Posted: 5:06 p.m. yesterday
Updated: 7:52 p.m. yesterday
Updated: 7:52 p.m. yesterday
Henderson, N.C. — As Virginia considers lifting a 30-year-old ban on uranium mining, some North Carolina residents have been crossing the border to share their concerns about the possible environmental effects on this state.
Lifting the ban, which has been in place since 1982, would allow a Chatham, Va., company to tap into a resource of uranium. The question is how that could impact Kerr Lake and surrounding bodies of water, which straddle both states.
Some Warren County homeowners say they worry uranium waste could settle in the water, which is also used as a drinking water source. Last week, they went to a public hearing in Virginia to voice their concerns.
“It would be like opening Pandora’s box, not just for this region, but for the nation as a whole,” said Warren County resident Deborah Ferruccio. “(This is about) the powers-that-be wanting to get energy the quickest, easiest way they can get (it) without having to deal with the repercussions.”
Warren County resident Tommy Harris says allowing the mining “would be a huge mistake.”
“If there was just one bad accident or one mishap where the dust gets away, the stuff gets in our water,” Harris said. “There’s no telling how many people it would displace.”
Virginia Uranium, the company that controls the uranium resource, disagrees.
Read more: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11256451/
