By STEVE SZKOTAK/None
Originally published February 15, 2011 at 1:30 a.m., updated February 15, 2011 at 5:37 a.m.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The chairman of a panel studying uranium mining in Virginia said hours of testimony from opponents and proponents have helped committee members better understand the issues surrounding the critical environmental debate.
Paul A. Locke talked about the National Academy of Sciences study he is chairing during an interview last week, one day after about 200 people attended a meeting of the committee in a downtown hotel. An equal number showed up for a committee meeting in Danville in December.
The NAS study is assessing the statewide effect of uranium mining based on 12 lines of inquiry including mining's impact on public health and the environment and the geologic aspects of uranium deposits in Virginia.
While science is not a popularity contest, Locke said public comments are important to the committee's task.
"When we listen to scientists, we listen to how they portray facts and issues," Locke told The Associated Press. "When we listen to citizens who don't have a scientific background, it helps us understand the bigger picture."
Virginia has had a 29-year ban on uranium mining, but the biggest deposit in the United States is located in Southside Virginia and it's seen as a reliable domestic source of nuclear fuel as the nation turns increasingly to a technology that fell out of favor following Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
Virginia Uranium Inc., which estimates the ore's value at up to $10 billion, is financing the $1.4 million study. Its findings are likely to be key if the General Assembly considers lifting the moratorium.
Mining opponents fear uranium mining and milling - the separation of ore from rock - will threaten water supplies as far away as Virginia Beach, approximately 200 miles east of the deposit.
Locke is an environmental health scientist, an attorney and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. He has been a part of hot button NAS inquiries before, including studies on nuclear waste - "the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle," he adds.
"This is the front end of the nuclear cycle," Locke said. "This is the mining and milling."
Locke said he intends to deliver the NAS report by its scheduled December deadline, which could put the issue before the 2012 General Assembly.
"We certainly would love to see the moratorium issue resolved as quickly as possible," said Patrick Wales, project manager for Virginia Uranium.
Critics have seized on Virginia Uranium's financing of the study, contending it taints its work.
Responding to that perception, Locke stressed that all 15 members work without compensation and each is committed to providing "independent scientific advice."
"It's irrelevant to us," Locke said. "We're going to do the same project no matter where the funding comes."
For opponents like Naomi Hodge-Muse, there's no convincing her the NAS study will be unbiased.
"The National Academy of Science thing is just a rubber stamp," said Hodge-Muse, who organized a bus trip for nearly 40 residents from Henry County for last week's committee hearing. She said the opponents represented every political stripe - Republicans, Democrats and tea party members.
"Ultimately, we all breathe the same air, drink the same water," Hodge-Muse explained. "This is how democracy works. The voice of the people has to be heard."
The NAS committee has no additional public meetings planned in Virginia. It's scheduled to visit Colorado and Canada in future months to learn more about uranium mining and to hear from regulators and officials in both places.
If Virginia ends the moratorium, it would be the first East Coast state to mine the ore. Some uranium has been detected in other locations along the East Coast, but not in amounts deemed economically viable to mine.
"I think everyone is mindful that this study has important implications for the commonwealth," Locke said. "If you look at a map of the United States, you can see that those mines are in the west, and they're not in the East."
Locke said his goal is to deliver a consensus report. The academy process does not allow dissenting opinions.
"We hope that our report will be valuable for the legislators," he said. "How they make their decision, that's up to them."
Online: National Academy of Science: http://www.nationalacademies.org/
Read more:
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2011/feb/15/bc-va-nuclear-study1st-ld-writethru/?business&business-wire
