nuclear-news

South Dakota: precious water endangered by “in-situ” uranium minng

as for water quality, we know from the history of in situ leach
uranium mining that the groundwater will be contaminated. Leaks and
spills are common. Every in situ uranium mine has them. And at the end
of the process — when things have supposedly been “cleaned up” — the
groundwater has always been left polluted with radioactivity and with
things like arsenic, selenium and lead.

FORUM: In situ uranium mining will pollute water
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/forum-in-situ-uranium-mining-will-pollute-water/article_ecc53035-6f34-5293-8d5f-08b0e619bee0.html
  January 12, 2013 Plans to mine uranium north of Edgemont remain
controversial — and with good reason. The company involved, Powertech
Uranium, is a foreign corporation that has never mined anything. They
want to use 9,000 gallons per minute of our water. And they will leave
the water contaminated with radiation and other things — like every
other “in situ” leach uranium mine in U.S. history.

In situ leach mining involves pumping a solution underground, where it
loosens the uranium from the rock, and then pumping the uranium-filled
solution back to the surface.

Let’s look at the company’s claims. It says that its personnel have
“extensive backgrounds” in the uranium industry. But let’s look at
that background. The company’s vice president of environmental health
and safety resources — the man who would be in charge of the health
of our water — was in charge of cleaning up a 130-acre radioactive
uranium waste site in Moab, Utah. He failed to clean it up, and the
company he was working for declared bankruptcy. Taxpayers are now
paying for the clean up at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.

We don’t want that type of “extensive background” in South Dakota.

The company’s track record is also suspect. It tried to mine uranium
in Colorado. There, as here, local citizens and governments opposed
the project. The state passed tough laws to ensure that its citizens
and water would be protected. Rather than comply with the law,
Powertech sued the state and eventually left Colorado. Here, the
company worked to overturn state laws that would protect us.

The company has applied to the state for permits to extract 9,000
gallons of water per minute from the Madison and Inyan Kara aquifers.
Over the 20-year life of the project, this totals 94 billion gallons
of water. The company’s project manager minimizes the impacts this
would have, saying the company will “really” use a smaller amount.

But the fact remains that, if the company gets the permits, it can use
9,000 gallons of our water, every minute of every day for a
generation. It can sell the water to another company. Its project is
on the Wyoming line, and water could be sold out of state. This is
important in a semi-arid region that suffers regular droughts and
relies on groundwater. We need our water.

And as for water quality, we know from the history of in situ leach
uranium mining that the groundwater will be contaminated. Leaks and
spills are common. Every in situ uranium mine has them. And at the end
of the process — when things have supposedly been “cleaned up” — the
groundwater has always been left polluted with radioactivity and with
things like arsenic, selenium and lead.

Research shows that rural counties in the west that are managed for
conservation and recreation, rather than for resource development,
have greater economic success, including higher home prices and more
jobs. Our tourist and recreation economy benefits us all. Uranium
mining would benefit a foreign company and its Canadian, Russian and
Belgian investors.

We don’t want to be guinea pigs for this company. We want our water to
be safe and available for future use.

Uranium mining has been stopped in the Black Hills before. We need to
stop it again.

January 14, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium, USA, water