For over 20 years, proponents of a healthy Virginia have questioned whether uranium mining has been properly conducted in regions with (geologic, hydrologic, meteorological, etc.) conditions similar to those found in Virginia. Uranium mining proponents have claimed that it has been conducted properly in France; such as the following newsletter from Virginia Uranium, Inc. that provides a comparison between conditions in Bessines, France to Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
While the newsletter provides a brief comparison chart of the two areas, information has yet to be provided that uranium mining has been safely conducted in France. A recent report from the Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity in France, discusses the legacy of uranium mining in France and disclosed that: "[a]t all the French uranium mines where it made radiological surveys, the CRIIRAD laboratory discovered situations of environmental contamination and a lack of proper protection of the inhabitants against health risks due to ionizing radiation."
The report also concludes that:
» At all the French uranium mines where it made radiological surveys, the CRIIRAD laboratory discovered situations of environmental contamination and a lack of proper protection of the inhabitants against health risks due to ionizing radiation.
» This is due to the lack of proper regulations, a poor awareness of the radiological hazards associated with uranium and its by products, insufficient monitoring practices, the lack of controls by the local and national administration, etc.
» When the mines are shut down, the radioactive waste remains, and it seems that the costs for managing this radioactive legacy will have to be largely supported by the society, not the companies.
Virginia should not follow the lead of a country that has allowed a lack of proper protection to its citizens and the environment -- or allow a situation where "the costs for managing this radioactive legacy will have to be largely supported by the society, not the companies."
Read more:
http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,391,2734,-1,html
http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,391,2734,-1,html
