Comment: Now look at Baby Whale's comment: "They're not interested in the facts; they're not interested in the science," he said. Well who is paying for this science, Virginia Uranium Inc, paid for the NAS Study, now that is not true science!"
Published : Monday, 16 May 2011, 9:40 PM EDT
STEVE SZKOTAK, Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The prospect or uranium mining in Southside Virginia has put the Roanoke River on a list of the nation's most endangered waterways.
American Rivers included the Roanoke and its tributaries on Tuesday as it released its annual list of America's Most Endangered Rivers, a who's who of the nation's waterways threatened by natural gas exploration and dams.
The environmental group said lifting a 1982 Virginia ban on uranium mining would threaten the river and the region's drinking supplies with radioactive pollution and toxic chemicals.
"This uranium operation would generate millions of tons of toxic, cancer-causing waste," Peter Raabe of American Rivers said in a statement. "We're talking about a radioactive legacy that would last for generations."
Virginia Uranium Inc., which proposes to tap a rich uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, has said it can safely mine the 119-million pound deposit.
Patrick Wales, project manager for Virginia Uranium, said critics such as American River are weighing in before studies have fully assessed the environmental impacts of mining.
"They're not interested in the facts; they're not interested in the science," he said.
Mining interest reflects an expected nuclear power renaissance, somewhat dampened by the earthquake and tsunami crisis involving a Japanese nuclear reactor.
The Roanoke flows from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia to North Carolina's Outer Banks. It is a source of drinking water for more than 1 million people in Hampton Roads and elsewhere, according to American Rivers. Raleigh, N.C., has applied to tap 50 million gallons a day from the Roanoke river basin.
Earlier this year, the Roanoke River Basin Association officially took a stand opposing the ban's end, citing a study that concluded mining operations could harm local water supplies.
About 350,000 North Carolina residents rely on the basin as their water supply.
Opponents contend uranium mining near the North Carolina border would be subject to weather extremes such as torrential rains. They point to several instances in which more than 20 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. That would make uranium mining and milling -- the extraction of uranium ore from rock -- particularly perilous, they said.
"Flooding and storm discharge of radioactive material is a probability, not a possibility," Chris Miller of the Piedmont Environmental Council said in a statement released by American Rivers.
At least four studies are looking into various aspects of uranium mining, either on a statewide basis or more focused on the regional implications. A National Academies of Science study is expected by year's end, but will not contain a recommendation whether uranium mining should occur.
Virginia Uranium, which owns the Coles Hill property near Chatham where the deposit is located, has said it plans to seek legislation in the 2012 session to end the ban.
"By shining the spotlight and mobilizing grass-roots action, we can help save rivers from sewage pollution, new dams, mining and other threats," American Rivers said in a news release.
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/virginia/roanoke-river-on-endangered-list
