Rich uranium lode in Virginia ripe for mining

[bananas]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/13/MN2LU84C6.DTL

Rich uranium lode in Virginia ripe for mining
Landowner will have to reverse ban enacted in 1982

Anita Kumar, Washington Post
Sunday, January 13, 2008

(01-13) 04:00 PST Chatham, Va. -- Underneath a plot of farmland in south central Virginia lies what is thought to be the largest deposit of uranium in the United States. Now, three decades after the deposit was found, landowner Walter Coles has set his sights on mining the 200-acre site despite concerns of environmental groups and residents about unearthed radioactive material that could contaminate the area's land, air and source of drinking water.

As the United States searches for alternative energy sources, Virginia has a geological discovery in its back yard that could drastically change the nation's reliance on foreign oil. The estimated 110 million pounds of uranium in Pittsylvania County, worth almost $10 billion, could supply all of the country's nuclear power plants for about two years.

There's a hurdle to clear before an ounce of the element can be mined: It's illegal to dig for the stuff in Virginia. But the General Assembly is considering changing that.

<snip>

Uranium has never been mined in Virginia or on the East Coast, confined instead in the United States to drier, less-populated areas such as Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nebraska, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Uranium mining is more common in Canada, Australia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

<snip>

Environmental groups, including the Piedmont Environmental Council and the Southern Environmental Law Center, say uranium should not be mined in Virginia's highly populated areas and relatively rainy climate. They say they are worried that radioactive materials could contaminate natural resources, cause cancer or other illnesses and have long-term effects on plants and animals. The Coles Hill area supplies drinking water locally and to parts of Southern Virginia and North Carolina.

<snip>

[Hydra]

1. "No more oil- we'll use uranium instead!!!"

:puke:

[phantom power]

2. "It is illegal to dig for (uranium) in Virginia"

If that doesn't perfectly capture the state of debate on nuclear energy, I don't know what does.

"Here, please, take our mountaintops, but holy fuck, don't extract our uranium -- are you trying to kill our environment??"

[TheWraith]

3. Yep, incredibly stupid.

Coal mining unleashes infinitely more poison and damage, but we keep on using it.