Key Food, Biofuel Crop Sorghum's Genome Deciphered

Comment: We grow Sorghum, another way for Energy!

WASHINGTON - Scientists have deciphered the genetic make-up of sorghum, a drought-tolerant crop and important food and biofuel source, and said the breakthrough could help develop better crops for arid regions.

Sorghum is one of the world's leading cereals, along with corn, wheat, oats and barley, and can thrive in hot, dry conditions other crops cannot tolerate.

An international scientific team, writing in the journal Nature on Wednesday, mapped the genome which includes about 30,000 genes.

They said this new understanding could point to ways of creating even more drought-tolerant types while providing a blueprint for developing, through breeding or genetic engineering, improved forms of other crops such as corn.

Molecular biologist Joachim Messing of Rutgers University in New Jersey, one of the researchers, described in a telephone interview visiting a farm in Mozambique last year.

"You should have seen the maize (corn) growing there, how poorly it did, and then see sorghum just across from it standing tall and green and resistant to disease and drought."

Because sorghum is closely related to corn, the researchers said transferring some of its traits to corn could improve its value as a food and biofuel crop.

A variety called grain sorghum is a food staple in Africa and India. Another variety called sweet sorghum has a stem similar to sugar cane.

Sorghum is a superior biofuel source to corn because the entire plant can be used, not just the grain. Grain sorghum produces the same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn while needing a third less water.

"This is an important step on the road to the development of cost-effective biofuels made from non-food plant fiber," said Anna Palmisano, the U.S. Department of Energy's associate director of science for biological and environmental research.

"Sorghum is an excellent candidate for biofuels production, with its ability to withstand drought and prosper on more marginal land," she said in a statement.

"The fully sequenced genome will be an indispensable tool for researchers seeking to develop plant variants that maximize these benefits."

Annual worldwide production of sorghum, at about 60 million tons, is less than the other major cereal crops.

Radiation Exposure

Comment: FYI!

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/radiationexposure.html

Radiation is energy that travels in the form of waves or high-speed particles. It occurs naturally in sunlight and sound waves. Man-made radiation is used in X-rays, nuclear weapons, nuclear power plants and cancer treatment.

If you are exposed to small amounts of radiation over a long time, it raises your risk of cancer.

It can also cause mutations in your genes, which you could pass on to any children you have after the exposure.

A lot of radiation over a short period, such as from a radiation emergency, can cause burns or radiation sickness. Symptoms of radiation sickness include nausea, weakness, hair loss, skin burns and reduced organ function.

If the exposure is large enough, it can cause premature aging or even death. You may be able to take medicine to reduce the radioactive material in your body.

Environmental Protection Agency

Uranium(Environmental Protection Agency) - http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/uranium.html

School Kids' Wind and Balloon Experiment Yields Interesting Results

These photos were taken on
December 03, 2008 as part of a science experiment to see how far the wind would take the balloons from Coles Hill.

Six children participated. We have just been releasing a few balloons when the Weather Channel show different ways the winds are blowing or the different pressure systems coming through. We attached a laminated card to each balloon saying it was part of a youth science experiment and gave a number to call and both a physical and email address for the finders to write to.

It was interesting that we received an email from Belasco Drive, Richmond, VA (125 miles per Mapquest) and a call from Haw River NC (75 miles per Mapquest). It took the balloon approximately 4hours to reach each place.

It's Up To The People to Protect Themselves!

This is Thomas A. Linzey's response to the Opinion of the Attorney General regarding chemical trespass ordinances in Southside and in Virginia. Mr. Linzey, an attorney, is the Executive Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Shireen Parsons is the tireless local CELDF representative so deeply involved in Southside's anti-uranium fight.

The Star-Tribune (Chatham)

December 3, 2008

[To the editor:]

Regarding the Nov. 26 article, "Attorney general opinion says chemical trespass ordinance unconstitutional, " it's hard to be surprised by the actions of Virginia's state government any more.

In many ways, this sort of foolishness is to be expected. It's as if Attorney General McDonnell has forgotten who he works for, or what the Virginia Constitution actually says.

Article I, Section 2 of the Virginia Constitution declares that "all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people."

Article XI, Section 1 declares that "it shall be the Commonwealth' s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth. "

Article I, Section 3, declares that, "government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation or community... and whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it."

In short, Mr. McDonnell, you need to remember that you work for, and are responsible to, the citizens of Virginia.

A pattern has emerged across these United States - one in which communities have stopped hoping that state governments will help them instead of a wealthy few.

In acts of self-defense, they've begun enacting local laws to protect their families, their health and their environment.

But instead of being applauded for doing what's right, they're rebuked by state officials for taking their future into their own hands.

In Pennsylvania, for example, not only does the attorney general rebuke them, but he sues them under an agribusiness- drafted bill that was passed into state law several years ago.

In one of his recent lawsuits against a community, he actually asserts that "there is no inalienable right to local self-government. "

Something smells rotten - and it's not an odor that can be eliminated by simply electing new legislators.

It's a putrid stench caused by more than a hundred years of law - a legal structure that asserts that a corporate few have more rights than the citizens of the communities in which they operate.

Recognizing that, Pennsylvania citizens have begun throwing the state out of their local governments - in one community, the citizens have gone so far as to revoke the jurisdiction of the attorney general within their municipality.

It's time for Virginia citizens to do the same.

Because the state government has failed to protect their health, safety and welfare, the citizens must stand up and exercise their local governing authority.

If they don't, one thing is clear: the future of their communities will be bleak.

It's for the people to decide what's constitutional and what's not. It is, after all, their Constitution.

Thomas A. Linzey, Esq.

Executive Director
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund
Chambersburg, Pa.

URANIUM MINING IN VIRGINIA?

FACING SOUTH - Online Magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies (Durham, NC)

(links are live and interesting...SB)

A company that wants to mine radioactive uranium in rural Virginia successfully lobbied a state commission for a study of the matter after the legislature refused over public health concerns.

Members of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission unanimously approved a motion [pdf] last month asking the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech to join with the National Academy of Sciences "or other comparable scientific or academic institutions" to study the impact of uranium mining in the state. The motion also calls for public hearings on the practice, which Virginia has banned for the past 25 years.

The study was requested by Virginia Uranium, a privately held company seeking to overturn the state ban so it can mine and mill uranium for nuclear power plants on a 200-acre site near the farming community of Coles Hill in Virginia's Pittsylvania County. The site lies just north of the City of Danville, Va. and near the border with North Carolina's Rockingham and Caswell counties.

Formed two years ago, Virginia Uranium belongs mostly -- 78% -- to the Coles and Bowen families that own the farmland where the uranium was found three decades ago. Private investors hold another 12% of the company, while employees, managers and directors own 10%.

The Pittsylvania County site is believed to represent the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States and the seventh largest in the world. It holds an estimated 60,000 tons -- enough uranium to power all the commercial nuclear power plants in the country for about two years.

The company estimates the ore's long-term value at about $10 billion.

COMPANY CONTRIBUTED TO COMMISSION MEMBERS WHO OK'D STUDY

Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine supports a uranium mining study, which also won the approval of the state's Democratic-controlled Senate. But the Republican-led House defeated the proposal after hearing the concerns of a GOP delegate who represents constituents that get their drinking water from the targeted area.

As the Washington Post observes, Virginia lawmakers' comfort with uranium mining seems to increase with their distance from it:

The issue divided legislators along geographic lines rather than partisan ones. Many who represent areas where uranium has been found or whose drinking water could be affected voted against it, and many from other regions, including Northern Virginia, voted for it. The Coles Hill area supplies drinking water locally and to parts of Hampton Roads and North Carolina.

Virginia Uranium has vigorously lobbied state legislators to support the study. During the last legislative session, the company paid almost $100,000 to 15 lobbyists to try to get the uranium mining study approved, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. When those efforts didn't work, the company pursued the study through the Coal and Energy Commission, whose members are appointed by the state House and Senate leadership and the governor.

Several members of the commission that approved the study also received campaign contributions from Virginia Uranium, VPAP data shows. The Commission's vice chair, state Sen. John Watkins of Richmond, got $1,000 on June 11. Other commission members who took contributions from the company were state Senate President Pro Tem Charles Colgan of Manassas ($1,000 on June 30), Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach ($2,000 on June 10), and Delegate Timothy Hugo of Fairfax County (two $500 installments on Jan. 4 and Jan. 8).

In all, Virginia Uranium contributed almost $30,000 to Virginia state legislators this year.

A LEGACY OF DISEASE AND DEATH

Company officials say they believe the Pittsylvania County uranium can be mined safely. Other proponents of the plan have gone so far as to dismiss worries about uranium mining as exaggerated. They include Max Schulz, a senior fellow with the free-market Manhattan Institute and a former speechwriter for U.S. Energy Secretaries Samuel Bodman and Spencer Abraham, who penned an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal in which he called uranium mining "relatively harmless":

Handled properly, the yellowcake that is extracted is no more hazardous than regular household chemicals (and unlike coal, it won't smolder and combust).

James Kelly, who directed the nuclear engineering program at the University of Virginia for many years, says that fears about uranium mining are wildly overblown. "It's an aesthetic nightmare, but otherwise safe in terms of releasing any significant radioactivity or pollution," he told me. "It would be ugly to look at, but from the perspective of any hazard I wouldn't mind if they mined across the street from me."

But the record shows that uranium mining is not as environmentally benign as Schulz would have us believe. While it's true that the yellowcake ore is not as radioactive as processed uranium, the way in which it's extracted from the earth and turned into a useable product has a record of creating serious health problems for miners as well as nearby communities, including:

* Chromosome abnormalities in residents of Karnes County, Texas, where uranium was mined commercially starting in the 1950s;

* An increase in birth defects in babies born to mothers who lived near a uranium mine waste dump in New Mexico;

* Excess risk of cancer mortality in communities near uranium mills in Spain; and

* An increase in lung cancer risk for residents living near uranium mines in Germany.

Uranium mining also presents a serious threat to drinking water, as illustrated by the disaster that took place at Church Rock, N.M. in 1979, just 14 weeks after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.

On July 16 of that year, at a uranium mining and milling complex owned by the Virginia-based United Nuclear Corporation, a state-of-the-art dam holding uranium mining waste burst, sending more than 1,100 tons of the toxic discards known as "tailings" and 90 million gallons of contaminated liquid into the Rio Puerco River. Once an important drinking water source for nearby Navajo communities, the river remains dangerously contaminated today.

Uranium mining's impact on drinking water is a concern for Virginia as well -- especially given a climate far wetter than the desert Southwest. In Virginia Beach, for example, officials recently announced their opposition to the mining plan over concerns that a tropical storm or hurricane could breach the mine waste impoundments, polluting downstream waterways including Lake Gaston, the city's drinking water source.

Environmental groups also oppose the uranium mining plans for Virginia. They include the Southern Environmental Law Center, Piedmont Environmental Council, Southside Concerned Citizens, the Virginia Conservation Network and the Sierra Club.

By Sue Sturgis on December 3, 2008 10:23 AM

http://www.southernstudies.org/2008/12/uranium-mining-in-virginia.html

Professor Addresses Mining Impact [in Chatham]

It is my understanding that Dr. Brugge, when asked if he'd live in Pittsylvania Co. near the mine answered "No" and that he also said he'd not let his daughter drink water from any of the wells in the mining area. I'm surprised that Mr. Crane neglected to include those items in his article.

Published: November 8, 2008

By John Crane

CHATHAM — Uranium mining in the Southwest after WWII caused health and environmental ruin among the Navajos, but the impact of mining uranium ore in Southside Virginia remains to be seen, according to a Harvard-educated professor from Tufts University.

Douglas M. Brugge, associate professor in Tufts University Medical School’s Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, spoke to more than 100 people at the Community Center in Chatham on Saturday night. The Dan River Basin Association sponsored the event.

Brugge said he doesn’t know how Virginia Uranium Inc. will mine a deposit at Coles Hill, and he doesn’t know enough about the area’s hydrogeology to determine the effects of mining and milling in Pittsylvania County. The weather and geology are different in the Southwest, where about 6,000 people in Utah who suffered the effects of uranium mining and milling have been compensated under the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, he said.

Businesses mined uranium in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and left behind a mess, Brugge said.

“Uranium waste, tailings (and) low-grade ore were left exposed and not dealt with in a careful manner,” Brugge said.

Brugge outlined a history of uranium mining in the Southwest and the known health effects of the practice. Just after WWII, the federal government was the sole legal buyer of uranium in the United States, and that generated a mining boom in the Southwest, Brugge said. But up to 25 years after it ended, tailings and abandoned mines can still be found in the backyards of Navajos, with children playing among the waste, Brugge said as he showed photos.

Uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years and goes through a decaying process, changing back-and-forth from uranium to thorium and to radon. Those exposed to uranium are exposed to a number of substances, Brugge said.

“Radon is an exquisitely potent … carcinogen,” he said, adding that it is known to cause lung cancer. However, it’s more hazardous in confined spaces and doesn’t travel in the air for long distances, he said.

Most of the bad health effects of uranium come from heavy-metal toxicity, Brugge said. Preliminary results of research currently performed by one of Brugge’s graduate students show kidney damage and birth defects among people living in proximity to uranium on the Navajo reservation.

It is among mine workers that health consequences of uranium are most strongly proven, he said.

Also, a lab study found that uranium can cause genetic mutations and has estrogenic compounds that can feminize male animals, Brugge said. Effects on humans in that regard are not clear, he said.

“It’s worrisome and definitely worthy of further investigation,” Brugge said.

Other, more solidly known health effects in humans include radium causing bone cancer and leukemia and arsenic resulting in lung and skin cancers, Brugge said.

Henry Hurt, an investor in VUI, attended the presentation and said Brugge’s speech proved points that the company has emphasized.

“The lessons learned have led to advances in tailings management” and tighter regulations, Hurt said. What happened to the Navajos decades ago is an example of how not to mine and mill uranium, Hurt said.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/professor_addresses_mining_impact/7344/

Speaker to Discuss Effects of Uranium -- Chatham Community Center -- Saturday, Nov. 8, 7:00 pm

Folks, this is an extraordinary opportunity to have local ostriches and doubters hear the bad news about the health effects of uranium mining from someone who speaks with authority. Spread the word to everyone you know! The Chatham Community Center should be packed to capacity Saturday night!


By TIM DAVIS/Chatham Star-Tribune Editor

The Dan River Basin Association will sponsor a free educational program on the health effects of uranium mining Saturday, Nov. 8.

Douglas M. Brugge will speak about the effects of uranium mining and milling on human health at 7 p.m. at Chatham Community Center.

Brugge (pronounced "Briggy") is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

His credentials include a doctorate in cellular and developmental biology from Harvard University and a master's degree in industrial hygiene from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Brugge also testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about uranium issues in 2007.

A question-and-answer session will follow Brugge's talk.

Katherine Mull, executive director of the Dan River Basin Association, said she hopes Brugge's program will expand residents' knowledge on uranium issues.

"There's a lot we don't know," she said. "We're just trying to bring in experts to present good, factual information."

Mull said the association hopes to present a future program on ground and surface water migration.

Annette Ayres, a volunteer with the association, learned about Brugge after contacting a college in New Mexico while trying to find more information about the effects of uranium mining and milling.

Ayres later learned that Brugge worked on a health study about natural uranium exposure.

Asking him to speak about his study and his experiences, she said, seemed like one way to help residents find answers.

"It's a rare opportunity for residents and local officials to ask questions of a respected public health scientist who has done extensive research about this issue," Ayres said.

Saturday's program is free and open to the public.

http://www.wpcva.com/chatham/

Few present at uranium seminar, SCC undaunted

By John Crane, Danville Register & Bee

Published: October 10, 2008

Just a half-dozen Brosville area residents showed up for a uranium mining education seminar Friday night at Brosville Elementary School.

Gregg Vickrey, the seminar’s presenter and chairman of the Chatham/Pittsylvania County chapter of Southside Concerned Citizens, is still undaunted.

“We don’t have a whole lot of people here, but the people who are here are important to us,” Vickrey said.

Vickrey and the SCC oppose plans by Virginia Uranium Inc. to mine and mill a uranium deposit on Coles Hill about six miles northeast of Chatham. Uranium mining has been banned in Virginia since the early 1980s, but Virginia Uranium is calling for a study to determine whether uranium mining can be done safely in the commonwealth.

Vickrey linked former Danville Delegate Whitt Clement to VUI and its mining ambitions in the area, citing an Oct. 21, 2007, article in The Virginian-Pilot.

According to the article, Clement asked state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, to attach uranium mining to his 2006 energy bill. Wagner said he put in the amendment and referred to Clement as “an old friend and colleague,” Vickrey cited from the story.

Clement said Thursday there was no lobbying to have the item added to the state’s energy plan. He also said he supports a uranium mining study.

Brosville resident Cindy Johnson said residents have told her mining and milling will not touch the community, but she opposes the plan because of potential health problems.

“What’s in the air is going to affect everybody,” Johnson said.

Her husband, Matthew Johnson, said mining would hamper economic development in the area.

“What concerns me is the future of the city,” he said. “Companies want to come here, but if they know there’s going to be uranium mining here, they won’t come here.”

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/
few_present_at_uranium_seminar_scc_undaunted/6750/

A Re-Print: Alarm Bells Are Ringing [Re: Uranium Mining], Will Virginia Residents Heed Their Warning?

The following letter by SCC member, and medical professional, Anne Cockrell (Danville, VA) has been published in at least a couple of local newspapers. Sadly, though, the papers, for whatever reason, did not publish Anne's sources for the statements she's made. Since VUI investors and Team Members consistently claim that SCC members make statements regarding health problems and environmental issues for which there is no substantiation or quoted source, we thought it only fair that we reprint Anne's article here, including her sources, one of which is VUI's own Prospectus, the document it prepared in order to entice investors when it incorporated in Canada.

Our thanks to Anne for her hard work in documenting her information so well and for letting us reprint her entire letter here.

Please note that information in italics and a different color print are original emphases.

To the Editor:

Before Virginia considers lifting its moratorium on the mining and milling of uranium, critical questions need to be asked and thoroughly answered.

I have many, but here are two sets of questions dealing with health risks and water usage. (Does Virginia Uranium Inc. have any answers to add to mine?):

1) Will radiation, emanating from the huge piles of tailings, those produced by a uranium mining and milling facility, operating over a 30-year period, create health risks for Virginia residents? Will the health risks be mine site-specific or a statewide concern?

...Scientist Dr. Gordon Edwards recently wrote, “Uranium ore bodies are among the deadliest mineral deposits on earth. They harbor large quantities of dangerous radioactive materials” (pacificfreepress.com). Radium, a decay product of uranium commonly found in uranium mine tailings piles, has been labeled by the British Columbia Medical Association as a superb carcinogen because microscopic quantities can cause bone and head cancers, anemia, and leukemia. Polonium-210, which is as radioactive as uranium and a billion times more toxic than cyanide, is a by-product of uranium mining and found in mine tailings. A uranium mine releases radon, which blankets the ground hundreds of miles downwind from a uranium mine as solid radioactive fallout." (http://www.nunnglow.com/impacts/)

About a ton of ore is required to extract two pounds of uranium. Huge quantities of pulverized rock (uranium tailings) are left over from the milling process. They contain thorium, radium, and all the other uranium by-products and retain 85 per cent of the ore's original radioactivity. The tailings give off at least 10,000 times as much radon gas as the undisturbed ore. Radon atoms produced inside hard rock have a low chance to escape from the grain, but when the rock is pulverized, radon gas escapes easily. (http://www.radonseal.com/radon-facts.htm#minesfallout)

In 2005, the US National Academy of Sciences* released results of a study reporting: “There is no safe level of exposure to radiation—that even very low doses can cause cancer. Risks from low dose radiation are equal or greater than previously thought". (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Dr.Gordon+Edwards,+uranium+mining+radiation+dangers&start=10&sa=N)

*Note: This is the very same science academy, named in Senate Bill 525, which would have been tapped to perform the study to determine if uranium mining and milling could be done safely in the state of Virginia. Senate Bill 525 was defeated March 3, 2008 by a House Panel of the Virginia General Assembly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR2008030302815.html?nav=emailpage

2) Will a uranium mining & milling facility require large volumes of water to operate? How much and from where? Will the Banister River, running east of the proposed Coles Hill mine, be utilized as the mine's main water supply? Will downstream Raleigh, N.C. (Kerr Lake Reservoir) and Virginia Beach (Lake Gaston) residents, mind sharing their drinking water with a uranium mine? Considering the drought conditions the south experiences most years during the summer, will there be enough water for all on the receiving end? Will it be safe to drink?

From the 2005 World Nuclear Association Symposium Proceedings (a pro-nuclear group): "...Most uranium mines are power and water intensive, so that delivering the required wattage and volumes to site become a major cost centre. This is especially significant when development of a mine means the introduction of power and water to a region. While site-specific power can be installed, the energy source still needs to arrive at site (e.g. diesel fuel for on-site power generation). Similarly, while water treatment, recycle and discharge (also specific cost centres) are designed around water usage optimization, an initial water source must be introduced to site such that water transport systems can service base load water requirements for the life-of-mine." (Garrow, Dustin. Limitations to Progress in Developing Uranium Resources, http://www.world-nuclear.org/sym/subindex.htm

Towns and cities (Halifax, Clarkesville, Raleigh, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. etc.) and their drinking water sources, downstream from the proposed Coles Hill mine, can be viewed online by googling: Piedmont Environmental Council, Hot Issues and, then, Uranium Mining Maps. http://www.pecva.org/

Available data indicate that radium concentrations in the discharge waters of a producing mine tend to increase substantially as the ore body is developed. Whereas natural background radium concentrations are generally about several picocuries/liter (pCi/l), 100 to 150 pCi/l appear in the effluents of operating mines. The discharge of such highly contaminated mine effluents to streams and seepage from tailings ponds, creates a long-lived source of ground-water contamination.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

In addition to the leaking of contaminants from tailings management facilities (TMFs) and waste-rock storage sites, uranium mines and mills release radioactive (principally uranium), hazardous (e.g. heavy metals) and conventional (e.g. total suspended solids) contaminants to groundwater and surface water through discharges of mill and mine waters, and general run-off from mine sites. (http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/ClearingAir_UraniumMining.pdf)

One last question: Should all Virginia residents be concerned about the proposed Coles Hill mine or just those living in close proximity, namely the quaint town of Chatham?

According to the Canadian IPO (Initial Public Offering) of Virginia Uranium Ltd:

Virginia Uranium Ltd. was incorporated on August 31, 2007 under the laws of the Yukon Territory [Canada] to invest and to actively participate in the management, business and operations of Virginia Uranium Inc. ("Holdco") through its representation on the board of Holdco and its shared management with Holdco. Holdco is focused on the exploration and development of significant uranium deposits located in the southern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States... Holdco's goal is to become a significant producer of uranium through the development and construction of a mining and milling operation at the Coles Hill Property. If developed and permitted, the Coles Hill Property would be the first uranium mine in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Holdco will commence a regional exploration and acquisition program to target and acquire both new and historic uranium prospects in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. http://ipo.investcom.com/cgi-bin/ipodetails1.cgi?ID=1&string=Virginia+Uranium+Ltd&exact=yes&com=yes

Taking VUI at its word, not only will the Coles Hill mine be its "first" uranium mine in Virginia, but it will "target and seek both new and historic prospects in Pittsylvania County."

Pittsylvania County is a big county--Virginia's largest land mass county. Where will VUI explore next after Coles Hill? Once the state's moratorium is lifted, what's to keep other mining corporations (foreign or domestic) from following Virginia Uranium Inc.'s lead and opening additional mines, since we're reportedly uranium-rich in Southside Virginia?

Even if the old mineral leases (approx. 466) Marline held with Virginia landowners in the early 80s have expired, does this mean uranium is no longer on those properties?

Folks, alarm bells are ringing, will Virginia residents heed their warning?

A proposed uranium mine isn't just Chatham's little problem, it's a statewide issue that should be given grave consideration.

Anne Cockrell

Southside Concerned Citizen Member

Danville, Virginia

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Additional website info, if above webpages do not open:

1) http://www.nunnglow.com/impacts/ Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction, In-Situ Leaching (ISL) Impacts: Spills, Leaks, and Excursions are Common Hazards of In-Situ Uranium Mining

2) Radon and Radioactivity - Facts and Controversies

Radon mitigation stacks, radon potions, health risk controversies, radon in tobacco, radioactive fallout, radiation experiments, nuclear accidents.
www.radonseal.com/radon-facts.htm - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

3) Good evening … let me introduce myself … my name is John Kittle

File Format: Microsoft Word - View as HTML
In 2005, the US National Academy of Sciences released results of a study reporting: ... Dr. Gordon Edwards, founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear ...
www.lakemississippi.ca/Almonte%20V3%20speech.doc - Similar pages

4) House Panel Rejects Study of Uranium Mining - washingtonpost.com

RICHMOND, March 3 -- Lawmakers concerned about land, air and drinking water contamination killed a proposal Monday that would have allowed a study of ...
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/ AR2008030302815.html - Similar pages

5) World Nuclear Association Symposium Proceedings

Uranium Institute Symposia Home Page.
www.world-nuclear.org/sym/index.htm - 3k - Cached - Similar pages

6) Piedmont Environmental Council of Virgina (PECVA) - Piedmont ...

Promotes and protects the Virginia Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty.
www.pecva.org/ - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

7) Effects of Uranium Mining and Milling on Ground Water in the Grants Mineral Belt, New Mexico
RF Kaufmann, GG Eadie, CR Russell - Ground Water, 1976 - Blackwell Synergy
Effects of Uranium Mining and Milling on Ground Water in the Grants Mineral Belt,
New Mexico by Robert F. Kaufmann, Gregory G. Eadie, and Charles R. Russell3 ...
Cited by 7 - Related articles - Web Search - All 4 versions

8) Uranium Mining:

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Uranium Mining: Nuclear Power’s Dirty Secret | The Pembina Institute | 1. Pembina Institute’s Life Cycle Study of Nuclear Power. Uranium Mining: ...
pubs.pembina.org/reports/ClearingAir_UraniumMining.pdf - Similar pages

9) Canadian IPO

Virginia Uranium Ltd. was incorporated on August 31, 2007 under the laws of the Yukon Territory to invest and to actively participate in the management, ...
ipo.investcom.com/cgi-bin/ipodetails1.cgi?ID=1&string=Virginia+Uranium+Ltd&exact=yes&com=yes - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

Uranium's Crystal Ball is Price Sobering

RCR QUARTERLY REVIEW

The growth of nuclear power is still marching forward but the aspirations on uranium's price have dropped back a peg or two, according to the latest quarterly research by Sydney-based Resource Capital Research (RCR).Author: Ross LoutheanPosted: Sunday , 05 Oct 2008

PERTH -

The industry average long-term uranium price has been downgraded $US15/lb by RCR's just-released quarterly Equity Research Report from its third quarter report to $US80/lb and saying that in the current quarter it will trade between $US50-65/lb.
At the time the report was released the spot uranium price was $US55/lb.

The growth of nuclear power is still marching forward but the aspirations on uranium's price have dropped back a peg or two, according to the latest quarterly research by Sydney-based Resource Capital Research (RCR).Author: Ross LoutheanPosted: Sunday , 05 Oct 2008

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VUI "TEAM" on a Letter-Writing Campaign

We've seen several letters lately berating SCC's efforts to educate the public on the dangers of uranium mining in general but more specifically, mining Coles Hill. A few have been from mineral rights holders/major investors in Virginia Uranium, Inc., the Canadian company masquerading as a "local" corporation. Now we're seeing letters to area newspapers from members of the what VUI calls "Our Team". Sooo, everyone, let's meet the "Team" and then we'll print their letters as they appear. Keep in mind that the "Team" stands to make gazillions of dollars should Coles Hill be mined while you do not. You stand to pay dearly with property devaluation, health issues, etc. Keep in mind too, that while SCC opens its seminars and presentations to the public, free of charge, VUI does not.

Southside, meet VUI's "Team"!

"Our Team"

Virginia Uranium is a Virginia company that is committed to being a good steward of the land and a responsible corporate citizen of the community.

To that end, we've assembled a managerial and technical team with strong roots in the region. Some of our key team members hail from from local points such as Gretna, Sheva, Martinsville, and, of course, Chatham.

In short, we’ve gathered some of Virginia’s best talent, with deep ties to the region, to work on this project.

Norm Reynolds – President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Mr. Reynolds has over 30 years of experience in mineral exploration and development in Canada and the United States. From 1976 to 1985 he worked exclusively in the uranium industry, mainly in Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Virginia. As President of Marline Uranium Company, Mr. Reynolds was directly responsible for uranium exploration efforts in the Eastern United States which lead to the discovery of the Coles Hill Property in Virginia over 25 years ago. From 1985 to 2005, Mr. Reynolds founded, and operated ProMark, a significant national geophysical consulting firm based in Chatham with over 400 employees. Mr. Reynolds has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Alberta and is a Registered Professional Geologist in Virginia and Georgia. Norm Reynolds has lived in Chatham, Virginia since 1982.

Joseph Kiely – Chief Financial Officer Mr. Kiely has over 20 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of both Virginia Uranium, Inc. and Cadence Investment Partners. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Monarch Capital Holdings, an asset management firm with $300 million of assets under management, as well as Baker Nye Greenblatt and Simms Capital Management, with assets under management of $1 billion and $500 million, respectively. Previously, Mr. Kiely was an audit manager with Spicer and Oppenheim Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Kiely has a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from Dowling College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Walter Coles Jr. – Executive Vice President Mr. Coles has ten years of experience in the finance industry. Most recently, Mr. Coles was an equity and high yield bond analyst for Cadence Investment Partners, a New York based event-driven hedge fund. Prior, he worked at UBS Investment Bank as a research analyst from 1999 through 2005, covering companies in multiple sectors. A native of Chatham, Mr. Coles has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Richmond.

Mick Mastilovic – Vice President of Operations Mr. Mastilovic has over 15 years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining Virginia Uranium, Mr. Mastilovic was with USEC as Director of Production Operations. Previously, he worked in the product development and process engineering departments at Framatome (now Areva) in Lynchburg, and worked on the development of power generation and transmission assets for PSEG. Mr. Mastilovic has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Virginia, a Masters of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University and has an MBA from Cornell University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia.

Neal Keesee – Senior Legal Counsel Mr. Keesee has over 20 years of experience as legal counsel with concentration in all areas of corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, contracts, computer law, internet, tax, succession planning, employee benefits, real estate, financing, creditor's rights and venture capital. A native of Lynchburg, Mr. Keesee completed his undergraduate work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (B.S. Accounting, magna cum laude) and earned his Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary. He was a member of the Order of the Coif and the William & Mary Law Review. Mr. Keesee is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, and frequent speaker on topics of interest to business owners. Neal is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Virginia Business' "Legal Elite" in both business law and intellectual property and was nominated for "Small Business Advocate of the Year" in 2007 by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Joseph Aylor – Chief Geologist, PhD Dr. Aylor, a native of Gretna, has over 30 years of experience as a geologist and environmental engineer. Most recently he was the Environmental Services Manager with ECS Mid-Atlantic LLC. Dr. Aylor has extensive experience in all aspects of project management, including researching prospects, budgeting proposed projects, performing environmental site assessments, supervising drilling activities and negotiating with regulators. He also assisted the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in the drafting of Brownfield regulations. Dr. Aylor held various research and teaching positions with the Florida Geological Survey and Florida State University and has authored numerous articles for industry publications. Dr. Aylor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from the University of Virginia, a Masters of Science degree in Geology from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. in Geology from Florida State University.

Jennifer East-Cole – Geologist As a geologist Ms. East-Cole has worked in mineral exploration, including uranium exploration in NM, and in petroleum exploration and geotechnical engineering on the North Slope and ANWR, Alaska. She has experience in environmental geology, hydrology, geochemistry, geothermal energy, and has been an instructor for geology and mine training courses. Her work with companies and agencies has included Univ. of Alaska; Delta Mine Training Center, Alaska; Los Alamos Scientific Labs, NM; Alaska and Calif. State Geological Surveys; and Harding-Lawson Engineering. Ms. Cole has a Bachelor of Science from Cal. State Univ., Sonoma and a Masters of Science from Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks.

Patrick Wales – Geologist, Project Manager Mr. Wales has two of years experience in the field of environmental geology. Most recently, he has served as Manager of Environmental Services for the Danville, VA., office of Dewberry & Davis, Inc. As Manager of Environmental Services he was charged with all aspects of project management, including marketing, budgeting, proposal preparation, hiring, implementation of projects, and QA/QC. Mr. Wales, a native of Danville, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from Radford University (cum laude) and a Masters of Science degree in Geology from the University of Mississippi.

Stewart East - Geology Technician Mr. East is a lifelong resident of the Sheva Community. He has over three years experience in the fabrication and manufacturing industries. Most recently Mr. East was employed at Cooks Composites & Polymers in Chatham, VA as a Process Support Technician. Mr. East was in charge of preparing and mixing chemicals to produce resin that is used by manufacturers of fiberglass products. He is trained in Department of Transportation and Hazardous Materials compliance. Mr. East received two Associates of Arts Degrees in General Electronics and Industrial Electrical-Electronics Equipment Servicing from Danville Community College in 2004.

Nina Beth Thornton – Controller Ms. Thornton has over 20 years of experience as a Controller. She served as Treasurer of ProMark Utility Locators, Inc., a national underground utility locating firm. From 2005 to 2007, she managed the administrative and financial duties of Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative, a Southside Virginia based open-access wholesale telecommunication provider. Ms. Thornton has a Bachelor of Science degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro (cum laude) and an Associate of Arts degree from Peace College.

Frances Haley – Executive Assistant Ms. Haley is a native of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. She has experience in performing and coordinating an office’s administrative activities. Currently, she handles a wide variety of diverse, sensitive and confidential administrative-support functions. Ms. Haley has an Associate of Science Degree from Danville Community College. http://www.virginiauranium.com/team.php

Mined/Milled Uranium Health Risks -- Tailings and Radon Gas EPA States

By far, the by-product of mining uranium is the tailings. U has to be extracted from rock during the mining process since there amount of uranium per pound of rock is miniscule. Tailings are radioactive. This info is from the EPA.

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/docs/radwaste/402-k-94-001-umt.html

Sources and Volume

Uranium mill tailings are the radioactive sandlike materials that remain after uranium is extracted by milling ore mined from the earth. Tailings are placed in huge mounds called tailings piles which are located close to the mills where the ore is processed.

The most important radioactive component of uranium mill tailings is radium, which decays to produce radon. Other potentially hazardous substances in the tailings are selenium, molybdenum, uranium, and thorium.

Uranium mill tailings can adversely affect public health. [emphasis mine...SB]


There are four principal ways (or exposure pathways) that the public can be exposed to the hazards from this waste. The first is the diffusion of radon gas directly into indoor air if tailings are misused as a construction material or for backfill around buildings. When people breathe air containing radon, it increases their risk of developing lung cancer.


Second, radon gas can diffuse from the piles into the atmosphere where it can be inhaled and small particles can be blown from the piles where they can be inhaled or ingested.


Third, many of the radioactive decay products in tailings produce gamma radiation, which poses a health hazard to people in the immediate vicinity of tailings.


Finally, the dispersal of tailings by wind or water, or by leaching, can carry radioactive and other toxic materials to surface or ground water that may be used for drinking water.

Figure 6
Uranium Mill Tailings Piles

(the one lone dot on the map in the eastern US is Canonsburg, PA which Mr. Coles says, erroneously, has been safely reclaimed. SB)


The NRC and some individual states that have regulatory agreements with the NRC have licensed 26 sites for milling uranium ore. However, most of the mills at these sites are no longer processing ore. Another 24 sites have been abandoned and are currently the responsibility of DOE.

All the tailings piles except for one abandoned site located in Canonsburg, PA, are located in the West, predominantly in arid areas (Figure 6). The licensed tailings piles contain a combined total of approximately 200 million metric tons (MT), with individual piles ranging from about 2 million MT to about 30 million MT. (A metric ton is 2,200 pounds.) The 24 abandoned sites contain a total of about 26 million MT and range in size from about 50 thousand MT to about 3 million MT.

It is unlikely that there will be much additional accumulation of mill tailings in the U.S., because foreign countries now produce uranium much more cheaply than can domestic producers. [This statement pre-supposes that US mining efforts are not being expanded. Obviously the EPA's information pre-dates the recent surge in mining applications in the US, including Coles Hill]

Setting Environmental Protection Standards

The EPA issued two sets of standards controlling hazards from uranium mill tailings in 1983, under the authority of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. These standards provide for the cleanup and disposal of mill tailings at abandoned sites and the disposal of tailings at licensed sites after cessation of operations. They are implemented by DOE, NRC, and some states through agreements with NRC, and require a combination of active and passive controls to clean up contaminated ground water as well as tailings that have been misused at off-site locations, and to dispose of tailings in a manner that will prevent misuse, limit radon emissions, and protect ground water.

Active controls include building fences, putting up warning signs, and establishing land use restrictions. Passive controls include constructing thick earthen covers, protected by rock and designed to prevent seepage into ground water, over the waste. Earthen covers also effectively limit radon emissions and gamma radiation and, in conjunction with the rock covers, serve to stabilize the piles to prevent dispersion of the tailings through erosion or intrusion. In some cases, piles may be moved to safer locations.

The standards were amended in 1993 to require that all licensed sites that have ceased operation undergo remedial action as soon as possible. The EPA is in the process of enacting revised ground-water protection standards that will require the same treatment of ground water at the abandoned sites as is now required at the licensed sites. In addition, EPA enacted Clean Air Act standards in 1989 limiting radon emissions and restricting the length of time that abandoned piles may remain uncovered with no controls on radon emissions. EPA also requires that any piles that may be constructed in the future meet requirements that limit radon emissions and inhibit ground-water contamination during their operational phase. Licensed mills also are subject to the Uranium Fuel Cycle standard which regulates radionuclide emissions other than radon.

And from the RADON page at the same EPA site comes this tidbit:

How can radon affect people's health?

Almost all risk from radon comes from breathing air with radon and its decay products. Radon decay products cause lung cancer. The health risk of ingesting radon, in water for example, is dwarfed by the risk of inhaling radon and its decay products. They occur in indoor air or with tobacco smoke. Alpha radiation directly causes damage to sensitive lung tissue. Most of the radiation dose is not actually from radon itself, though, which is mostly exhaled. It comes from radon's chain of short-lived solid decay products that are inhaled on dust particles and lodge in the airways of the lungs. These radionuclides decay quickly, producing other radionuclides that continue damaging the lung tissue.

There is no safe level of radon--any exposure poses some risk of cancer. [emphasis mine...SB] In two 1999 reports, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded after an exhaustive review that radon in indoor air is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after cigarette smoking. The NAS estimated that 15,000-22,000 Americans die every year from radon-related lung cancer.

When people who smoke are exposed to radon as well, the risk of developing lung cancer is significantly higher than the risk of smoking alone.

The NAS also estimated that radon in drinking water causes an additional 180 cancer deaths annually. However almost 90% of those projected deaths were from lung cancer from the inhalation of radon released to the indoor air from water, and only about 10% were from cancers of internal organs, mostly stomach cancers, from ingestion of radon in water.

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/radionuclides/radon.html