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