Uranium mining study gets official green light

Comment:  We want the NAS meetings to be in Chatham, VA, not Danville!  There should be meetings in Richmond, Virginia Beach and all over VA since uranium is located all over VA!  Since the NAS are Pro-Nuclear and have lots of so called "scientist" are from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on their board, will this be a fair study of uranium mining, you be the judge!

By John Crane
Published: February 23, 2010

The study to determine whether uranium can be mined and milled safely in Virginia is a go.

Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research has signed a contract with the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council for the study, NAS Spokesman William Kearney said Tuesday.

“We received word that the contract has been signed,” Kearney said.

The NAS/NRC will begin the study process when Virginia Tech pays the first installment for the $1.4 million study, Kearney said.

Virginia Uranium Inc. seeks to mine and mill a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. VUI, through Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research, will pay for the study’s first phase — which could cost up to $1.4 million — focusing on the technical and public-safety aspects of mining.

The second part of the study, dealing with the socioeconomic aspects of mining, still needs to be developed by the Virginia Coal & Energy Commission. VUI will not fund the second part.

Michael Karmis, director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Coal and Energy Research, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Once the NAS/NRC receives the first payment, the next step will be to form a provisional committee and hold a 20-day public comment period on the makeup of the committee, Kearney said.

 Citizens will be able to comment by visiting http://www.nationalacademies.org
and clicking on “current projects.” The provisional committee of about a dozen scientific experts would perform the study and write its report.

The NAS/NRC will consider the public comment regarding the committee and discuss its balance, Kearney said. Committee members will be required to comply with the organization’s conflict-of-interest policy, which prohibits those with a financial stake in the subject examined from serving, Kearney said.

Kearney said the NAS/NRC Executive Committee hopes to hold the first data-gathering meeting this summer in Danville and Richmond, which will include public comment. The study’s fieldwork will begin this summer and last through the fall of 2011, Kearney said.

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