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Virginia Beach’s water threatened by uranium mining

Virginia Beach city officials have said they oppose the mining proposal because it could threaten the city’s water supply which includes Lake Gaston…..

Experts at Va. symposium see risks in uranium mining | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com. March 12, 2010By Rex Springston, Richmond Times-Dispatch | MCT Regional News Virginian-Pilot writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.Mining uranium can create health and economic problems, experts said yesterday.A company called Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine uranium in Pittsylvania County in south-central Virginia.

The radioactive material fuels nuclear power plants.Uranium and related substances such as radon have been linked to problems such as cancer, birth defects and kidney disease, said Doug Brugge, a professor of public health at the Tufts University School of Medicine.”There is a pretty solid scientific basis to be concerned about the health impacts,” Brugge said.

People could be exposed by working in a mine, drinking contaminated water or inhaling tainted air, he said.A uranium mine in Pittsylvania would create a lot of waste and hurt local economic development, said Paul Robinson, research director for the Southwest Research and Information Center, a nonprofit educational group in New Mexico.The men spoke at a daylong symposium on uranium mining at Richmond CenterStage in downtown Richmond…..Virginia Beach city officials have said they oppose the mining proposal because it could threaten the city’s water supply which includes Lake Gaston…..
Brugge and Robinson said current regulations are not very strict. Robinson also said prices and demand for uranium have dropped in recent years…

State officials have asked the National Research Council, a respected scientific organization, to study the safety of uranium mining in Virginia. Virginia Uranium is putting up $1.4 million for the study, which could be completed by late 2011, Wales said.

Virginia has banned uranium mining since the early 1980s. Virginia Uranium wants the ban lifted.

Experts at Va. symposium see risks in uranium mining | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

March 13, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, uranium