nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Buying support for uranium mining

“In Virginia, there are grave concerns about the industry’s ability to manage all of that radioactive and toxic waste,” said Cale Jaffe, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center…

Va. company picking up tab for uranium-mining tour, Boston.com, RICHMOND, Va.—A company that wants to mine uranium in Virginia is flying state legislators, local officials and residents to Canada to visit uranium mining and milling operations. By Steve Szkotak, Associated Press / September 7, 2011  

The trip is one of several sponsored by Virginia Uranium Inc. as it lobbies to end a 1982 moratorium on uranium mining so it can tap a 119-million-pound deposit in Southside Virginia. The uranium deposit is believed to be the largest in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.

Project manager Patrick Wales said Tuesday that about 15 company representatives and their guests will travel to Saskatchewan in late September for the three-day tour. In June, the company paid almost $10,000 each to fly more than a dozen members of the General Assembly to France to visit a former mining operation. It was the second trip to France the company had sponsored.

The General Assembly is expected to take up the issue of uranium mining in its 2012 session. The moratorium was enacted nearly three decades ago after the Pittsylvania County deposit was identified, sparking interest in other suspected deposits in the state by mining companies…..

Wales declined to identify any of the residents or officials who have agreed to participate in the Saskatchewan trip. He said the guests include local officials, some of whom are undecided on the mining issue, and state legislators.

“We’re expanding the opportunity for people interested in seeing this, not just legislators but people in the community,” Wales said. “We’re not limiting the folks to just supporters.”

He said he could not provide the total cost of the trip…..

“In Virginia, there are grave concerns about the industry’s ability to manage all of that radioactive and toxic waste,” said Cale Jaffe, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center…..

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2011/09/07/va_company_picking_up_tab_for_uranium_mining_tour/

September 8, 2011 - Posted by | business and costs, USA

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

« Previous | Next »