Comment: Please review the modern uranium mining in Australia and the government control tailings ponds and open pit flooding in previous articles on the blog! The linings are leaking, plus during heavy rains, the over wash of tailings ponds! Mother Nature wrecks good plans, like the dikes on the Mississippi River during hurricanes! The Wales guy, have you seen any uranium mining or is this just theory? Plus uranium mining will be all over our county and Virginia!
By John Crane
Published: November 17, 2009
Updated: November 17, 2009
Uranium mining opponents say flooding like the type that occurred in Pittsylvania County last week would pollute the water supply if uranium mining and milling take place at Coles Hill.
But officials at Virginia Uranium Inc., who want to mine and mill a massive ore deposit at Coles Hill near Chatham, say tailings management would ensure an environmentally-friendly operation there.
“This will be done in a safe and sustainable manner,” said Patrick Wales, geologist and spokesman with VUI.
VUI hopes to mine and mill a 119 million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham.
The study, if approved, would take about 18 months. Jennifer Walsh, NAS spokeswoman, said Tuesday the agency has no comment on the matter.
“They’re still working out the scope of the study,” Walsh said.
Last week, Pittsylvania County officials declared a state of emergency after heavy rains and flooding forced the closure of dozens of roads, including parts of Coles Road — which bisects the VUI project area.
Jack Dunavant, head of Halifax-based Southside Concerned Citizens, which opposes uranium mining, said alpha radiation from tailings, which contain 86 percent of the radiation found in natural uranium, would be washed downstream in a flood and be deposited in fertile low lands where animals graze and crops grow.
“All the animals would be subject to it,” Dunavant said.
Alpha radiation is “the most insidious and dangerous of all” types of radiation that causes birth defects and affects the genetic code, Dunavant said. It can be ingested when consumed in food, drank from water or breathed from mist while a person takes a shower, he said.
VUI would build a tailings-management system meeting stringent guidelines under the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies, Wales said.
Tailings-management facilities have separated the tailings from interaction with the environment at locations all over the world, Wales said. Tailings are typically covered and lined underground with multiple layers of synthetic and clay liners to prevent interaction with surrounding groundwater, Wales said.
“These facilities are designed for severe weather,” Wales said.
A few feet of water can also be kept on top of the tailings to prevent dust.
Also, flooding that took place last week occurred downstream from Coles Hill, Coles said.
Karen Maute, a county resident and uranium mining opponent, said last week’s flooding should “give pause” to people downstream and give notice to everyone of the consequences of the long-term storage of waste.
Mining and milling will be a finite operation, but the resulting waste will be around for thousands of years, she said.
Crane is a staff writer with the Danville Register & Bee.
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