Keep uranium mining out of area

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 10:28 AM EDT

Cancer is a devastating and heartbreaking disease which none of us want to have.As everyone knows it can be a debilitating illness that robs one of their health and drains them financially and emotionally.

In Pittsylvania County there is a proposal for a uranium mine and milling to be in operation on Coles Hill.When the mining is done and the leftover products (tailings) are piled high in the air, we are wide open for cancer-causing agents.This will greatly increase our chances of lung and bone cancer along with leukemias and fibrosis of the lung (scarring).They will be blown by the wind for thousands of miles and will affect many people.

It will come to us in the form of radioactive fallout in the rain, snow and dust. This in turn will affect our water and vegetation.Not only will there be a dose from breathing, but also from the foods we eat and the water we drink.The Banister River will be exposed to the seepage from the tailing which will get into the river and travel from Virginia Beach to North Carolina.Low-level radiation is implicated in birth defects, high infant mortality and chronic lung, eye skin and reproductive illness.

Help us all to stay healthier. Keep mining out of the area.

Sue Poe
Gretna