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Uranium mining not economic in the long run

Stakeholders need to consider the not-so-obvious long-term costs, as well as the much-touted short-term benefits of permitting uranium development throughout Virginia…….As deposits of economic interest are identified, the people near those deposits will find themselves stakeholders in public policy decisions regarding uranium mining. Who are these stakeholders-to-be?

Who bears the economic and environmental risks of uranium mining?  ALTAVISTA JOURNAL, By Katie Whitehead, July 14, 2010Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) and its public relations firm have framed uranium mining in Virginia as an opportunity for billions in benefits – if it can be done safely. But safety is only part of the issue. The real issue is the inseparable economic and environmental risks of uranium development and who bears these risks. Stakeholders need to consider the not-so-obvious long-term costs, as well as the much-touted short-term benefits of permitting uranium development throughout Virginia………….Potential profit will motivate investment in exploration, but not necessarily in research on risks to the environment. Geologists and hydrologists have told us we need years of research to predict what would happen to groundwater and surface water at Coles Hill or at any other site in Virginia if uranium were mined and radioactive tailings were stored in the ground for thousands of years.

As deposits of economic interest are identified, the people near those deposits will find themselves stakeholders in public policy decisions regarding uranium mining. Who are these stakeholders-to-be?

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July 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium