The current debate over uranium mining in Virginia has extended beyond the General Assembly, the governor’s office and local governments and now has captured the attention of out-of-state papers and bloggers.
Several commentators make no mention of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council report on Uranium Mining in Virginia (www.nas.edu), which concluded that Virginia has “steep hurdles” to overcome in preparing and implementing uranium mining in a safe and sustainable manner.
Nor do many of those entering the debate mention the comments of the chair of the NAS/NRC committee, Paul Locke, who said that “there are still many unknowns” and that “the report did not say you can mitigate all risks.” Indeed, one blogger from the Brookings Institute is affiliated with the industry-funded Nuclear Energy Institute, which, not surprisingly, encourages uranium mining in Virginia.
The NAS/NRC committee — of which I was a member — cited many technical and logistical difficulties as well as procedural, legal and regulatory challenges. The committee included experts from across the spectrum — from industry, government and academia.
Our unanimous report pointed out that the Commonwealth of Virginia has never regulated uranium mining or processing, and has no staff with experience in the same. Nor does the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have any experience with uranium mining east of the Mississippi. Unlike Canada and Australia, the U.S. has limited experience managing uranium mines in recent years, and the NAS/NRC committee expressed concern for related health standards and protections. Specifically, neither the Department of Labor nor OSHA have updated occupational standards for radon, despite the 1987 recommendation of the National Institute and Occupational Safety and Health.
Uranium mining and processing is dangerous work for those workers at the facility, and the risks to the surrounding community remain unexamined, according to the NAS/NRC report.
Some arguments make it appear that all mining considerations are similar, but the NAS/NRC report carefully considered experiences of other countries and other states, finding that each had unique characteristics, and each facility was designed to function best under local conditions. For example, Canadian mines operate in a much colder and drier climate, far from the population centers found in Virginia. The Key Lake milling facility, for example, is 350 miles north of Saskatoon, the region’s only major city. Other countries have a much more consolidated agency structure for permitting and management, especially compared with federal and state approaches in the U.S.
Average annual rainfall in Virginia is sufficiently high that any uranium mining and processing facility will release water into the local streams, either as runoff or as discharge or both. Neither Virginia DEQ nor U.S. EPA has the tools to accurately assess the cumulative impacts of the combination of radiation and other toxic substances that will be in the water from the site.
Also important is that during a 12-month period from mid 2011 to 2012, central Virginia experienced a major earthquake, tornadoes, hurricanes and a freak summer derecho that tore through the state from southwest to northeast, leaving tens of thousands without power in the summer heat. Central Virginia has seen a year with much less than average rainfall, followed by a year with nearly double the annual average rainfall. These Virginia-specific factors matter when considering the safety of uranium mining, milling and storing waste for thousands of years.
Any responsible management of a uranium mining and milling operation requires years of baseline information on local health status, ecological conditions, rainfall, groundwater dynamics, local weather, transportation and safety, and these have not yet been done here. It would be a serious mistake for the commonwealth to push forward cavalierly, without giving due weight to the significant issues identified in the NAS/NRC report. Writing and passing regulations is not enough.
Peter L. deFur served on the NRC committee on Uranium Mining in Virginia, is president of the consulting firm Environmental Stewardship Concepts, LLC and is an adjunct professor at VCU in the Center for Environmental Studies. Contact him at pdefur@estewards.com.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/their-opinion/columnists-blogs/guest-columnists/defur-report-says-virginia-isn-t-ready-for-uranium-mining/article_056ca209-3b56-5723-8586-1feb02e8cf35.html
