The Virginian-Pilot
January 17, 2010
As a feasibility study on uranium mining in Virginia progresses over the next two years, pressure will build in Richmond to delve into a deposit in Southside that could pour billions of dollars into the state economy.
Lake Gaston, downstream from the proposed mining site, is the primary source of drinking water for Virginia Beach, replenishes Norfolk-owned reservoirs and may one day be shared with Chesapeake. For that reason, local leaders must take the lead in this debate and must be armed with science, not speculation.
They need to take steps to ensure they are well-educated on uranium mining in order to defend the interests and safety of their constituents.
Thomas Leahy, Virginia Beach's director of utilities, has employed an engineering firm to construct preliminary models predicting what could happen if a major storm flooded the site and washed pulverized mining waste, including unextracted uranium, into nearby streams.
At $437,000, the analysis is not cheap, but it's hard to overestimate the worth of being prepared given the enormous stakes confronting this region.
The city analysis will supplement, rather than replicate, the state study to be performed by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The NAS is a reputable organization, but its study will be a broad-brush look at the environmental and health effects of uranium mining in a climate similar to Virginia's. It will not be a site-specific examination of the deposit in Pittsylvania County.
Consequently, that study will not yield any models of what would happen in a catastrophic storm. Nor will the NAS recommend regulations Virginia would need to guarantee the safety of public water supplies.
Proponents of the mine argue that more detailed studies will be performed later if the state lifts its moratorium on uranium mining and a permit is sought to begin excavation in Pittsylvania. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency and perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers are likely to weigh in at that point.
But that's not a good reason for Beach officials to sit back and hope for the best.
Federal regulations are geared toward mining in arid climates, and even so, they have sometimes failed to address contamination of groundwater systems surrounding uranium deposits in western states.
If mining is to be permitted in Virginia, additional state regulations likely will be needed to address concerns about heavy rainfalls during hurricanes and nor'easters.
History suggests Virginia will impose only minimal rules in that regard unless pushed.
Either way, the city needs to understand what it's confronting. Doing nothing could be far more costly.
Source URL (retrieved on 01/16/2010 - 21:40): http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/downstream-study-uraniums-risks
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