Environmentalists Gather to Fight Virginia Uranium Mining
One of Virginia’s poorest counties is sitting on one of this country’s richest uranium deposits and efforts are underway to tap into billions of dollars of underground wealth. But as Charles Fishburne reports, not everybody is in favor of a Uranium mine in Pittsylvania County.
It could be years before the first shovelful of uranium is mined in Virginia, but already
environmentalists are lining up to fight it.
Robinson: The mine is a major source of release of both radioactive airborne pollutants such as radon, but also the largest volume of waste that would be generated.
Paul Robinson is Research Director at Southwest Research in New Mexico and one of several speakers at a Richmond forum yesterday, opposing the end of a moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia. But Pittsylvania ore could be an economic lifesaver.
Wales: It’s a 119 million pounds of uranium in the ground.
Patrick Wales is Project Manager for Virginia Uranium, Incorporated.
Wales: Which would mean 300 to 500 direct jobs and right now ore body is valued at over 7 billion dollars.
The National Academy of Science is about to begin an 18-month study, after which the General Assembly must decide whether we dig or not. And the dialogue has just begun.
Charles Fishburne, WCVE News.
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