Casey reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the safety and regulatory obstacles to reversing a ban on mining uranium in the state that dates back to 1982. More than a hundred million pounds of uranium, worth almost $10 billion, was first discovered in the Prince William, Fauquier and Culpeper counties of Virginia in 1981 by the Marline Uranium Corporation [actually by a Duke Energy uranium exploration team in the early 1970s], but the state enacted a moratorium the following year. The ruling was only intended to last until risks could be assessed and safeguards established, however, the ban has persisted for more than three decades.
While the Virginia Uranium company, which asserts that mining and milling of the radioactive material will generate considerable economic benefits for the state, has [of course] lobbied in favor of removing the ban, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has identified several risks to the local environment and people, that some argue remain unresolved. [The SELC is a left-pandering propaganda center that has no factual basis for the claims made. A link was not provided by Casey, which raises questions on its value, see blog here] “The potential health impacts of exposure to uranium and mining chemicals are well-documented in global studies of people working in and living near mines, and include lung cancer, bone cancer, leukaemia, birth defects, weakened immune systems, hormone disruption and damage to DNA, the kidneys and the liver,” said the group. [These health claims are nothing more than anti-nuclear speak, misleading and much of it is false and or exaggerated]. Furthermore, questions have been raised about the ability of the state and federal governments to effectively regulate and manage uranium mining in Virginia. [More anti-nuclear propaganda. Others states have done well in such functions]. SELC said the state is ‘ill-prepared prepared to sufficiently oversee the industry’, and the relatively high levels of precipitation in the state – Virginia experienced 41.52 inches of rainfall in 2017 compared with the U.S. average of 32.31 inches – means conventional regulations may not be applicable for Virginia.[More anti-nuclear BS].
The US “has only limited recent experience regulating conventional uranium processing and reclamation of uranium mining and processing facilities”, according to the report ‘Uranium Mining in Virginia’, published by the National Academy of Sciences. [More anti-nuclear BS]
“Because almost all uranium mining and processing to date has taken place in parts of the U.S. that have a negative water balance, federal agencies have limited experience applying laws and regulations in positive water balance situations.” [More anti-nuclear BS].
The deposit is the seventh-largest in the world, and contains enough uranium to supply all U.S, nuclear plants for two years, or satisfy all of Virginia’s energy requirements for the next 75 years.
[Because of the excessive misrepresentations in this article, we suggest that the reader informs themselves about how anti-nuclear groups spread misinformation and fear about uranium mining and the nuclear power industry in general, see our paper/report (more).]
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
