranium mine would meanfor us and for our loved ones. A region known fortobacco, textiles, Chatham Hall and NASCAR may becomeknown for uranium. An industry known for devastationmay make history by doing a better job here or it mayrepeat history by bringing devastation here. This is not a done deal.
And because it's not a done deal, we need you. The community needs the media. We need the creativetension that arises when people think, confront thefacts and recognize the uncertainties that surroundthe uranium industry.
Thank you for reporting, for offering your opinion andfor providing a forum for debate. Please continue.We're far from a done deal.
KATIE WHITEHEAD
Chatham

Why VA Uranium is Unique

(From Danville Register and Bee 09/23/2007)

One of the big arguments against uranium mining inPittsylvania County 25 years ago was environmental:What could be done to prevent radioactive materialfrom spreading into the surrounding air, water andland? That question was, for the most part, forgotten whenVirginia imposed a moratorium on uranium mining.
Butwith renewed interest in nuclear power - and the hugedeposit of uranium located in the Sheva community -everything is being considered again. One of the recommendations in the recently releasedVirginia Energy Plan deals specifically with uranium mining: "Virginia should assess the potential value of and regulatory needs for uranium production in Pittsylvania County."
If the General Assembly follows that particular recommendation, a uranium mining study bill could passthe legislature next winter. During the years when most people forgot about theColes Hill uranium deposit in Sheva, a Virginia Techsenior geologist, A.K. Sinha, was studying its mysteries.
Now Sinha wants to find out why the uraniumhas stayed put. His research could lead to safer uranium mining allover the world. "What we discovered was there was a big researchchallenge. Why didn't the uranium physically migrateinto the water system, the rivers and the ponds? Wefound it does not," Sinha said recently.
"We were able to discover that. We have a very good handle on that.It's because of the chemical reactions that take placein the region. The chemicals and the reactions in thatplace trap the uranium." Sinha wants the time and money to properly study whatMother Nature has done at Coles Hill.
The mysteries of Coles Hill could lead to safer uranium mining, whichcould guide future decisions about mining not only inPittsylvania County, but other Virginia sites withuranium deposits. Advocates of uranium mining in Virginia have long claimed that the valuable ore could be safely extracted from the ground without harming the folks who lived down wind, down river and down stream.
In the years since the moratorium, many technological advances have taken place that will probably be incorporated into future proposals to mine uranium locally. For now, the Coles Hill uranium ore deposit should be properly and completely studied to determine why ithasn't contaminated the surrounding environment. Thisi s the perfect time to try to learn more about whatSinha has discovered - and how it can shape futuredecisions about the Sheva site and others like it.

Use Permit Required for Uranium Drilling Business

(From the Danville Register and Bee 11/27/2007)

By REBECCA BLANTON
Register & Bee staff writer

Virginia Uranium Inc. LLC will have to clear anotherobstacle before it begins drilling for uranium coresamples. The company does not have to have permission from Pittsylvania County to drill for the samples, but itwill need a special-use permit to put up the office trailers it plans to place at Coles Hill.
"That's what I understand," Coy Harville, chairman ofthe Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, saidTuesday. "They have to have a special-use permit forthe trailers to keep the core samples in. "Odie (Shelton) told them they had to have one, but Idon't know if they have yet."
Shelton, director of code compliance for the county,could not be reached for comment, but according to employees in his office, no request for a special-usepermit has been submitted by Virginia Uranium. It's important to understand the difference, CountyAdministrator Dan Sleeper said. "They don't need a permit to do core drilling," hesaid. "The state has already approved that." The company, however, must get a permit to operate as an on-site business.
"They're setting up a geological office out there.They're setting up a business with an office. That'swhat requires a special-use permit," Sleeper said.
A special-use permit would have to be approved by the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. The potential for mining uranium in Virginia was proposed in both Pittsylvania and Orange counties inthe early 1980s, but only Pittsylvania County has seen any serious interest in getting the statewidemoratorium lifted.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors votedunanimously Nov. 13 to approve a resolution supportinga continued moratorium on uranium mining. Pittsylvania County supervisors remain cautious. Theysay they have no plans to make any kind of decisionother than to examine the issue, study the facts andlisten to what their constituents want. "The board members have said they're going to see howthis thing goes," Harville said. "The moratoriumhasn't been lifted yet. We have four new board memberscoming on board (at the first of the year) and I haveno clue how they feel about it (the uranium issue)."

Exploratory Urnium Drilling Permit Explained

(From Danville Register and Bee 11/26/2007)

By REBECCA BLANTON
Register & Bee staff writer

As the debate over the economic impact and risks ofuranium mining continues, Virginia Uranium Inc. isexpected to begin exploration drilling for theradioactive element next month. The Virginia Department of Mines and Minerals has approved the company's exploration permit forpermission to drill 40 holes to take core samples ofore on land located northeast of Chatham on ColesRoad.
"There is no uranium mining allowed in Virginia,"said Conrad Spangler, division director of theDepartment of Mines and Minerals. "But this is notmining. These are just exploratory holes."Spangler said the permit allows Virginia Uranium to drill 20 new holes at Coles Hill in the Sheva community, as well as attempt to open up 20 old drillholes.
"There was considerable drilling done during the late1970s and early 80s in the Coles Hill area," he said."The exploration work that was done there consisted ofseveral hundred drill holes and a lot of testing wasdone then. Twenty of the holes will be attempts toreopen holes drilled in the 1980s, so that results done then can be verified using today's techniques.
"They're drilling a rotary core hole. The diameter isabout 3 1/2 inches and the total length of that corewill be brought to the surface."Geologists will look at the core and determine thetype of rock, thicknesses, and test the rock forminerals - uranium and otherwise."This is a wet drilling process, so there won't be anyairborne dust or contaminants," said Tom Bibb, an engineer with the state miningdivision.Workers at the site won't be doing much more than following standard safety precautions, Spanglerexplained.
"The application does contain a radiation managementplan," he said. "That includes the workers, the publicand the environment. The workers will be wearing steel-toed shoes, hard hats, (and) wearing some sortof radiation monitoring badge to monitor radiationexposure - like an X-ray technician might wear."Spangler said the workers also will wash their handsfrequently.
"There's just not expected to be any radiation levelswhere they'd have to wear a suit," he said.As part of the radiation management plan, backgroundlevels of the surface will be tested as well.Water adjacent to the property includes Georges Creek,Mill Creek, Whitehorn Creek and the Banister River.
The permit specifies how water used in the process will be reclaimed."They'll monitor radiation levels in water on thesite, streams and test some wells," Spangler said.A 5.6-acre area is all the land that is expected to bedisturbed in the process, according to the permit.That adds up from 40 holes at .14 acres per hole, butis still not enough to require a drilling permit fromPittsylvania County.
"If they disturb 10,000 contiguous square feet ormore, they have to get an erosion permit from us,"County Administrator Dan Sleeper said. "That's abouta quarter of an acre." Other than that, there are no other permits requiredexcept for the state permit that the company alreadyhas, Sleeper said."If they're drilling core samples, it's the same as if someone was going out and drilling for a septic tank,"he said.
The state permit does detail exactly how the companyplans to reclaim water, to restore land disturbed bythe drilling and to reclaim any trenches, pits orother things created by the process.The permit is good for one year, Spangler said.The holes may remain open for up to 30 days beforethey must be capped off or filled with cement, he said.
Spangler and Bibb contend the drilling does not pose athreat to the public."If we believed there was any threat to the public, we would not have issued the permit."
The state is placing a copy of the permit, completewith maps and diagrams, in the Chatham Public Library.No date is expected on when that copy will be madeavailable to the public. The state also is in the process of uploading the information to its Web page.

Uranium mining in VA >> "Just Nuts!"

(From the Virginian-Pilot 10/29/2007)

By Scott Harper

In his Virginia Energy Plan released this summer, thegovernor suggested that, in the name of greater energyindependence and cleaner-burning fuels, thePittsylvania County option remain on the table -- atleast for now.
Renewed interest in mining today also faces an armadaof concerned residents, environmentalists andpublic-health advocates.Opponents fear increased cancer risks among mineworkers and neighbors, diminished property values, abad image for Southside Virginia, as well as thepotential for radioactive pollution of groundwater,air quality and local streams and rivers.
"Our preference is that Virginia just stay away fromall of this," said Rick Parrish, a senior lawyer withthe Southern Environmental Law Center inCharlottesville."Uranium might be stable in the ground in rock form,"Parrish said, "but when you pulverize it, you open upthe whole thing to all kinds of potential problems andquestions."
Mike Town, state director of the Sierra Club, was more succinct."It's just nuts," Town said. "I mean, uranium mining?In Virginia?"
The operation would be the first commercial uraniummine east of the Mississippi River and would requireconstruction of an industrial mill nearby.Inside the mill, hard rock would be smashed to bits,thus freeing the coveted uranium ore, known as "yellowcake," because of its color and texture.Sandy wastes, called tailings, would be collected atthe mill, stored on site and likely reburied. Tailings harbor some radioactivity, as well as other heavymetals, and are what environmentalists worry about most.
The yellow cake would be packed into 55-gallon drumsand trucked out of Pittsylvania County, probably toIllinois and then Kentucky, where the powdery orewould be converted and enriched into nuclear fuelrods.Such rods are the catalysts for producing energy atVirginia's two nuclear power plants, in Surry andNorth Anna, as well as others across the country. As the United States grapples with global warming andits reliance on fossil fuels, nuclear power isexperiencing something of a renaissance. The Bush administration is supporting the shift, offering taxincentives and fast-track licensing.
Although no new commercial plant has been built inAmerica since the 1970s, at least 29 nuclear projectshave been proposed in recent years, including theprospect of constructing at least one new reactor atthe North Anna power station northwest of Richmond.Dominion Virginia Power, the state's largest electricutility, operates the North Anna and Surry stations. Acorporate spokesman was ambivalent about the potentialVirginia mine.
"We are trading in the world market for fuel and ableto secure uranium at competitive prices to help keepour costs down for our customers," Jim Norvelle, aDominion spokesman, said in a statement. "It's hard toknow right now whether having a uranium mine inVirginia would be economic for us."
In recent years, Coles said he has been approached by uranium companies from Canada, Australia, France andother countries, all asking if he would sell hismineral rights. Canada and Australia are two of theworld's largest producers of uranium ore, and Franceis a leading user of nuclear power.Instead, Coles said, he decided to "keep this aVirginia effort" and began organizing his own miningcompany.
A 2001 study by Virginia Tech, whichconfirmed that the deposit is neither moving norleaching underground, also motivated Coles to start his own company.
The president and chief executive officer of VirginiaUranium Inc. is Norman Reynolds, a Canadian geologistnow living in Chatham. Reynolds led efforts to mineColes Hill in the 1980s. He recalled how prospectorsfirst discovered uranium in Pittsylvania County morethan 25 years ago.Reynolds and others were intrigued by a longgeological scar called the Chatham Fault, whichextends piecemeal from Northern Virginia into NorthCarolina.
Hired crews crisscrossed the fault line in cars, holding devices out the windows that detectradioactivity.When driving past Coles Hill, the radiation levels"suddenly got very high," Reynolds said, "so we stopped and started looking around." They found rocksin roadside ditches that, when measured, also shotreadings off the chart."We knew we'd found a winner," he said.

Uranium mining in the United States has been conducted almost exclusively in dry, Western states. Theindustry's early history, dating to the 1950s, isdisastrous, filled with horror stories about sickenedworkers, homes built from uranium tailings that led tocancer deaths and failing lagoons that leakedradioactive wastes into public waterways.
Critics say Coles is missing a crucial point -- thatthe East Coast is vastly different from the West."Uranium never has been mined in such a denselypopulated area like this," said Eloise Nenon, whohelped to organize the group Southside ConcernedCitizens 25 years ago and is helping to jump-start thegroup now."The water table is higher here," Nenon said. "It'swetter, more humid. The trucks they use are enormous,and where are we going to put them? The risks ofradiation and water pollution could be catastrophic. "

Va Beach, Lynchburg have "Dogs" in the Uranium Fight

(From the Danville Register and Bee 10/12/2007)

HALIFAX - The governments of Lynchburg and VirginiaBeach may find themselves stakeholders in the latestdevelopment regarding uranium enrichment inPittsylvania County.
Walter Coles, of Chatham, told a meeting of more thantwo dozen concerned residents at St. John's EpiscopalChurch that negotiations for a possible uraniumenrichment plant in Lynchburg are "under way even aswe speak."
Coles said Lynchburg, which already has facilities that already do some limited uranium enrichment, maysoon be the site of a uranium plant.
He said the French company, AREVA, was currentlytalking with Virginia officials about a location forthe uranium enrichment plant, of which Lynchburg wastop on the list. "AREVA has visited Virginia and they're interested inbuilding an enrichment plant, and it would be thesecond one in the United States, and it'd cost $2(billion) to $3 billion," Coles said.
He elaborated some on the plant and the need for it,and said that Campbell and Bedford counties also areamong the areas being considered for a uranium plant. Coles said he had spoken with interested parties inVirginia Beach when asked whether or not parties onthe Eastern Shore area considered themselves stakeholders.
However, Virginia Beach, which gets one-third of itsdrinking water from Lake Gaston and other bodies ofwater that are fed from the same watershed wherepotential uranium leaching could occur, could beaffected by uranium mining in Pittsylvania County ifsafety measures don't measure up.

3 Types of Uranium Mining

(From the Danville Register and Bee 09/25/2007)
DANVILLE - Mining experts believe it's a matter ofwhen, not if the current moratorium on uranium miningin Virginia will be lifted. If current technology andmining methods can be proven to be safe, expect miningto move forward sometime in the near future.Environmental impact statements are already beingdiscussed in the western United States. What does thatmean for Virginia? Pittsylvania County stands poisedon the edge of a critical decision about its economicfuture.At stake, jobs, health, taxes, quality of life.Positive aspects of allowing the $10 billion site tobe mined include economic development, energy,population growth, a huge influx of financial funds tothe county and a prosperity upswing like the countyhas never experienced. The downside? An astronomicalrise in land value, higher property taxes, increasedcancer rates, hazardous waste issues, potentialeconomic downturn as some businesses shun a state withhazardous ore mining.Scientists say the geological areas outside Chathamare rich with research potential. Investors arealready moving into the area. They know there'sapproximately $10 billion in ore waiting to be mined.Who makes the decision whether to mine and what arethe potential impacts negative or positive to miningPittsylvania County? Find out in tomorrow's Register &Bee.

Uranium Here Uniquely Configured >> Geologist

(From Danville Register and Bee 09/17/2007)

By REBECCA BLANTON
Register & Bee staff writer

CHATHAM - Pittsylvania County - it's land a geologistor a farmer could benefit from. Fortunately, they both do.
Experts say if politicians will loosen the pursestrings and fund the necessary research, the county'sgeology could reveal secrets that could save lives andbenefit the economy through uranium mining.
"It's sitting right here in our own backyard," A.K.Sinha, a senior geologist at Virginia Tech, said ofthe solution to safely mining uranium worldwide.
"You talk to people in Washington, and they look toAustralia, to Finland (for research). But the solutionis here in our own backyard."
Sinha is talking about Coles Hill.It rests on Coles Road off Chalk Level Road in theSheva community, which is north of Chatham and southof Gretna.
Marline Corp. of Canada calls Coles Hill the largestundeveloped uranium deposit in North America. Uraniumis a heavy silvery-white metallic element processedfor use in research, nuclear fuels and nuclear weapons.
Sinha has spent almost a decade studying the secretsthe geology of Coles Hill. The impact of it has yet toreach much farther than academic journals."We think we can learn something from this site thatcan be applied to existing contaminated sites andnuclear waste repositories," Sinha said.
Like many big secrets, this one was hiding in plainview. All it took to spot it was a bit of curiosityand a will to dig a little deeper into the mystery."That's part of my job, my coursework - talking aboutthe geology of Appalachia," he said. "This is part ofAppalachian geology."
While teaching and talking one day, Sinha said heheard about an unusual phenomenon in PittsylvaniaCounty."These are the kinds of things that you don't happento just discover," Sinha said. "They're in theliterature, you get curious about it and you take thenext step. The big thing for science is curiositydriven science," he continued.
"So once I heard about it - I don't remember how,maybe one of my students told me about it - we decidedto go out and look at the place ourselves."
A journey of curiosity turned into what could becomeone of the greatest discoveries in the world: Anatural process that keeps the most deadly ore in theworld from seeping into natural water systems likerivers, ponds and water tables. It's rare, and as faras Sinha knows, it's only in a few places, includingPittsylvania County.
"I couldn't say that it's the only one in the worldbecause I haven't kept track of the literature, so Idon't know if there is another one like this. It isone of the few," he said. "It's a rare one. It's largebut, rare. Coles Hill is unique. It is rich inuranium, but it is also rich in science."'
"The county itself is filled with geologic science,most of it rare, with minerals appearing in thiscounty that are found only in Japan or Norway, expertssay.Construction work to re-contour old mines in thespring of 1996 at the 19th-century Hutter iron mine innorthern Pittsylvania County exposed a small dumpcomposed almost entirely of manganese-rich rocks.
Minerals found in this dump include carbonates;manganese olivines and humites; manganese oxides andspinels; a manganese pyroxenoid; manganese-richsphalerite; alabandite; spessartine garnet;barium-manganese mica; and barite.Several of these minerals are previously unknown fromthe southern Appalachians, and at least one(kinoshitalite) has been reported only once in NorthAmerica. Like Coles Hill, these minerals are part of ageologic phenomenon found in the county."
The organization of geological events and processes,all the geologic features are in response to certainprocesses and at Coles Hill, certain processes justhappened to combine to give this concentration touranium," Sinha said."What we discovered was there was a big researchchallenge. Why didn't the uranium physically migrateinto the water system, the rivers and the ponds? Wefound it does not," he said. "We were able to discoverthat. We have a very good handle on that. It's becauseof the chemical reactions that take place in theregion. The chemicals and the reactions in that placetrap the uranium.
"Sinha added, "That's why it's so unique. I think it'sworth a lot more investigation to discover more. Thatis the key. Fundamentally, it is the key to everythingat Coles Hill. It is a natural phenomenon."You need to get Washington people thinking on thesame wavelength about it. I don't think theyunderstand."
People have forgotten about Coles Hill since itsdiscovery about six years ago, but the science, theresearch, the need to pry a few more secrets loose isstill there, Sinha said."It has some secrets I haven't been able to unravel,"he said. "So, it's important for the science. Naturedoes well without us.
"Sinha explained that if scientists can understand whatis happening at Coles Hill before mining begins or theunique geological features are destroyed, it ispossible to create a technology or scientific processthat could make uranium mining safe for the world."This is an opportunity for funding agencies -federal, state, local, even commercial organizations -if they would just capture the real value, thescience," he said.
The race, Sinha said, is between science and money. Hebelieves it is possible for both sides to win ifpeople grasp the importance of the site in time."It's not the technology that will be the heart of thediscussion. It's perception," he said. "Will they leanon the side of science or the side of more dollars?
"They aren't mutually incompatible. You can have both,but you need an organizational framework that'slooking out for both sides. If you have a communitythat wants to deploy technologies for the dollar,they're not going to look at the other half.
"If you have scientists running around just looking atthe work, they're not very thoughtful about theeconomy either," Sinha said. "My request is to pullthe two communities around Coles Hill. Wouldn't thatbe fascinating? For the first time, scientists wouldbe talking to venture capitalists or to politicians.What a concept."
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Wednesday that hisoffice would be exploring energy alternatives as wellas exploring how safe uranium mining has become in thelast 25 years.
Safe mining, however, is not the issue, say expertsfrom Oak Ridge's National Laboratory. The "minetailings" or what is left after the ore is mined iswhat creates the greatest danger. Tailings dissolve inwater and seep into water tables, rivers and ponds.That danger and the secret in how to curb it is whatColes Hill offers - if scientists can get to it beforeengineers and miners do.
"Research tasks should be done now. I'm not in thepolitical loop," Sinha said. "So I don't know whatwill happen."I'm just a scientist. Give us the resources so we canshare with you the best scientific knowledge that wecan generate. And then you make the decision (to mineor not)," he said.
"The richness is not just the deposit with respect todollars, but also richness with respect to science.Which way do you go right now? Here is a greatresource for the commonwealth."It'll generate however many millions of dollars forthe economy, but it's a great scientific resource.Someone in upper management has to sit down and he orshe can decide all on their own which way to go,"Sinha said. "People like me make one simple request -let's get all the knowledge we can about this regionand then sit back and look at it thoughtfully and say,hmmm, this is our best route and this is where weshould seek agreement."

25 Years Ago--What We Said Then

(From the Danville Register and Bee 09/16/2007)

By BERNARD BAKER
Register & Bee staff writer

CHATHAM - Former Chatham District Supervisor ClaudeWhitehead well remembers the controversy surroundinguranium mining 25 years ago.
That was when Marline Corp. said it had discovered 30million pounds of uranium oxide - potentially worth $1billion or more - in Pittsylvania County.
The debate was hot, Whitehead recalls, and rumors ranrampant because most people didn't know a lot about uranium mining.
"People were talking about black cows turning into redcows," Whitehead said. "People would lose all theirhair and babies would be born without legs. All thisstuff was floated around."
Conversations with various county officials - and areview of the stories written during that time - recapthe controversy, which eventually led to a moratoriumon uranium mining.
The debate over mining was divided into three groups. Many local officials supported the mining operationbecause it would bring jobs and additional tax revenue.
Environmentalists were against it because they wereconcerned about the health hazards of miningradioactive material.
Legislators were a mixed bag. Area representativessupported the move, but a General Assembly committeelooking into the matter backed off approving mining operations.
Marline promised 900 jobs to start with, with numbersrising to 1,400 a few years after mining started. Addto that $1.3 million in tax revenues, according to1982 dollars, and Marline was a welcome sight to Pittsylvania County.
"There were a lot of people who were interested in thejobs it would bring," said A. Calvin Neal, whorepresented the Dan River District at that time. But Marline was not received as warmly by thoseconcerned over the potential damage to the environment.
"The tailings was what gave people a lot of problems,"Whitehead said. "That was the most concern - who wouldmonitor and look at it after the mining operation was over."
Norman Reynolds, president of Marline, said thecompany was aware of the hazards of tailings, and saiddisposing of them had changed since the 1940s and1950s, when it was dumped in a river or behind a mine.
Reynolds tried to build support for the project bysaying it could help the U.S. become less dependent onforeign energy sources. Opponents pointed out Reynoldswas a Canadian, and they countered that there was aglut of uranium in the market at that time and uraniumwasn't needed because nuclear power plant constructionwas on hold at that time.
"We're not saying the uranium should never be mined,"said Barbara Lambert of Stop Uranium Mining inVirginia, at the time.
Opposition to uranium mining also took the directionthat the company was promising more than it could deliver.
Jo Ann Spangler was a leader in Concerned Citizens ofPittsylvania and Henry County and a local industrialchemist who opposed uranium mining. She said that thepromise of new jobs was misleading.
"The jobs necessary for mining operations don't go tolocal people," she said in the July 22, 1982, editionof The Bee, due to the technical nature of the positions.
Staunton River District Supervisor Fred Ingramdescribed himself as "very pro-Marline" in the Dec.10, 1982, edition of The Bee. "This is an industry wecan definitely use to help our economy and create jobs."
Then Delegate Ken Calvert, R-Danville, saw no reasonto block Marline. He "would not support a moratoriumunless the study indicates that are some dangers .that I'm not aware of," he said in an article thatappeared in The Bee.
In the middle was Delegate Charles R. Hawkins, who was studying the issue.
"I'm still trying to be objective," Hawkins told TheBee. "Between the two extremes lies the truth. Peoplehere have a deep love of the land. The land means moreto them than money. If it can be proved there won't bedamage, they'll be for it."
That's one reason opponents favored a longermoratorium, so that it could be studied longer. Theyfelt local leaders were rushing into the mining operation haphazardly.
"The debate is the level at which they create toxiceffects, not that they are toxic," said Velma Smith, astaff member of the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environment Council.
Residents like Guyretta Motley of Sheva, who livednear the proposed mine site, wanted more information about the venture.
"I just came to find out more about it, really" shesaid in an Oct. 27, 1982, article in The Bee. "Itreally is kind of scary."
Paul Buonviri had moved to Chatham from a community inUtah where uranium was mined. Buonviri said he and hiswife, "have a lot of questions about it - we haven'tseen it done safely. The way they're talking aboutthat moratorium - that sounds fine to me."

Enough Cancer Already?

(From the Danville Register and Bee 10/09/2007)

To the editor:
I am writing in reference to the possibility of mininguranium in Pittsylvania County. Does anyone not thinkenough people have gotten cancer in the Dry Fork andChatham areas? I am talking about cancer that goesinto the late stages very fast. Just ask some of thehospice nurses that have patients in the area. Allmining this uranium would do would be to make itworse. For those who own that land, is there enoughmoney to cover your conscience when someone close toyou ends up with a cancer that cannot be curedstemming from one person who makes a bad decisionabout the disposal of the waste from mining?
One of the worst scenarios is that it is very sad tosay the people who would be mining would be the peoplewho either have no choice and need the job or someonewho just doesn't know any better.

TAMMY BROOKMAN
Danville

Expert Calls for "Complete" Study

(From Danville Register and Bee 10/07/2007)

To the editor:
I missed reading, "Can phenomenon bring safe uraniummining?" (Sept. 17, page A1) when it was firstpublished. In a recent conversation about thepossibility of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County,a friend told me, "I think it's going to happen and Ithink it should happen." When I suggested that herefrain from deciding until we know more about thebenefits and risks involved, he said, "The study hasbeen done. It was reported in the paper two weeksago." That evening I read the Sept. 17 story andwondered how my friend could possibly have drawn thatconclusion.
If my friend made this mistake, it's likely that otherpeople have, too. I am writing to state myunderstanding of the article. The scientist whose workis the subject of the article asked that people givescientists the time to study the Coles Hill uranium inthe ground where its scientific value lies. This seemslike a good idea to me.
The story was based on an interview with A.K. Sinha, asenior geologist at Virginia Tech, who said, "We thinkwe can learn something from this site that can beapplied to existing contaminated sites and nuclearwaste repositories. . Why didn't the uraniumphysically migrate into the water system, the riversand the ponds? We found it does not. . I think it'sworth a lot more investigation to discover more.
"At this point, no one - not Sinha or anyone else -knows how chemical reactions in the Coles Hill areaprevent uranium from migrating into the water system.The way to learn more about this is to study the siteas it is, without removing the uranium and disturbingthe process. As was reported, "if scientists canunderstand what is happening at Coles Hill beforemining begins or the unique geological features aredestroyed, it is possible to create a technology orscientific process that could make uranium mining safefor the world." I would be more cautious and say itmight be possible to create such a process; it is nota sure thing that research would lead to safe uraniummining either here or elsewhere in the world.
What Sinha and his associates have found so far is a"research challenge," not a solution to theenvironmental and health problems posed by uraniummining. Sinha acknowledged that Pittsylvania Countyuranium has a significant market value; that's oldnews. He tried to inform us that Pittsylvania Countyuranium also has a very significant scientific value.
Any rush to mine uranium here for its market valuewould destroy its scientific value.In contrast, fully investigating the science of thishighly unusual deposit offers the possibility of newinformation that could be used to reduce theenvironmental and health costs of any future mining inPittsylvania County, as well as help in the cleanup ofexisting contaminated mining sites in other areas.

M. KATHARINE WHITEHEAD

ChathamEditor's note: A native of Pittsylvania County,Whitehead served as the information officer for theUranium Administrative Group, established by the 1983Virginia General Assembly to study the costs andbenefits of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County.

And Adam Bit the Apple............

(From the Danville Register and Bee 09/19/2007)

To the editor:
The author of, "A lot has changed," (Sept. 14, pageA10) was most likely right when he said that"significant technological advances have taken placein uranium mining and tailings disposal over the past25 years." It had to change. Illness, death andenvironmental degradation are pretty bigattention-getters.
He further states that rather than emotionallyprejudging the issue using 25- to 40-year-oldinformation, he would hope that rational people coulddebate uranium mining and tailings disposal with anopen mind on its scientific, technological andeconomic merits. I have requested open - as opposed toprivate - dialogue with individuals and agencies. Iawait the opportunity for dialogue and debate.I tend to get emotional when I think of the mining ofuranium and mine tailings in my county.
I fail to seehow you can scientifically or technologically provethat it can be done safely. Our county has its ownunique hydrology, geology and topology. It hasn't beendone here before. This will occur in farming country!
By the way, where does the farming community stand onthis issue?So, that leaves us with economic merits.
That's fairlystraightforward. Those invested in the mining ofuranium and disposal of tailings will make a killing!(No pun intended). Those individuals, organizations,etc., who have "danced the dance" to make this happenwill make out well, too. I'm glad for them. I don'tthink the hospital will be helped, though. It may behard to recruit physicians to the area with uraniummining as the economic base.
In the long run, we will be Danville-PittsylvaniaCounty . you know, the place with the uranium mine.We'll have a big hole in the ground, radioactive wasteon site and truckloads of uranium headed east to portswhere it will be shipped to Third World countries.The letter's author says that we must all urge theGeneral Assembly to create the appropriate regulatorysystem and the necessary government structure forstrict enforcement of the regulations to allow miningto go forward. Who will pay for this department in ourcommonwealth? How much will it cost? Perhaps thenuclear power industry will help. Nothing like the foxwatching the hen house.
Why should we allow this? The letter says, "This Godgiven natural resource should be used to benefit thepeople of Sheva, Pittsylvania County, Virginia and therest of the country." For some unexplained reason,this brought to mind the story of Adam, Eve and theapple. Choices were made, paradise was lost. Perhapswe are not meant to eat this apple.

KAREN B. MAUTE
Mount Cross

She Experienced Uranium Environments

(From the Danville Register and Bee 09/08/2007)

To the editor:
Since I can speak from the experience of living in twoplaces that had the misfortune of having uranium, Imust urge the citizens of both Danville andPittsylvania County to vehemently oppose the idea ofuranium mining in our area.
When I worked for the Public Health Service inShiprock, N.M., I was amazed at the deaths of many45-year-old Navajo men who all had small-cellcarcinoma of the lung from working in uranium mines.
When I moved slightly north to Durango, Colo., I foundout about the uranium smelter on the edge of downtownthat left literally a mountain of uranium tailings,which leached into the Animas, San Juan, and thenColorado rivers of the Southwest. Inadvertently - orperhaps from stupidity - some of these tailings wereused for fill dirt for subdivisions in the 1950s. Inone small cul de sac, three children died fromleukemia due to exposure to uranium.
When I returned to this area in 1985, I opposedMarline's efforts to mine uranium and felt secure thatthe 25-year moratorium would protect this area fromthe devastating health care issues associated withuranium mining.What must be considered is who will work at theuranium mine, and will uranium be processed on site inPittsylvania County? Then the question arises of wherewill it be transported - and by what means - if it isprocessed elsewhere?
Can you imagine closing the Danville Expresswaybecause a tractor-trailer load of uranium turned overand dumped its contents on that important andexpensive transportation link to future Interstate785? Who is going to pay to clean up this spill . ofcourse, the American taxpayers!
Danville and Pittsylvania County have come a long wayin the past 21 years, which makes me proud to havereturned to my native roots here. The future of thisarea is quality of life so that the type of people wehope to recruit here will be glad to move to SouthsideVirginia. I don't know of any educated person orcorporate CEO who would select this area forrelocation if uranium mining is allowed.
This is a cheap, Third World fix for economic recoveryand robs our citizens of our most valuable resources,which are our rivers, forests, farms and people. Whatwill happen to the uranium mine when it's completed?The federal government can't even pay for the pastSuperfund sites, so why create a new one in ourbackyard? Please contact Gov. Timothy M. Kaine,Delegates Danny Marshall and Robert Hurt and membersof the Board of Supervisors to ask some of theseimportant questions.
I look forward to hearing their answers - before it'stoo late.

SUSAN STILWELL
Danville

Governor's Energy Plan Released

(From Danville Register and Bee 09/13/2007)

Uranium mining on hold for now
By REBECCA BLANTON

Virginia's uranium mining moratorium hasn'tbeen lifted - yet. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine did release a 180-page energyplan for the state at noon Wednesday. The plan is a proposal to promote the commonwealth'senergy independence and to educate consumers on energyconservation and efficiency. Many residents anticipated either an extension oroutright lifting of the moratorium, but while thegovernor's plan doesn't call for lifting themoratorium, it doesn't rule out mining in the future either.
"There are sufficient resources to support a uraniummining industry in Pittsylvania County with enough tomeet the fuel needs of Virginia's current generation,"the report states. "Significant work to assess therisk from mining and need for regulatory controls mustbe completed before any decision can be made whethersuch mining should take place."
The energy plan establishes four broad goals in fourstrategic areas for energy, including a study of nuclear technology.
The plan also includes goals to capitalize on economicdevelopment opportunities and to increase research anddevelopment in alternate transportation fuels, coastalenergy production, and carbon capture and storage. It's the nuclear technologies that have residentsconcerned and at least some opponents to miningrelieved to hear the moratorium wasn't lifted.
"I'm very pleased that a study will take place," saidEloise Nenon, a Chatham resident, who led theopposition to uranium mining in the county in the1980s.
"I am hoping for and we will ask for significantpublic participation in the (mining) study," she said."There are people who feel very strongly about this,with good scientific backgrounds, and we need to get the facts."
If the moratorium is lifted in the future,international mining companies have their eye on thelargest undeveloped uranium deposit in North America -Coles Hill, north of Chatham and south of Gretna inthe Banister District.

Mesa County approves uranium mine

(From the Aspen Times, Marija B. Vader, Grand Junction correspondent Aspen, CO
December 19, 2007)

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Mesa County commissioners Tuesday approved a conditional-use permit for an underground uranium mine five miles southwest of Gateway, Colo. The action reintroduces uranium mining to an area of far western Colorado with a rich uranium mining history dating to the 1940s. Gateway is south of Grand Junction, near the Utah border. In the 1990s, the price of uranium ore plummeted to between $8 and $10 per pound, prompting the closure of area uranium mines. Now, the price has reached $90 a pound, making it economically feasible to mine, according to Frank Filas, environmental manager for the mine, Energy Fuels Resources. Energy Fuels Resources would like to mine up to 200 tons of ore per day at its Whirlwind Mine, five miles outside of Gateway. Initially, the company plans to hire 10 to 12 people and haul up to 100 tons a day of uranium ore (HUH? Mr. Coles, Owner of Virginia Uranium Mining, Inc., says that he will create 400 - 700 jobs?? I don't think these folks know what they're talking about! Surely Mr. Coles, with his vast amount of uranium mining experience, knows best...), which would be trucked to a mill in Blanding, Utah, Filas said. The ore would not go through the town of Gateway, he said. The company would like to start mining next year. Eventually, Energy Fuels Resources may build its own mill in Colorado — in western Montrose County — a project that would cost an estimated $100 million and require at least a decade of jumping through regulatory hoops (These folks need to be in Virginia! Here, they could drill, test, store, create and hall waste, all without jumping through any hoops!), Filas said. The radioactive (THIS STUFF IS RADIOACTIVE?), milled ore is targeted for use at nuclear power plants and could be sold as far away as India and China (Don't we need it in America? Won't this end our energy dependence?), “but more than likely, domestic,” he said (Oh! Never mind...). The Bureau of Land Management is now preparing an environmental assessment on the project, said David Lehmann, natural resource specialist with the Grand Junction BLM office. Based on the results of the assessment, an environmental impact statement may be required, he said (Those darn regulatory hoops. Doesn't the government get it? It doesn't matter what the people want or what's good for the environment! All that matters is that these companies can mine uranium to make $$$. THAT'S good for the economy...).

Maute:Virginia Uranium Violates County Ordinance

SCC Cites Virginia Uranium for County Ordinance Violations

At the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night, SCC member Karen Maute cited numerous violations of the county’s Waste Ordinance by Coles’ Virginia Uranium, Inc. She spoke during the Citizens Input-section of the board’s meeting and, by custom, no response was forthcoming from the board members.

However, the cited violations of Chapter 29 of the Waste Ordinance appear to be obvious and serious and include:
· Article 1 defines “disposal” as “placing any solid waste ….into or on land or water so that said waste may enter the environment ( i.e. air, soil, surface water or ground-water). The current storage method in a tin shed seems to meet the criteria specified.
· Article 3, Section 3.0 requires anyone disposing of “commercial waste…hazardous waste…low-level radioactive waste…nuclear waste…solid waste…toxic waste…etc” to first obtain approval of the board of supervisors. This has not been done.
· Section 3.2 requires a public hearing, of which none has been held.
· Page 18 requires that any drill cuttings whose radioactive readings are in excess of the immediate background surface readings must be removed from the site for appropriate disposal or storage, or, buried no less than 3 feet below ground surface to insure that the radiation readings are the same or no less than background surface readings. Since VUI expects the cuttings to be above surface level readings, this puts their on-site storage of cutting material in violation of the Waste Ordinance?
SCC Chairman Jack Dunavant stated today that he will provide members of the board, the county administrator, and the ordinance compliance personnel with printed copies of the complaint. “We expect that the county elected and appointed officials will exercise due diligence and perform their duties as per the counties own regulations”, he continued. No court action is anticipated at this time.

$500 Million Sought for Uranium Mine Cleanup

(From the Los Angeles Times 10/24/2007)

Navajos Seek Funds to Clear Uranium ContaminationBy Judy Pasternak

Tribal officials ask Congress for $500 million to deal with wastes left by mining for bombs, nuclear power plants.
Washington - Navajo tribal officials asked Congress on Tuesday for at least $500 million to finish cleaning up lingering contamination on the Navajo reservation in the American Southwest from Cold War-era uranium mining, an industry nurtured by its only customer until 1971: the United States government.
The tribe also sought a moratorium on new mining in Navajo country, which extends beyond the formal reservation borders into New Mexico, until environmental damage from the last round is repaired.
The requests came at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, marked by angry exchanges between the members and officials from five federal agencies with varying degrees of responsibility for protecting Navajo health and the environment.
Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) instructed the agencies - the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs - to return in December with a list of the money and authority they need to finally finish the job.
"It's been a bipartisan failure for over 40 years," Waxman said. "It's also a modern American tragedy."
Waxman scheduled the hearing in response to a Los Angeles Times series, published last year, detailing the effects of mine waste on Navajos who built their homes with it, played in it and regularly drank toxic water for decades. Exposure continues today, as cleanup efforts remain fitful and incomplete.
The nation's largest tribal homeland, encompassing parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, contains about 1,000 abandoned uranium mines and four old processing mills. From 1944 to 1986, 3.9 million tons of uranium ore were blasted from Navajo soil, nearly all of it for nuclear bombs. After 1971, utilities also bought uranium for nuclear power plants.
The mine operators often left behind open tunnels, shafts and piles of radioactive waste. Federal inspectors knew of the hazards but seldom intervened. Meanwhile, Navajo cancer rates doubled and certain birth defects increased.
Tuesday's hearing came almost 14 years after the House Natural Resources Committee heard a plea from the tribe's frustrated environment director for "speedy, thorough and permanent remediation of all sites."
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) called on agencies to "focus and accelerate clean-up efforts," capping the 40 most dangerous open mines, limiting groundwater contamination and conducting human-health surveys.
Some House members were visibly displeased by some of the responses to their questions. When EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri said he needed "time" to protect a Navajo community from a radioactive waste pile abandoned 25 years ago, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) snapped: "Time passes, Mr. Nastri. People get sick. They get bone cancer, they get leukemia while we wait."
Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) asked BIA Director Jerry Gidner if he believed that the United States had fulfilled its pledge to protect the Navajos' welfare.
"That's hard to say," Gidner answered.
"Hard to say?" Udall said. "I would think that you'd be outraged."

SCC Files Complaint with Health Department

Southside Concerned Citizens' Chairman Jack Dunavant announced today that he had filed a complaint with the Virginia State Health Department at the department's Danville District Office (434-836-8416). The complaint, filed on behalf of SCC, regards acquifer contamination from the proposed exploratory well drilling that has already been approved by state officials.

This drilling is to occur at the Coles Hill, Chatham location, less than 6 miles from Chatham and in the Roanoke River Basin- defined watershed area. Additionally, one river and 3 creeks run through the area as well as groundwaters.
-30-
Comment contacts: Jack Dunavant 434-476-6648
Eloise Nenon 434-432-4381

From: John Chaney, Publicity Committee, SCC john_chaney@hotmail.com 434-432-4019

Canadian Money $$ in Local Mining Venture

The Canadian Connection?

(Following is from http://rudeclerk.blogspot.com/ )

"Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Canadian Buy in Virginia Uranium
Update: Are Virginia Beach residents stakeholders? I neglected to reference the related uranium enrichment article from the Register Bee:
Virginia Beach, which gets one-third of its drinking water from Lake Gaston and other bodies of water that are fed from the same watershed where potential uranium leaching could occur, could be affected by uranium mining in Pittsylvania County if safety measures don’t measure up.Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) owns 100% interest in the Coles Hill deposit in Pittsylvania County, the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in the United States.Canadian firm Aberdeen International Inc. has announced its bet on VUI:
As part of a $19,000,000 private placement by VUI, Aberdeen International has acquired 666,667 Special Warrants priced at $1.50, for an aggregate investment of $1,000,000. Each Special Warrant entitles Aberdeen to acquire one common share of VUI for no additional consideration. In the event that VUI does not complete an IPO by the date that is four months following the closing of the financing, the Special Warrant shall be exercisable for 1.1 VUI common shares.
According to Aberdeen Chair, Stan Bharti, "Virginia has the potential to move to production relatively quickly as a source of domestic uranium supply not currently being met with other producers in the USA."
Aberdeen recent trading activity is interesting. Here's more from the article about Aberdeen International Inc.:
Aberdeen International Inc. is a publicly traded global investment and merchant banking company focused on small cap companies in the resource sector. Aberdeen will seek to acquire significant equity participation in pre-IPO and/or early stage public resource companies with undeveloped or undervalued high-quality resources. Aberdeen will focus on companies that: (i) are in need of managerial, technical and financial resources to realize their full potential; (ii) are undervalued in foreign capital markets; and (iii) operate in jurisdictions with moderate local political risk. Aberdeen will seek to provide value-added managerial and board advisory services to companies. The Company's intention will be to optimize the return on its investment over an 18 to 24 month investment time frame.
Posted by Kathy at 6:12 AM "

Jumping Off Cliffs

IF YOUR FRIENDS JUMP OFF A CLIFF, WILL YOU FOLLOW?

That’s the question that my Mom used to ask me when I was about to do something foolish. It was a good question then and it’s a good question for all of us to ask ourselves now.

Walter Coles has started a company, Virginia Uranium, Inc. to “…persuade local, state and federal officials to allow all uranium buried beneath Coles Hill to be mined, milled and sold to nuclear power plants,” according to Scott Harper, reporter for the Virginia Pilot*. In case you don’t know, Coles Hill is located 6 miles outside of Chatham, VA and around the same distance to Gretna, VA. This is in Pittsylvania County where around 50,000 souls live. Another 50,000 people live in the City of Danville just 30 miles down the road.
The article continues: “Uranium mining in the United States has been conducted almost exclusively in dry, Western states.”
“ Today, the focus is mostly in Wyoming, Texas, Utah and Nebraska”, industry officials said. “The industry's early history, dating to the 1950s, is disastrous, filled with horror stories about sickened workers, homes built from uranium tailings that led to cancer deaths, and failing lagoons that leaked radioactive wastes into public waterways.”
Coles’ reaction? “Coles and others insist that those bad days are long gone and that the industry has become smarter and safer with advances in environmental technology and worker safety.” I cannot find where Mr. Coles and others have shared this miracle technology. It must be very special if it can anticipate every possible calamity that may happen especially when “…the East Coast is vastly different from the West, from the weather to the natural environment, and that mining here is untested and too risky.”
My Mom also made sure that I learned the meaning of important words. Here’s one, ACCIDENT. According to Webster’s Dictionary, an accident is: “A HAPPENING THAT IS NOT PLANNED OR EXPECTED”
Coles is quoted as saying: "I could have sold out and moved to Florida, but I'm staying here. I'd live right here with the mine just down the road. I want to make this happen." Mr. Coles, you have 10,000,000,000 (that’s 10 Billion Dollar$) reasons for saying this!
Mr. Coles, are you asking me to jump over the cliff with you? Am I supposed to take comfort in the fact that: "Somehow we've managed just fine these past five generations.” Mr. Coles said this “with a wry chuckle.” Does mining uranium on your property only affect you and your family? Forgive me if I don’t take great comfort in this.
I have really tried to understand this issue through researching the web. I find only horror stories, tragedy, and broken communities. We should ALL, especially our politicians that are sitting on the fence, educate ourselves to this issue. If you feel, as I do, that the moratorium on uranium mining needs to stay in place in our great commonwealth, please join Southside Concerned Citizens. For more information and to find out how, please go to sccchatham.blogspot.com.
Mr. Coles, my Mom did not raise a fool. I will not willingly go over this cliff with you!

Gregg Vickrey
232 N. Main St.,
Chatham, VA 24531
(434) 432-1244
*To read the entire article by Scott Harper, go to http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1Y1-111415142.html