Enough Scare Tactics,Voices of Reason Needed (Uranium Mining in Virginia)

Comment: Please read the email sent to someone and telling the Nuke bunch to write letters to counter all of our great truths about the problems with uranium mining. Keep writting the great letters about the problems of uranium mining!

EMAIL FROM:

Enough Scare Tactics—Voices of Reason Needed

Dear VEIA Member:

You are receiving this message because you indicated your willingness to sign a Letter to the Editor.

Please take a few moments to review the scare propaganda being submitted to papers in Virginia regarding the uranium deposit at Coles Hill—a major potential source for domestic nuclear energy.

The National Academy of Sciences—a highly reputable entity—has been engaged by the Virginia General Assembly (after VUI paid for the study, they forgot to add this to the letter) with a request to study the safety of uranium mining in Virginia.

We need voices of reason to sign Letters to the Editor to speak up for the National Academy, the study, and to interject reason into papers full of too much heightened rhetoric. If you are willing to sign a letter, e-mail info@virginiaenergy.org. (Uranium fighters, keep the letters coming!)

URANIUM MINING IS REPLETE WITH DANGER

THE RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
August 31, 2009

Editor, Times-Dispatch: In response to Reed F. Goode’s letter, “Virginia Has the Right Stuff to Lead in Nuclear Energy”:

Sure, we can have nuclear power, and uranium mining too, if we want them. And we surely will if people sit back and do nothing. Nuclear power has so many problems that I will only address the uranium mining issue and urge people to educate themselves on the dangers involved therein.

Please consider the following uranium mining issues:

There are uranium mining deposits all along the eastern slopes of our mountains so uranium mining will affect all Virginians.
Uranium mining is the dirty end of the nuclear power cycle, with the greatest danger coming from ingestion: breathing the dust, drinking the water, or eating affected meat or crops.
Uranium is radioactive and has a life of millions of years.
Radiation is a killer and contaminated stream beds cannot be cleaned up.
Only 14 percent of uranium is recoverable. The tailings contain 86 percent in a finely ground powdery form that leaches into streams and groundwater.
More and better jobs will be lost in the surrounding area than will be gained.
Jack Dunavant,

Halifax

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URANIUM MINING WILL LEAVE DESTRUCTION IN ITS WAKE

CHATHAM STAR TRIBUNE
September 9, 2009
Letter to the Editor

Please no uranium mining in Virginia.

In the Washington Post, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted:

"Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day - the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb weekly - to blow up Appalachia's mountains and extract sub-surface coal seams.

"On this continent, only Appalachia's rich woodland survived the Pleistocene ice ages that turned the rest of North America into a treeless tundra.

"King coal is now accomplishing what the glaciers could not - obliterating the hemispheres oldest, most biologically dense and diverse forest." (July 2009).

As quoted by email to me from Matt Wasson from ilovemountains.org.

Just recently this was stopped by Congress.

So, why do we give them a back door to have new areas to explore for minerals and have their destruction here in their wake for a way to benefit a few?

Where are the area educators' outcry?

Chemistry and biology teachers surely know that mass destruction must come from mining and milling of ore that is not in the metallic state when extracted from the soil.

It does not come in a sealed cylinder when taken from the ground.

Please read about mountain-top removal at ilovemountains.org.

John David Lewis,
1955 graduate
Spring Garden High School

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‘UNBIASED’ URANIUM STUDY ALREADY TAINTED

CHATHAM STAR TRIBUNE
September 9, 2009
Letter to the Editor

Today I read that, regarding uranium mining, "Del. Terry Kilgore, chairman of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy, said Virginia Uranium Inc. will pay for the study by the National Academy of Sciences."

So, a man backed by a foreign interest with unlimited pockets deeper than even his own, and supported by family and friends in our government from Chatham to Richmond to Washington, can pay for an "unbiased" opinion on the financial lucrativeness of uranium mining in our community (reportedly worth billions of dollars), and expect that we will accept its validity?

However, "Kilgore said Virginia Uranium will fund the scientific study, but not an in-depth look at the socioeconomic impact of uranium mining."

Why not? Is it because that part of the equation is the least of VUI's concern?

Of course, that's why we, the rest of us, must make it ours.

Linda Worsley
Chatham

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A COMMENT ON OUTRAGEOUS DOINGS

CHATHAM STAR TRIBUNE
September 9, 2009
Letter to the Editor

With the news that Virginia Uranium will pay for a study to determine the future of uranium mining in Virginia, this very major issue now moves into the realm of the absurd.

The acquiescence of the government of the commonwealth to this situation is stunning in its stupidity and bald-faced corruption.

Our elected officials have shown little judgment and even less common sense in this decision. The fate of their careers as elected officials must be in doubt.

Every state-wide representative who did not stand up to oppose this corrupt bargain has abrogated his responsibility as a guardian of the people's interest. They are unworthy of our votes and have earned our collective disdain.

I am sure the National Academy of Science is indeed a "neutral" organization through which to conduct this study, bought and paid (quiet literally) by our Canadian friends and their cadre of wealthy local and foreign investors.

The scientists at Virginia Tech would never think of the opportunity to use Pittsylvania County as a laboratory and its citizens as guinea pigs in their investigations of the affects of uranium mining on the environment east of the Mississippi.

They are responsible individuals first, and scientists second. In fact, this new relationship could be the beginning of several new National Academy/Virginia Tech studies.

Let's see what else they could do. Here's one: "The Feasibility of Bank Bailouts as a Means of Helping the Economy."

That one would be paid for by Wachovia and Bank of America. I wonder what the National Academy of Science would find?

Here's another: "The Positive or Negative Effects of Socialism in America."

That one would be funded by the American Communist Party. I am sure the folks at Virginia Tech will come up with a fair and balanced conclusion.

Finally, in the area of sports we have, "Steroids: Good or Bad for Baseball?" This one has the financial backing of Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

I am on tenterhooks awaiting that conclusion.

Pardon my sarcasm, but I fear the deck is stacked against Pittsylvania County. Is this the sad fate that must play out over the next two decades?

The "study" will conclude that uranium mining is safe "under certain circumstances."

The fine print of the extreme conditional approval will be ignored by the uranium industry and they will embrace the study as definite "scientific" proof that all is well.

Mining regulations will move swiftly through the hapless House of Delegates; mining will begin with a flourish of heady pronouncements about employment and the economic prosperity that is headed our way.

Blasting activity will begin; tailing ponds will be dug; all will move quickly forward. Then, somewhere down the line, there will be an economic (price of uranium falls) or environmental (water ruined) catastrophe.

Government and uranium industry officials will throw up their hands and declare that no one could have foreseen this (remember Katrina?), and they are not to blame.

The mines will close; the investors will go silent and Virginia Uranium will creep back to its Canadian homeland.

By that time, the people of Virginia will be left to tend the mess that Virginia Uranium began: the two 800-foot holes in the ground; the ruined landscape, poisoned water and contaminated air.

Unemployment will rise, now that tobacco and non-mining businesses have long left the area. Taxes will rise; land values will fall.

The National Academy will assert the fine print of its study (i.e. that mining probably could not be done successfully) and the scientists at Virginia Tech will have their laboratory and guinea pigs just down the road from them in Pittsylvania County.

My father used to say that if you can't pay for something, you can't buy it. If the Commonwealth of Virginia cannot pay for a study, they should not have one.

Virginia Uranium is a biased funder; the conflict of interest is so apparent that it is embarrassing for a private citizen to have to point this out to officials who should know better.

If Virginia cannot pay now for a study of this sort, how are they going to pay for the regulation and upkeep of the area once mining begins? Where will that money come from?

Until these basic questions are answered completely, all citizens of good faith must remain opposed to any study of any kind paid for by the very people who profit from its slanted outcome.

We shall and must regard the findings of this tainted study, and the people who support it, with a cynical and suspicious eye.

Richard Dixon
Chatham

Why not a socio-economic mining study?

Comment: Great Letter Ms. Worsley, thanks from all of us that are fighting against uranium mining before the State of Virginia ruin our lives with the state and Canada uranium corporate greed!

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: September 13, 2009

To the editor:

Today, I have read regarding uranium mining, “Del. Terry Kilgore, chairman of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy, said Virginia Uranium Inc. would pay for the study by the National Academy of Sciences.”

So, a man, backed by a foreign interest with unlimited pockets deeper than even his own, and supported by family and friends in our government from Chatham to Richmond to Washington can pay for an “unbiased” opinion on how financially lucrative uranium mining in our community would be (reportedly worth billions of dollars) and expect that we will accept its validity.

However, “Kilgore said Virginia Uranium will fund the scientific study, but not an in-depth look at the socio-economic impact of uranium mining.”

Why not? Is it because that part of the equation is the least of VUI’s concern? Of course — that’s why we, the rest of us, must make it ours.

LINDA WORSLEY
Chatham

http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/why_not_a_socio-economic_mining_study/13821/

Proposed uranium mill deeply divides southwestern Colorado communities

Colorado's Paradox Valley, in Montrose County (Creative Commons photo by Iversonic via Flickr)

Comment: We are all fighting against uranium mining and milling all over America, not just Virginia. In addition, we are fighting the Canadian uranium corporations, which Canada owns a certain part of the mining corporations. So tell all leaders to stop foreign corporations from ruining our lives with uranium mining and milling!

Energy Fuels: Uranium processing and tourism 'are compatible and not mutually exclusive' in Montrose County

By David O. Williams
9/10/09 7:52 AM

MONTROSE — Montrose County commissioners delayed a decision on a controversial uranium mill proposal Wednesday after nearly six hours of public testimony that underscored deep divisions between longtime mining families and residents of neighboring Telluride and San Miguel County.

The Pinon Ridge Mill would be located on the far western edge of Montrose County, in the Paradox Valley near the Utah border, but the uranium and vanadium processing mill — capable of producing enough fuel rods to power a city one and half times the size of Denver — has been meeting with stiff opposition from residents of Telluride and Ridgway.

They argue the mill will re-stigmatize the area once known as the capital of the global uranium industry, irreparably damaging the region’s new reputation as an outdoor recreation mecca and international tourism destination.

Proponents counter the western end of Montrose County has been severely depressed for decades, struggling for jobs and a sustainable economy since the last big uranium boom tapered off in the 1970s and ’80s in the wake of nuclear power-plant disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. They also say technology has changed dramatically since the days when Uravan produced uranium for the first atomic weapons but is now a toxic ghost town.

Frank Filas, environmental manager for a U.S. subsidiary of Ontario-based Energy Fuels Inc., called Pinon Ridge a small facility that will revitalize the once-vibrant industry, but in a way that avoids the mistakes of the past and won’t impact outdoor recreation and agriculture.

“Energy Fuels feels strongly [uranium processing and tourism] are compatible and not mutually exclusive, but I would point out tourism on the west end has not been particularly robust,” Filas said. “We think rural areas benefit from a diverse economy.”

Mark Goldfogel, owner of small farm in Paradox and a technology company in Telluride, urged the commissioners to reject the special-use permit allowing for industry in an area zoned agricultural. His argument was based purely on economics.

“If the mill is allowed, the stigma of a uranium mill in Paradox Valley will make agriculture and tourism extremely difficult,” Goldfogel said. “There is no market for organic produce grown down the road from a uranium mill. There is no market for my farm if you allow this mill.”

The mill would have 85 on-site personnel, with another 282 miners expected to find work at nearby mines, an additional 256 support staff, management and transportation jobs, and 766 indirect jobs. The Western Small Miners Association put the annual economic benefit at nearly $50 million in annual income.

But those numbers are based on the current renewed interest in nuclear power as carbon-free fuel source that could replace coal- and gas-fired power plants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many activists on the Western Slope are skeptical that interest will last, predicting another bust that could leave another toxic legacy for decades to come.

Still, the numerous residents of Naturita and Nucla who spoke in favor of the mill and bristled at the invasion of concerned residents from Telluride and Ridgway, are convinced it’s a gamble well worth taking given improvement in technology and their nostalgia for the good old days.

There were countless stories of fathers, grandfathers and uncles who later worked the mines in the Cold War heyday swimming in evaporation ponds and playing on tailings piles as children, with no adverse effects.

Lee Sutherland said his father started hauling uranium ore in 1942 and lived to be 85. He talked of pumping water out of a mine and using it to irrigate his garden, pointing to his five healthy children as evidence of the benign effects of uranium mining and processing. Besides, he added, it’s the right thing to do for the planet.

“They’re all talking about global warming, and if we go to nuclear power, it’ll stop a lot of that,” Sutherland said. But even Energy Fuels’ Filas acknowledged the cavalier attitude of the early days of the uranium industry can’t be repeated today.

“You just can’t use [tailing] for sandboxes the way they were in the 50s and 60s,” Filas said. “But comparing our situation to historic situations is a little disingenuous.”

He called a finding by the Colorado Medical Society that uranium mining is not safe “mostly political” based on opposition to the proposed Powertech mine in Weld County.

Still, Dr. Christine Gieszl, an internal medicine specialist in Montrose, cited a long litany of studies linking uranium mining and processing to everything from lung cancer to birth defects and infertility. And a Colorado Springs attorney testified she successfully represented numerous victims of contamination from a mill in Canon City that has since been shut down.

Jerry Cope of Placerville noted the irony of a Canadian company “pointing to us as outsiders,” and warned of creating another mining-ravaged Appalachia in southwestern Colorado, which would result in a “loss of tourism, real estate values and spikes in cancer rates.”

But proponents countered places like Moab and even Telluride with long mining histories still thrive as legendary recreation destinations, but that low-paying service-sector jobs in the tourism industry or agriculture-industry jobs in other areas aren’t nearly as desirable as high-paying mining-sector jobs, however fleeting.

Bobby Calhoun, owner of the 5th Avenue Grill in Naturita, said if organic farming can come close to mining wages, she’s all for it. “I’ll be the first person in line to pick your tomatoes for $45,000 to $75,000 a year. The people in Telluride have enough of their own problems without worrying about what’s going on in the west end [of Montrose County].”

Many opponents called on the county to delay a decision until the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can begin reviewing the license application from Energy Fuels once it’s filed next month. At that time the company will have to provide $50,000 to the county for an environmental assessment, and the state will take up to a year to review the application.

Officials from San Miguel County, where Telluride’s located, spoke in favor of additional hearings to allow them to provide feedback on the state’s findings. Montrose County Commission

Chairman David White seemed open to that continuing dialogue with neighboring San Miguel.

The next hearing was set for 10 a.m., Sept. 30 at Friendship Hall in the Montrose County Fairgrounds and Event Center.

Got a tip? Freelance story pitch? Send us an e-mail. Follow The Colorado Independent on Twitter.

http://coloradoindependent.com/37403/proposed-uranium-mill-deeply-divides-southwestern-colorado-communities

Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon/Havasupai Make a Stand

Red Butte from the south

Sunday, September 6, 2009
By Brenda Norrell

(September 07, Washington, Sri Lanka Guardian) Indigenous Havasupai people held a gathering to stop uranium mining in the Grand Canyon and protect ancestral Havasupai Territory, at the south rim of the Grand Canyon, in July of 2009. Indigenous peoples and activists came from the four directions, from Arizona Hopi land and from as far away as Hawaii, to participate with sacred songs and ceremonies.

For four days, Havasupai elders gathered on sacred Red Butte and listened to the legacy of uranium mining on Indian lands. They heard directly from the victims of the trail of death and cancer left behind by uranium mining corporations that were never held responsible on Pueblo and Navajo lands in the Southwest United States. They also listened to the promise of solidarity from the hundreds who gathered here to stand with them: Navajos from Big Mountain, Hualapai, Hopi, Kaibab Paiute, Paiute, Aztecs, and other American Indians from throughout the Americas.

The Havasupai Nation, with the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Grand Canyon Trust, sponsored the gathering to halt uranium mining on Red Butte, July 23-26, 2009. Supai elders gave testimony for official U.S. records in their Havasupai (Pai) language and in English. Supai traditional singers sang as a camp was established on this mesa where Toronto-based Denison Mines is threatening to reopen a uranium mine.

Recent congressional legislation protects the Grand Canyon from new mining claims, but does not deter mining under existing claims held by Denison and others. When the price of uranium increased in recent years and new interest in nuclear power grew, mining claims exploded in Arizona, even in the pristine region of the Grand Canyon. Supai Waters, Havasupai Keeper of the Water Songs, said his people are the Guardians of the Grand Canyon. He said uranium mining here is not just a threat to the Colorado River and tourists who come to see the Eighth Wonder of the World, but to Supai drinking water, underground aquifers, and drinking water in Southwest cities.

Speaking of the Supai responsibility to protect the land, water, and air here from the poisons of mining, Supai Waters said, "If we do let this happen, we would be the murderers of the world. We cannot let that happen." He said that protection of the Grand Canyon also affects the weather patterns and climate of the earth.

"My people have lived in the canyon since time immemorial. The canyons contain power points and vortexes. If there is tampering or pillaging, the earth will not be the same. There are places where we guard. These sacred places have to do with the weather, the wind, the sun, the celestial movements. That is why we are here protecting it," Supai Waters said.

Matthew Putesoy, vice chairman of the Havasupai Nation, said the Grand Canyon is a national treasure, inviting 5 million people every year to explore and be inspired by its beauty. "To the Havasuw 'Baaja, who have lived in the region for many hundreds of years, it is sacred. As the 'guardians of the Grand Canyon,' we strenuously object to mining for uranium here. It is a threat to the health of our environment and tribe, our tourism-based economy, and our religion."

Putesoy thanked Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar for announcing a two-year moratorium on new mining claims in the 1 million acres of lands around Grand Canyon National Park. However, Putesoy said existing claims, such as those pursued by Canadian-based Denison Mines Corp., still threaten the animals, air, drinking water, and people of the region. Denison, which has staked 110 claims around the Grand Canyon, is seeking groundwater-aquifer permits that would allow it to reopen the Canyon Mine, near Red Butte, as well as two other mining sites, Putesoy said.

"Here, mining could poison the aquifer, which extends for 5,000 square miles under the Coconino Plateau, and serves as drinking water for our tribe and neighboring communities. As I told Congress recently, if our water were polluted, we could not relocate to Phoenix or someplace else and still survive as the Havasupai Tribe. We are the Grand Canyon.

"Most importantly, Red Butte, where Denison Mines intends to reopen a mine, is a traditional site sacred to the Havasuw 'Baaja. Located in the Kaibab National Forest, Red Butte is know n as Wii'i Gdwiisa, meaning 'clenched-fist mountain'."

Putesoy, quoting longtime Havasupai leader Rex Tilousi, said, "'Red Butte is the lungs of our Grandmother Canyon.' My people have used these traditional Havasupai religious areas for centuries. Instead of allowing the destruction of our national treasure, we are asking the federal government to work with the Havasupai Tribe to protect Red Butte and all of the lands on and around the Grand Canyon from further mining activities. This natural wonder is irreplaceable and demands our shared action and protection for those living now, and those yet to be born," Putesoy said.

Pueblo and Navajo Uranium Victims Panel

Pueblos and Navajos gave oral testimonies during the Uranium Victims Panel. Introducing the panel, Carletta Tilousi, Havasupai, said, "When I heard their stories, it changed my life forever." Tilousi said the people will stand united to fight for sacred places, water, land, air, and people.

Manuel Pino, Acoma Pueblo, said his people have lived with a 50-year legacy of uranium mining, living in the heart of the Grants uranium belt in northwest New Mexico. There were numerous uranium mines, and the Jackpile Mine, in neighboring Laguna Pueblo, was the largest ore producer in the United States.

Laguna Pueblo housed the Jackpile Mine for 30 years. The mine was located only 2,000 feet from the Laguna village of Paguate and 24 million tons of ore were mined. Over 90% of the ore went to one source: the U. S. Department of Defense for weapons of mass destruction.

"Not only were we tearing up the earth, but the ore was going to weapons that the United States now has stockpiled all over the world and have not been decommissioned or taken care of," Pino said during the panel. One of the heroes of this movement honored was Dorothy Purley of Paguate village in Laguna Pueblo, an ore truck driver at Jackpile Mine and cancer victim who became a founder of the current Native American movement against uranium mining. Pino said Purley was a victim of lymphoma and passed to the Spirit World in the year 2000, just months after receiving the international Nuclear Free Future Award. She was an inspiration to the Native American movement that now battles uranium mining and educates others.

Pino praised the efforts of Phil Harrison, Navajo from Red Valley, who served on the panel at the Supai gathering. Harrison was instrumental in the congressional passage of the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which compensates victims of the nuclear fuel chain, mainly uranium workers, atomic veterans, and those living downwind from atomic text sites.

Today, Harrison helps Navajo and Pueblo victims file claims and serves as a Navajo councilman. Harrison said his father died at 45 from lung cancer and many of his other family members died. For 30 years Harrison has fought this battle. He said uranium mining brought no benefits to the Navajo Nation. Harrison questioned where the promised high s chools and parks are.

"What do we have? We have lung cancer, various illnesses, and birth defects." There is also leukemia and kidney failure. In the hard-hit communities of Cove and Red Valley in the Four Corners region of the Navajo Nation, he said Navajos stopped farming because they feared the radioactive contamination flowing down the mountain with the streams.

Harrison said the companies got off free and were never held responsible because the companies mined the uranium for the U.S. government. He said attempts to file suit against the corporation were met with the response that the uranium was being mined for the U.S. government and nothing could be done. Harrison said that meanwhile the radioactive waste from the nuclear industry winds up back on Indian lands. He said while Native Americans live with the radioactivity, cancer, and death, the corporate owners of mines live in the clean cities, free from contamination.

Larry King, Navajo panelist from the Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining, recently helped organize a 30-year commemoration of the devastating Church Rock, NM spill, whose victims were Navajos. Pino said the Church Rock spill on July 16, 1979, was the largest amount of radiation emitted at one time in the history of the nuclear fuel chain in the United States. Now, 30 years after this nuclear catastrophe, the federal government still has not restored this area where Navajos make their homes, Pino said.

Pino spoke of the Navajo and Pueblo mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, and aunts who have died or who are now dying of cancer. "It is not a happy story," Pino said. "We are here to stop this nuclear nightmare. As Indigenous Peoples, we are the last ones to be served." Today, there are 550 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation that have not been cleaned up. "We are a low priority when it comes to the federal government cleaning up these nuclear catastrophes."

Pino said this would never happen if radioactive tailings were strewn in the nearby cities of Albuquerque, Phoenix, or Flagstaff. "Because we are indigenous people, still traditional based and advocating our traditional based-knowledge, we are sometimes considered obstacles, because of our traditional world view to protect Mother Earth."

Carletta Garcia, daughter of Dorothy Purley, told the gathering that she grew up in Paguate, home of the world's largest open-pit uranium mine. She grew up with the deafening sounds and jolts of the constant blasts to loosen the ore. It shook the whole mesa and the radioactive dust would be sprinkled on the eating tables. "We ate it with our lunch."

Garcia said in 1975 her mother began driving an ore truck. The only safety equipment was a safety hat, goggles, and a flashlight. The workers were never told of the dangers of uranium. The tribe thought the mine would bring revenues and wealth. It brought wealth and death. Lagunas did not realize what would happen 30 years later. Garcia's moth er was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993. "We cried, I hugged my mother, I told my mother we are not going to let this take over us, we are going to fight."

"My mother was a real trooper." But her mom also began realizing that other Pueblo people were dying all around her. Her relatives were dying. It was stomach cancer, leukemia, childhood leukemia, and other cancers. Garcia remembered the first day her mother began losing her hair. She took off her red scarf. "Her hair began fluttering with the wind. We cried."

Still, her mother traveled and fought the battle to halt uranium mining and educate other Native Americans. Then one day, Garcia said, "She said it was time to go." Garcia's husband, who grew up in the village, was also diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. Her husband died in 1995, twelve days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 50 years old. Now, Garcia is a widow, and her health is beginning to fail; she said, "I am afraid for my children, I am afraid for your children. We don't need this uranium."

"All of these children here are so precious. I keep watching the children and hoping they will never get sick and never face what I had to, and hoping you young ladies will never be widowed," Garcia told the gathering.

"In Numbers, There is Strength"

During the panel, Larry King, Navajo from Church Rock, NM, told the gathering how he worked for the United Nuclear Corporation from 1975 to 1983 as a n underground mine surveyor. King said he has lived all his life in Church Rock and still raises his cattle on the land where he grew up. Now, a community activist, he said Navajos in the communities of Church Rock, Pinedale, Coyote Canyon, and Iyanbito, NM, have suffered greatly from uranium mining.

At Church Rock, the break in the dam at the tailings pond was the largest uranium spill from the United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) tailing pond, with 94 million gallons of contaminated water flooding into the Puerco wash (arroyo or stream), which wraps around his grazing area, and flows through Navajo communities, before it meets up with the Little Colorado River.

UNC installed pumps at the operation and for more than 20 years, from the 1960s through the 1980s, the contaminated underground water was pumped into four ponds. Those ponds were unlined and unprotected against seepage, King said.

"This water was eventually released into several unnamed washes, which meet up with the Puerco wash. So even prior to the UNC spill of July 16, 1979, there was already untreated water being released into the Puerco wash for more than 20 years."

"Every time you walked up to the wash, you could smell the real bad smell that used to emit from the wash and the yellowish slime that would collect along the stream bed." Today, the uranium contamination has seeped deeper into the ground, a fact that is revealed when Navajos install water lines for their homes. King smelle d the stench when his water line was dug and saw the yellowish color.

"Our community continues to suffer from the mining operations." There are 20 un-reclaimed uranium mines in his community. He said the uranium was used for weapons of mass destruction. Navajos knew they lived in a contaminated community, but in recent years the extent of the serious contamination of the water, land, and air has become obvious. The mining companies in the Church Rock, NM region included Phillips Petroleum Company, UNC, and Hydro Resources Corp. (HRC). HRC, which left behind a waste pile, now has a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to mine uranium there again. The targeted land borders the Navajo Nation land where uranium mining is now halted, but the mining could poison the aquifer and destroy the water supply of Navajos. Navajos at ENDAUM are now fighting HRC's plan to mine.

King said Navajos were never told of the dangers of exposure to uranium or the health effects in years to come. He said many of his coworkers died from cancer. "As an underground worker, the only safety equipment we were given were hard hats and rubber boots, nothing else."

The workers were never told that breathing the dust and drinking the water exposed them to radiation, he related. In the mines, there were downpours underground of contaminated waters. They were never told that eating their lunches underground would contaminate them. King said UNC was able to appear in compliance when OSHA (U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) inspectors came because the company was informed in advance and knew the inspectors were coming. Suddenly, ventilation fans were rerouted and barricades would go up. OSHA would give a passing grade, but the next day it would be business as usual in the tunnels, where there was no ventilation.

King, like other Navajos, is now suffering from asthma, respiratory problems, and arthritis. He is fighting Hydro Resources Corporation's new plan for in situ uranium mining. King said Navajos have already been warned about Hyrdo Resources' false promises by victims in Texas and elsewhere. "We need to make a stand and say, 'No more.' We have to think about our future and our water."

In situ uranium mining uses injection wells, which inject chemicals and make the ore into a liquid. Then centrifugal force in the production well brings the ore to the surface. Pino said the process is a great threat to the water of the Grand Canyon, where the aquifers are like underground rivers. In situ uranium mining could poison the entire watershed.

Dennis Banks: Solidarity

During the gathering, Dennis Banks, Ojibwe from Minnesota and cofounder of the American Indian Movement, opened his talk with these words, "We are all Havasupai when it comes to this struggle.

"Whatever our roots are, whenever there is oppression, whenever people are being hurt, whenever there are mining companies that are destroying our land, we have to stand up," Banks said.

Banks said Native people are born into struggle. "It will never go away." Banks urged everyone in the struggle to give it their all, since the mining companies are ready to seize the land and water. "They don't want part of our land—they want all of the land."

Banks said his own Ojibwe Council is trying to negotiate away land to a corporation for millions of dollars. But the grassroots people are saying no. "Not one more inch, not one more acre, not one more tree, not one more blade of grass are we going to give up for these people exploiting our land."

Banks warned that companies tear away at the culture, which is "the very fabric of who we are." He said Indian people must never forget that they were once hunted down like dogs and chased down by men on horseback. The language, too, should be held sacred; the traditional languages stolen from so many when Indian children were ripped from their parents and put in boarding schools. Banks said acre after acre of fertile land has been destroyed and Indian people are sick and tired of these mining companies. At Red Butte in Havasupai Territory, he said the fragrant sage growing wild here would be replaced with the "stench of mining" if any corporation were allowed to mine.

Louise Benally and her brother John Benally came from their home in Big Mountain, to show their support for the resistance to the uranium mine. The Benallys have spent their lives in the resis tance to the relocation of Navajos in Arizona. They came with the message of solidarity of struggle.

During two days of meetings, following two days of ceremonies, Roland Manakaja said the Havasupai are not only battling the desecration of uranium mining, but they are also battling the desecration of another point considered part of the sacred geography—the San Francisco Peaks. There, developers have announced a plan to make snow out of sewage water for tourism at the Snowbowl ski resort. If this happens, Manajaka affirmed, the Snowbowl will be known as "the toilet bowl," and the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Grand Canyon, will become known as the "Eighth Blunder of the World."

"Make no mistake, mining company," he said. "We will be there in your face every day!"

Tiny Hanna, Supai elder, told of the time when Havasupai were at home in the canyon, before it was claimed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. It was a time when Supai grew their crops below the mesa of Red Butte, in the canyon, before tourists from around the world began pouring in. Seated around the dinner tables, Supai elders told of their lives now in the canyon, southwest of here in the Grand Canyon at Supai, accessible only by foot, mule, or helicopter from the rim above.

New Ways to Get the Word Out

During the gathering, Hopi, Navajo, Yavapai, Aztecs, and other traditional singers shared their songs with the Supai. The sounds of traditional Birdsongs filled20the four days, along with the modern sounds of some of the best Native American singers in the music industry: Keith Secola, Casper and the 602 Band, Burning Sky performing with John Densmore of the Doors, Clarence Clearwater, Summit Dub Squad, and others, shared reggae, folk, and hip hop.

Earthcycles grassroots radio, broadcast for four days, all day each day, live on the Internet globally, and portions of the days were broadcast locally on the FM radio. The testimony of the elders was recorded for hearings and Congress, with the audios preserved in public files and now available for listening at www.earthcycles.net.

Govinda Dalton has a passion for grassroots radio and believes in providing a vehicle for the voices of the people. He drove in from California in his bus, equipped with solar power and a satellite. The solar panels provided electricity for the gathering, including powering the sound system, and the satellite provided Internet service for broadcasting.

Earlier, Earthcycles broadcast live for five months across America on the Longest Walk in 2008 and at the Indigenous Border Summits of the Americas in 2006 and 2007 in Arizona. Dalton views grassroots radio as a means of social change and a mechanism for a new evolving consciousness for humanity. He said it is essential to air the voices of the people since the media is heavily controlled and censored.

Speaking of the corporations who have contaminated this regio n for decades, Pino said, "Why would they want to mine uranium in one of the natural wonders of the world like the Grand Canyon? If they will mine uranium here, they will mine uranium anywhere. They have no heart, they have no soul."

Brenda Norrell is a freelance writer and Americas Program border analyst, www.americaspolicy.org. Her blog can be found at http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/.
-Sri Lanka Guardian

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/09/uranium-mining-in-grand-canyon.html

Nuclear nonsense

Comment: Stop the threat of nuke plants being built all over America! Utah does not want nuke plants and most people in Virginia do not want nuke plants! We also do not want uranium mining anywhere in America or the world. The world can have enough power with solar, windmills, tidal or waterpower! No Nuke Plant, No Uranium Mining!

Keep power plant out of Utah

Tribune Editorial
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:

Gov. Gary Herbert supports a full palette of energy options for Utah. The clean greens: solar, geothermal, wind. The dirty browns: coal, oil, natural gas. And the chameleon of electricity production, nuclear fission, which provides clean power but carries its own environmental and safety baggage.

Nuclear power plants were popular until a near meltdown of a reactor in Pennsylvania in 1979 shocked the nation to its senses. There hasn't been a domestic plant built since.

But in the rush to curb climate change, well-founded fears have been forgotten and a nuclear revival is underway. Nuclear power plants emit only water vapor and produce enough power to replace fossil fuels as a base-load provider of electricity. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received applications for 26 new reactors and more are expected, including paperwork for a proposed plant near Green River in Emery County, which would be Utah's first.

We understand the need to continue to develop and utilize fossil fuels, where appropriate, while we transition to renewable energy sources. But Herbert strayed off base in his embrace of nuclear power for Utah, where hydrology, seismology and history suggest that we not mess around with the atom.

Despite some positive attributes, nuclear power is not the answer to climate change concerns and our nation's growing energy appetite.

And it's certainly not the energy solution for Utah, where downwinders were poisoned by the fallout from years of nuclear weapons testing, where the landscape is scarred by uranium mining and underlain by faults, and where low-level nuclear waste is already buried.

Utahns have a healthy fear of all things radioactive, and nuclear reactors should be no exception. The plants are expensive to build and consumers pay the tab. They consume copious amounts of water, a dwindling resource in the Colorado River Basin.

An accident at a nuclear power plant could kill thousands and render large swaths of land uninhabitable.

The mining and milling of uranium ore poses its own set of environmental and health hazards. And the presence of a plant creates security concerns: Fuel could fall into the wrong hands. The plants are potential terrorist targets.

Plus, a power plant is a two-for-one deal. Because the U.S. lacks a permanent disposal facility, lethal spent fuel would be stored on site, the same sort of spent fuel the state spent millions of dollars to keep off the Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation.

Conservation and rapid utilization of renewable energy sources,continue to be the nation's, and

Utah's, safest and best bets for clean energy security.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_13226081

Uranium all about $ signs

Comment: Again, another great letter stating facts about the layoffs in uranium mining. Southside deserves clean, high tech jobs just like Northern Virginia! We are tired of manufacturing jobs and we do not want our children to grow up to be uranium miners!! Demand Virginia to ban uranium mining and milling NOW!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 9:22 AM EDT

It saddens me to think some can only think of $$ (dollar signs) and not the contamination and sickness from uranium mining and milling.

We, the citizens, have nothing to gain and everything to lose.

I would like to know when the price of uranium drops will Virginia Uranium Inc. or any other uranium mining companies handle their mining and milling operations like all the other mining companies in the world do.

Will you stop operations temporally or permanently until the price of uranium rises again?

Keep in mind, even if you are an experienced miner, these jobs could be part time; you might be laid off for months.

Can you support your family on a part-time job? Would you try and build or buy a house or buy a new vehicle knowing you might only work three to four months a year?

The only milling facility (White Mesa) in the United States has only operated a few months this year, and announced in May it would not process ore for the remainder of 2009 because its cost is higher than the spot price of uranium, according to Denison Mines president Ron Hochstein.

Let's not forget about all the part-time tax revenue for our county and state.

My understanding of the tax revenue from mining and milling operations is the company has to be running and the jobs being worked to get the tax revenue.

Our great state and county are not run on part-time taxes and jobs.

It might help, but it does not outweigh the contamination of our drinking water and land, the sickness to our families and the tax increases to clean up this mess if it ever could be cleaned up.

All I hear is we need to mine this uranium, get it out of the ground if it is so dangerous, it's a matter of national security, and we need to dig so we can power our nuclear plants now.

Well watch the price drop and you will see the mining stop.

The nuclear plants still need the uranium whether the price is high or low, but we have an excess of uranium, and the mining and milling will stop and start with the greed and costs of operations.

If dug up, the radon released with be 10,000 times more than if left in the ground.

What I feel is a matter of national security is destroying your own water and agriculture land and depending on foreign countries to feed you or provide you with drinking water.

Phillip Lovelace
Gretna

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/08/05/chatham/opinion/opinion02.txt

Protecting Fort Collins and Northern Colorado from Uranium Mining

Comment: Mining’s benefits will not last forever: Now to sum up the problems of uranium mining in the world, from water to health, from economic problems to uranium accidents, nothing but pure greed if the State of Virginia allows uranium mining in the whole state! Only the state of Virginia and the Canadian uranium mining company will benefit from open pit uranium mining and milling!

A Canadian company, Powertech, is planning to mine uranium just six miles northeast of Fort Collins on 6,880 acres of private land.

The company has bought mineral rights and continues to drill test holes. 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 (ISL) and open pit (OP) - pose serious health risks for local residents, and create drastic environmental and economic risks for Fort Collins and northern Colorado. The Larimer County Medical Society, the Colorado Medical Society, and even the City of Fort Collins passed resolutions against the mine. Elected officials from both political parties, farmers and ranchers, medical professionals, real estate agents, and environmentalists have taken a stand against the mine.

What Does this Mean for Fort Collins and Northern Colorado?
Uranium mining is dangerous and poses serious risks to public health and to the economy.

Spills, leaks, mechanical failures, and transportation accidents are common with ISL mining.
Open pit uranium mining creates radioactive tailings and dust.
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.
Scientific studies show that people living near uranium mines are at a substantially higher risk of developing serious health problems.
The economic risks are even worse: nobody wants to live near a uranium mine, nearby landowners can't sell their property. 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, increased dust emissions and air pollution, and a host of other legal, technical and political problems.
Powertech is buying up mineral rights under residential homes between Wellington and Nunn. Even though the residents own this property, they have no say in what will be going on right below their homes!
Uranium Mining Can't Wait - So Neither Should You!
In the last three years, thousands of uranium mining claims have been filed in Colorado, including claims just a few miles from the heavily populated areas of Fort Collins and Greeley. Companies are aggressively exploring for uranium and drilling test holes in many areas of Colorado.

These uranium mines will be either in-situ leach or open pit mines - both are very dangerous. In-situ leach uranium mines pump dangerous chemicals into the aquifer and groundwater to leach out the uranium, and then pump the groundwater to the surface to chemically extract the uranium from the water. Open pit mines involve digging massive open pits that extract uranium by mechanical means.

Colorado needs to enact stringent regulations to protect citizens and property owners from the dangers of uranium mining. In a few months the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board will be changing the rules on uranium mining to make them comply with laws passed by the legislature in 2008.

http://www.cleanwateraction.org/programinitiative/protecting-fort-collins-and-northern-colorado-uranium-mining

Uranium mining, milling brings more than money

Comment: Great Letter Mr. Lovelace about what uranium mining will do to our lovely state of Virginia for the price of greed of uranium companies and Corp. Virginia!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 9:44 AM EDT

It saddens me to think some can only think of dollar signs and not the contamination and sickness from uranium mining and milling. We, the citizens, have nothing to gain and everything to lose.

I would like to know when the price of uranium drops, whether Virginia Uranium Inc. or any other uranium mining companies handle their mining and milling operations like all the other mining companies in the world do. Will you stop operations temporarily or permanently until the price of uranium rises again?

Keep in mind even if you are an experienced miner, these jobs could be part-time. You might be laid off for months. Can you support your family on a part-time job? Would you try and build or buy a house or buy a new vehicle knowing you might only work three or four months a year? The only milling facility (White Mesa) in the United States has only operated a few months this year and announced in May it would not process ore for the remainder of 2009 because the cost is higher than the spot price of uranium, according to the owner, Denison Mines President Ron Hochstein.

Let's not forget about all the part-time tax revenue for our county and state. My understanding of the tax revenue with mining and milling operations is the company has to be running and the jobs being worked to get the tax revenue. Our great state and county are not run on part-time taxes and jobs. It might help, but it does not outweigh the contamination of our drinking water and land, the sickness to our families and the tax increases to clean up this mess if it ever could be cleaned up.

Mr. Roach, haven't you been working on and off? Well, let me say this another way. Haven't you worked part-time for Virginia Uranium Inc. over the last several years? I am sure you have not depended on this solely to support your family. You also speak of us having a thriving community, I wonder if the Navaho Indians would agree with you on this issue.

All I hear is we need to mine this uranium, get it out of the ground, it's a matter of national security, and we need to dig so we can power our nuclear plants now. Well, watch the price drop and you will see the mining stop. The nuclear plants still need the uranium whether the price is high or low, but we have an excess of uranium and the mining and milling will stop and start with the greed and costs of operations. If dug up, the radon released would be 10,000, yes that is 10,000, times more than if left in the ground.

What I feel is a matter of national security is destroying your own water and agricultural land and depending on foreign countries to feed you or provide you with drinking water.

Phillip Lovelace

Gretna

Energy conference draws crowd in Lynchburg

Comment: Pro-Nuke Bunch will mine Southside and all of Virginia! Nuke power is too expensive and with the French involved, most of the profits will go back to France and the Canadian uranium mining companies will take most of their money back to Canada! No to Uranium mining! The NRC represents corporations so do not depend on them to report the real conditions of uranium milling or nuke plants! Oh, by the way, write to the senator and explain to him Nuke Plants are not CO2 free, he needs to study the problems of uranium mining!

By Ray Reed
Published: July 27, 2009

More than 300 people turned out in Lynchburg today to hear Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District, tell why he doesn’t support the cap-and-trade energy bill that passed the House of Representatives about a month ago.

“The bill sets us on a track that I find not very compelling,“ Goodlatte said at the energy conference he sponsors once a year in the Sixth district.

The cap-and-trade bill now is pending in the U.S. Senate, and Goodlatte said the House-passed version would increase energy costs without lowering global temperatures very much.

Goodlatte said the best energy scenario is nuclear power — a line that won applause from the crowd at Central Virginia Community College. Nuclear technol-ogy is improving and it generates power without releasing carbon emissions, Goodlatte said.

Another speaker at the conference was Kristine Svinicki, a director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Svinicki said she expects new nuclear plant worldwide to increase electricity production by 10 percent.

In the U.S., Svinicki said the Department of Energy has forecast 10 new reactors will be built in the next couple of decades. Svinicki said one signal that nuclear power may be making a comeback in the U.S. came last week when Areva and Northrop Grumman shipbuilding broke ground on a plant to make nu-clear-power equipment in Newport News.

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/energy_conference_draws_crowd_in_lynchburg/18017/

Goodlatte explains opposition to energy bill

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/goodlatte_explains_opposition_to_energy_bill/18019/ By Ray Reed
Published: July 27, 2009

More than 300 people turned out in Lynchburg today to hear Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District, tell why he doesn’t support the cap-and-trade energy bill that passed the House of Representatives about a month ago.

“The bill sets us on a track that I find not very compelling,“ Goodlatte said at the energy conference he sponsors once a year in the Sixth district.

The cap-and-trade bill now is pending in the U.S. Senate, and Goodlatte said the House-passed version would increase energy costs without lowering global temperatures very much.

Goodlatte said the best energy scenario is nuclear power — a line that won applause from the crowd at Central Virginia Community College. Nuclear technology is improving and it generates power without releasing carbon emissions, Goodlatte said.

Another speaker at the conference was Kristine Svinicki, a director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Svinicki said she expects new nuclear plant worldwide to increase electricity production by 10 percent.

In the U.S., Svinicki said the Department of Energy has forecast 10 new reactors will be built in the next couple of decades. Svinicki said one signal that nuclear power may be making a comeback in the U.S. came last week when Areva and Northrop Grumman shipbuilding broke ground on a plant to make nuclear-power equipment in Newport News.

NRC director to speak at city energy conference

Comment: Nuclear Power Lies! We need to make our presence known at this meeting! No to Uranium Mining

Goodlatte To Host Energy Conference At Central Virginia Community College

By Patte Wood
Staff Reporter

Congressmen Bob Goodlatte will host an Energy Conference on Monday, July 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg.

The conference will focus on ways to lessen our dangerous dependence on foreign energy. Guest speakers will cover topics such as the importance of expanded use of home-grown and home-produced energy, including fully utilizing nuclear power and renewable energy technologies.

Following the speakers, conference attendees will have the opportunity to visit booths, gather information and ask questions of representatives from a number of different local organizations, universities and government agencies who are working to develop alternative and renewable energy.

Booths open at 9:30. Location: Central Virginia Community College, Merritt Hall, Community room, 3506 Wards Road, Lynchburg.

http://www.rockbridgeweekly.com/rw_article.php?ndx=14729

NRC director to speak at city energy conference

By Ray Reed

Published: July 21, 2009

An energy conference featuring the director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be held in Lynchburg on Monday.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District, is sponsoring the conference, which will bring NRC Director Kristine Svinicki and two other speakers to Central Virginia Community College for the 10 a.m. event.

“This conference will have a lot of useful information about energy needs, about legislation in Congress, and three guest speakers, all of whom should be interesting,” Goodlatte said.

It also promises information about alternatives to the energy bill the House of Representatives passed in June, over Goodlatte’s opposition.

Although he’s in favor of developing new energy sources in the Democrat-backed bill, Goodlatte said, “it’s far too expensive to replace nuclear, coal and gas-powered vehicles.”

“Those are the sources of energy we are heavily dependent on in this country,” and “we’re going to be heavily reliant on them for years to come,” he said.

“Where the Democratic bill went off track was by raising the cost of utilizing them before we had anything to replace them with” in the form of proven and renewable green-energy sources, Goodlatte said.

Speakers, in addition to Svinicki and Goodlatte, will be Ben Lieberman of the Heritage Foundation and Timothy Davidick, an executive with ADM Micro Inc., an energy management company in Roanoke.

Goodlatte said he expected several energy-related companies to set up display tables at the conference, including Areva nuclear company, American Electric Power, Dominion Virginia Power, Innovative Wireless Technologies, Babcock & Wilcox Co. and Virginia Uranium Inc. of Pittsylvania County. A Toyota energy-efficient car will be on display, Goodlatte said.

Svinicki has been commissioner of the NRC since March 2008. She is a nuclear engineer and was a policy adviser for the Senate Armed Services Committee under former Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

She worked on defense science and technology programs, including nuclear weapons, security and environmental management programs.

Lieberman, a specialist in energy and environmental issues, frequently comments on TV news channels and advocates free-market solutions to rising energy prices while supporting access to domestic energy supplies.

Davidick heads up an ADM Micro initiative to help commercial properties upgrade their electricity metering and sustainable energy programs such as power from solar, wind and biofuel sources. The company provides systems that manage electricity use in stores, restaurants and government buildings.


http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/nrc_director_to_speak_at_city_energy_conference/17878/

Official seeks funding for uranium study

By John Crane

Published: July 8, 2009

While the commonwealth waits for a study to begin to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in the state, the head of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission is seeking funding for the study.

So far, the sole entity that has expressed willingness to pay for the study is Virginia Uranium Inc., said Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-1st District, chairman of the VCEC.

“They’re the only ones who have offered funding,” Kilgore said, adding that he will try to obtain funding from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, the Piedmont Environmental Council or other organizations.

The commission is responsible for arranging financing of the study. The VCEC’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee approved the first part of the study, which is expected to cover the technical aspects of mining and milling, in May. Kilgore said the study’s first portion would cost about $1.2 million. The second phase, which would cover uranium’s economic impact but has not yet been approved by the subcommittee, will cost about $500,000, Kilgore said.

The subcommittee will oversee the study. Michael Karmis, director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech, presented the final recommendation of the first phase of the study’s scope to the subcommittee on May 21, and is working on the study with the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council.

Karmis is out of the country and could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Kilgore said he will talk to Karmis about funding sources for the study and expects the next Uranium Mining Subcommittee meeting to take place in August or September. Kilgore said he believes the study, which would take up to two years, will start in the fall and that determining the scope of the study’s second phase later will not slow the process.

VUI chairman Walter Coles Sr. said his company has not been in discussion with the commission about providing funding, but would help pay for it if no alternate sources are found. VUI seeks to mine and mill a 119-million pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Funding must be in place before the study begins, Kilgore said.

Uranium mining opponents have raised questions about the objectivity of a study backed by mining interests. Kilgore said he trusts the National Academy of Sciences to approach the study scientifically with no bias.

“The NAS would have a lot of safeguards in place,” Kilgore said. “They’re scientists first. I don’t believe they have an agenda either way.”

Jennifer Walsh, spokeswoman with the NAS/NRC, said academy officials have discussed the study’s scope with Karmis. Walsh said the academy has not received an official request for a study.

“The official request and proposed statement of task (the study’s scope) must … be approved by our governing board, which includes the president of the NAS, before a study can begin,” Walsh said via e-mail Wednesday.

The scope of the study’s first phase includes, among additional items, examination of public-safety and health impact of uranium mining and milling; review of the geologic, environmental, geographic, climatic and cultural settings and exploration status of uranium resources in Virginia; identification and description of the main types of uranium deposits worldwide, including, for example, geologic characteristics, mining operations and best practices; a review of global and national uranium market trends; a review of the state and federal regulatory framework for uranium mining, milling, processing and reclamation; identification of the issues that may need to be considered regarding the quality and quantity of groundwater and surface water and the quality of soil and air from uranium mining, milling, processing and reclamation; as relevant, water and waste management and severe weather effects or other stochastic events may also be considered.

'Cheerleaders' for nuclear energy ignore facts

Comment: Great Letter Karen!!! No to uranium mining and milling in Virginia!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:47 AM EDT

The Virginia Uranium Inc. oligarchy continues to ignore and minimize the negative impacts of uranium mining and milling.

Equally disturbing is this industry's ongoing attempts to erode our civil rights and the legislators who are allowing this travesty.

Virginia Uranium has engaged a host of self-serving experts and VUI family members to write letters of support on their behalf.

Their letters speak, in generalities, of nuclear power and avoid mention of the negative impacts of uranium mining and milling on a community, region and state.

The Nuclear Energy Institute has joined the metastasizing Virginia Uranium Inc. supporters.

NEI project manager Suzanne Phelps weighs in with more of the same.

Ms. Phelps likes to "name drop," citing Gov. Kaine, President Obama and former EPA administrator Whitman as supporters of nuclear energy.

Do any of these folks have a uranium mine and mill in their neighborhoods?

She also says the uranium from Coles Hill could fuel Virginia for 65 years.

Phelps portrays VUI as a philanthropic organization regarding yellowcake dispersal.

Somehow I don't see all that yellowcake, or enriched uranium, being warehoused for decades for exclusive use by Virginia.

Phelps further comments, "That potential speaks volumes about the long-term economic opportunities that Pittsylvania County and area residents can derive from mining practices that embrace environmental stewardship and incorporate lessons learned from worldwide experience in this field."

It appears she has the answer to the question we've all been asking. Where are three places in the world, similar to our climate, watersheds and population where mining and milling have been done safely? How many jobs were created?

Perhaps she'll enlighten us in future epistles.

I especially like the "magic" in Phelp's quote: "Nuclear energy is cheap and clean, and we have plenty of it here in America and Virginia."

You dig up some rocks and there's your energy!

She neglects to mention the radioactive/hazardous wastes that are generated and stored for thousands of years as a result of mining, milling and nuclear power generation.

She also omits information regarding the cost of building a reactor and the tax dollars that subsidize, monitor and clean up after the industry.

We do not appreciate cheerleaders for nuclear energy. We crave factual information regarding mining and milling of uranium.

We deserve local and state representative who are bright enough to know the difference.

Karen B. Maute

Danville

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/06/24/chatham/opinion/opinion01.txt

Virginia opens door to uranium mining, OKs study

Comment: Blog mentions our Blog! Yes, we are against uranium mining and milling!!

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Nancy

A proposal to mine uranium in south-central Virginia advanced this week when a key state body approved a study of the matter. The targeted site is in Virginia’s Pittsylvania County just north of the city of Danville and close to the border with North Carolina’s Rockingham,

You can read the perspective of the company that intends to do the mining.

The Alliance opposes the mining.

The Southern Environmental Law Center says: Uranium occurs naturally in the ground, but when exposed to air and water, radiation is released into the environment. Virtually all uranium mining in the U.S. has occurred in the arid, sparsely populated regions of the West. In these areas and other parts of the world, uranium extraction and processing have caused serious problems, such as the contamination of groundwater and surface water and increased cancer risk for workers and the public.

There is no precedent for large-scale uranium mining in eastern states such as Virginia, where the population density puts more people at risk and where a wetter climate increases the chance of radiation contaminating streams and groundwater.

Virginia has no regulations for uranium mining, and the federal government has virtually no experience regulating the activity in a wet climate.

http://obxcommonground.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/virginia-opens-door-to-uranium-mining-oks-study/

Alice Springs says no uranium exploration at Angela Pamela

Comment: LEAVE IT IN THE GROUND!!! NO URANIUM MINING IN VIRGINIA!!!

Engage Media from Arid Lands Environment Centre in Alice Springsby Natalie Wasley — last modified 18 June 09

A community rally held three hours after the Northern Territory Government granted the exploration license for uranium exploration at Angela Pamela. The deposits are less than 25km from Alice Springs and situated within the water catchment boundary and water control district.
This film documents one snap action in Alice Springs, which is a snapshot of the vibrant community response to the Angela Pamela uranium proposal.

A Cameco-Paladin joint venture applied for a license to explore uranium at the Angela and Pamela deposits, 25kms south of Alice Springs, amidst a sharp increase in uranium exploration throughout Central Australia. This trend is strongly encouraged by the Northern Territory Government and Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, who last month asserted new uranium mines are likely to open in the Northern Territory.

The Alice Springs Angela Pamela (ASAP) Collective formed in opposition to the exploration application and has organised public meetings, rallies, petitions, actions, film nights and other events to raise awareness about and directly challenge the progress of the proposal.

The Angela and Pamela deposits are located within the boundaries of the Alice Springs water catchment area and water control district. Uranium mining operations consume large volumes of water and there is a risk of contaminating surface and ground water sources.

Exploration and mining pose a significant risk to public health and local ecosystems. Workers, nearby communities and the environment will all be exposed to radioactive materials.

The areas around and including the Angela and Pamela sites have been identified in the Draft NT Parks master plan as holding national biodiversity and conservation significance. These areas should be reserved for low impact development such as tourism and not opened up for high impact projects like uranium mining.

This film documents one snap action in Alice Springs, which is a snapshot of the vibrant community response to the Angela Pamela uranium proposal: LOCATED ON SIDE OF BLOG!

http://nuclearnewsaustralia.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/alice-springs-says-no-uranium-exploration-at-angela-pamela/

A quick guide to Tuesday’s primary

Comment: No uranium mining and milling in Virginia!

By Catherine Amos

Published: June 7, 2009

Across the commonwealth Tuesday, Virginia’s voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots for the Democratic candidates in the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s races. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, former delegate Brian Moran and state Sen. Creigh Deeds are vying for the chance to run against Republican nominee Bob McDonnell for governor in the fall. Former secretary of finance Jody Wagner and national security expert Mike Signer are running for lieutenant governor.

Danville registrar Peggy Petty expects less than 5 percent of the city’s nearly 29,300 registered voters to participate in the primary. Pittsylvania County registrar Jenny Lee Sanders estimated about 2 percent of the 41,500 county voters would vote.

“For a primary, it’s usually very small,” Sanders said.

THE CANDIDATES ON LOCAL ISSUES

Creigh Deeds

What is your position on uranium mining?

1. Energy independence is a matter of national and economic security. We’re going to need a mix of energy from all sources and I don’t think any option should be taken off the table until the science takes them off the table. When I lived in Danville after first graduating law school, one of the first groups I joined was the Southside Concerned Citizens, because my concerns about uranium mining in Pittsylvania are the same as they are today. Heavy annual rainfall creates a serious risk of radioactive tailings poisoning the water supply. I look forward to reviewing the upcoming study of these risks, but without scientific evidence to the contrary, I will remain opposed to mining uranium in Southside.

What is your plan to increase rural economic development?

2. Creating jobs is the best way to grow our economy and ensure opportunity throughout Virginia. My three-point job creation agenda will restore confidence in the economy and help middle-class families with new job opportunities and the chance to train for a new career. As governor, I’ll grow our economy and invest in the middle class through a groundbreaking jobs proposal that will make Virginia a leader in the green jobs and 21st century careers in alternative and renewable energy, including a new switch-grass production facility in Southside. Through my Better Schools, Better Jobs initiative, we’ll guarantee student loans for every Virginia attending a state community college or four-year institution. And, to make higher education affordable and accessible to everyone, I have a detailed plan to expand community colleges with new job training opportunities and increase capacity for in-state students at our colleges and universities.

What is your plan to improve Virginia’s transportation system?

3. In my first year as governor, I will make the first significant investment in our transportation system in a generation in order to create jobs and spur economic growth throughout the commonwealth. In order for Southside to flourish, we need to put in place the transportation infrastructure that businesses need to move goods and services. Its time to stop pitting one region of our state against another and advance a statewide vision for transportation that includes completing projects like U.S. Route 58 from Virginia Beach to Cumberland Gap, investing in high-speed rail, and conducting a major upgrade of public transportation. We need to think long-term but we have to act now. Our antiquated transportation system prevents economic development in every corner of the commonwealth and it’s costing us jobs.

Brian Moran

What is your position on uranium mining?

1. Our top priority has to be the safety and security of Virginia families. That’s why I have serious concerns about uranium mining in Virginia. I am especially concerned that the waste could contaminate rivers and streams and our water supplies. Unlike the other candidates for governor, I do not believe an industry-funded study will give us the answer. If we cannot show that uranium mining is safe through a truly independent study, we should not move forward. As governor, I’ll always be fighting for Virginia’s families, to protect your health and safety.

What is your plan to increase rural economic development?

2. As their legislative point man, I worked with Gov. Warner and Kaine to bring jobs to rural Virginia and expand unemployment benefits. As governor, I will continue this important work by expanding rural Virginia’s agriculture, tourism, energy and technology economies. My administration will capitalize on Virginia’s strengths in agribusiness and agritourism by expanding marketing around the nation and the world. We can strengthen rural Virginia’s technology economy by expanding affordable broadband access and increasing courses in high-demand fields at Virginia Tech, the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research, and community colleges to put Virginians back to work.

What is your plan to improve Virginia’s transportation system?

3. I have a proven record of fighting alongside Gov. Warner and Kaine to invest in our roads, expand options for mass transit, and improve rail in Virginia. My transportation investment can create 35,000 new jobs. Improving transportation infrastructure is especially critical to growing rural Virginia’s economy. I will focus on improvements, such as completing the widening of U.S. Route 58, paving state roads, and completing the Coalfields Expressway. As governor, I will work with my friend Delegate Ward Armstrong to make investing in Virginia’s rural transportation infrastructure a priority. I am proud to have Delegate Armstrong’s endorsement.

Terry McAuliffe

What is your position on uranium mining?

1. I will not support uranium mining if it is determined to put Virginians’ health or safety at risk. As governor, my first priority will be to protect the health and safety of Virginians. I want to ensure we have the best information on the health and environmental ramifications of uranium mining before we decide whether it could be done safely in Virginia. The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission recently commissioned a study on the subject, and I want that study to go forward.

What is your plan to increase rural economic development?

2. Under Gov. Warner and Kaine, Virginia has had many successes in job creation. But, the governor needs more tools to continue to grow our economy and attract the high-demand, high-wage jobs we need.

As governor, growing our economy will be my top priority. We can do that by implementing a mandatory renewable energy standard of 25 percent by 2025 to encourage renewable energy companies to locate here. We can use incentives to produce long-term economic growth and make sure our workforce is ready. And we can develop regional economic strategies built on the unique strengths of each region of Virginia.

What is your plan to improve Virginia’s transportation system?

3. By 2018, Virginia will no longer have funds available for road construction. When the economy recovers, we must have an honest conversation about revenue for transportation so we can pay for projects like expanding U.S. Route 58 to allow for economic development in Southside — enabling easy access from the Port of Virginia to potential distribution facilities.

We should also focus on intermodal forms of transportation, like commuter rail and mass transit, in order to become more efficient, more respectful of our environment, and get people moving.

http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/article/a_quick_guide_to_tuesdays_primary/11568/

Beware of uranium’s Midas touch

Comment: Ms. WORSLEY, great letter, we want to say: HECK NO, WE WON'T GLOW!!!! Ban Uranium mining & milling now!!

By Published by The Editorial Board
Published: June 5, 2009

To the editor:

I am so frustrated by our populace’s belief in the uranium mining “study.”

Study of what? How much money the investors of a Canadian company will make? How much money Walter Coles and his friends will make? How much money everyone other than these people will lose by being subjected to the loss of their livelihoods and lives by having one of the most hazardous and toxic businesses in the world located in their backyards?

Please, wake up and fight, folks. We need every voice.

We, the citizens of Virginia — and more narrowly, the citizens of Pittsylvania County — have been described by Norman Reynolds (Virginia Uranium CEO and the CEO of Santoy upon the transaction’s closing), as being “… very nuclear friendly, … it’s a state that is very comfortable and supportive of nuclear energy.”

I guess what hit me here was where this quote was referenced — in an article on the Web site http://www.midasletter.com, an investor’s online newsletter. Most of us know the story of Midas — everything he touched turned to gold.

But if you read the “rest of the story,” here’s how it goes: Midas rejoiced in his new power, which he hastened to put to the test. He touched an oak twig and a stone; both turned to gold. Overjoyed, as soon as he got home, he ordered the servants to set a feast on the table.

“So Midas swelled at first with pride when he found he could transform everything he touched to gold; but when he beheld his food grow rigid and his drink harden into golden ice then he understood that this gift was a bane and in his loathing for gold, cursed his prayer.”

In a version told by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Midas found that when he touched his daughter, she turned into a statue as well.

Is this our future by allowing the uranium bulldozer to roll?
Just say no.
And you better say it loud.

LINDA WORSLEY
Chatham



http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/danville_letters/article/beware_of_uraniums_midas_touch/11499/

Protect area from 'benign' uranium mining

Comment: Uranium mining has never been mined safely anywhere in the world. The State of Virginia needs to study our Western families and their problems with past and present uranium mining and milling!!


Article Last Updated; Thursday, June 04, 2009

While reading the piece on mining rules and the push to open uranium mining along the Dolores River (Herald, May 30), we were struck by the comment of Stuart Sanderson, spokesman for the Colorado Mining Association, that "Uranium mining is relatively benign."

Colorado and its many mountain communities have suffered from the "benign" practices of mining before.

Aside form the obvious concern about mining near the beautiful gold-medal fishing of the Dolores, here are a few other facts to consider: Uranium mining, using various technologies, produces massive amounts of polluted water, which is pumped out of the mine site and usually ends up in groundwater; the process produces radon gas from tailings (if any) and sulfuric acid, which is used as a leaching liquid.

Trace amounts of radioactivity end up in rock from the milling process, which then is dumped at or near the mill site. This is hardly benign.

We urge people to participate in the rules-making process and pay careful attention to ensure that we are protected adequately from such "benign" practices. Our future health and the viability of the Dolores River are at stake.

Doug and Jan Parker,
Cortez

http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/letters_to_the_editor/2009/06/04/Protect_area_from_benign_uranium_mining/

CBS News films story on uranium mining

Comment: I wonder how this will be spin? No to Uranium Mining and Milling!!! Maybe everyone should write this guy and give him some input!!!

TIM DAVIS/Star-Tribune EditorWednesday, June 3, 2009 10:06 AM EDT

Thursday filming a story on uranium mining.

Reporter Dean Reynolds and producer Erin Lyall flew in from Chicago, Ill., and spent most of the day talking to supporters and opponents of uranium mining in Pittsylvania County.

Reynolds, who got the idea for the story after seeing an article on uranium in the "Economist" magazine, visited Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham.

Discovered 30 years ago, the Coles Hill uranium deposit is believed to be one of the largest uranium deposits in the United States.

Two years ago, the Coles and Bowen families formed Virginia Uranium Inc. in hopes of eventually mining the deposit, which is worth an estimated $8 billion.

CBS News spent about two hours at Coles Hill, which also is the name of Virginia Uranium founder and chairman Walter Coles' ancestral home.

Reynolds, accompanied by a film crew from Atlanta, Ga., toured Coles' farm and home and looked at core samples from recent test drilling.

The reporter also interviewed Coles, who talked about the history of his home, family and farm, how the uranium was discovered, and the vision behind Virginia Uranium.

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/06/03/chatham/news/news53.txt