By The Editorial Board
Published: June 07, 2011
To the editor:
When the National Academy of Science announced the committee to study "uranium mining in Virginia," there was opportunity for public comment. Some comments expressed concern that Henry Schnell of Areva may have a conflict of interest when serving on the committee. But, the NAS chose to allow him to remain, stating they were "unable to find another individual with the equivalent experience and technical expertise as Mr. Schnell who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that this potential conflict is unavoidable."
The agenda for the sixth and final meeting of the National Academy of Science regarding uranium mining in Virginia was scheduled for June 6-9 in Saskatoon, Canada. Three of the five presenters on the agenda for June 9’s session work for Areva Resources Canada Inc. Apparently, Schnell needed back-up.
Ray Ganthner, a former Areva vice president from Lynchburg, recently placed an op-ed in local newspapers asking us to "await the results of the NAS study, rather than rushing to a hasty prejudgment based on our own opinions."
Ganthner is chairman of the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance and states the Alliance’s "full confidence in the NAS to conduct a thorough, independent, unbiased and scientifically based assessment."
Among VEIA’s corporate sponsors are AREVA and Virginia Uranium Inc. Ganthner further states, "I encourage opponents, and all Virginians, to fully engage in the NAS process, rather than prejudging its conclusions."
That’s difficult to do when meetings are 2,000 miles from home. With all the Areva folks presenting at this NAS meeting, perhaps it should have been held in Lynchburg. That would increase the chances of those of us who will be directly affected by uranium mining, milling and tailings storage in Virginia to more "fully engage."
Ganthner went on to state, "It is not right to say that we know better than the experts at the NAS about whether uranium mining can be done safely in Virginia." Are all the experts from Areva?
Areva’s prominent presence in the sixth and final NAS meeting should be noted.
This week NAS seems to stand for "Now Areva Speaks."
KAREN MAUTE
Mount Cross
http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2011/jun/07/mining-hearing-areva-love--ar-1089406/
