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Southside Concerned Citizens (SCC) chairman Jack Dunavant announced on
Friday that the SCC has developed a mission statement opposing any and
all efforts to lift the stateís moratorium on uranium mining in
Virginia.
Additionally the group ìopposes any further study of uranium mining
involving the state of Virginia, as the state has consistently proven
that it cannot protect its citizens or our environment from corporate
harm. Clearly, the vast amount of money involved in this venture will
taint any study or its findings,î the chairman said.
ìThe promise of new technology to protect us from this mining venture
does not exist,î Dunavant wrote. ìThis venture is simply a rehash of
the original 1980ís plan to mine at this same site with a little window
dressing. There is simply no way on Godís green earth to do it safely.î
ìTo spend many thousands of dollars in a study would be a waste of
taxpayersí money,î said Eloise Nenon, SCC board member. ìResearching
this topic again, twenty years after the original proposal and
moratorium makes no sense,î she added.
Dunavant says the groupís decision is based on the general knowledge
that wherever uranium mining has occurred it has contaminated the air,
ground and water with radioactive material for many, many miles.
Radiation poisoning adversely affects the health of people and
ecosystems which live in the area, down stream and downwind. This
poisoning could affect millions of people and is not temporary, but
lasts for thousands upon thousands of years.
Dunavant says the SCC decision is based on the following 13 issues:
Uranium has never been mined in a similar geologic area and never east
of the Mississippi River (except for a small WWII mine in SW
Connecticut which is not testing positive for uranium contamination).
Uncovering the rock mantle holding this uranium deposit will release
large amounts of radioactive contamination into our air and our water.
State and Federal governments have failed consistently to protect the
people and environment from industrial pollution.
This type of mining employs very few people locally, but rather imports
its workers who migrate from further west and set up temporary housing
until the mining is completed in a few years.
Toxic dust from the radioactive tailings pile will inevitably travel
many miles. This is already happening around current mines and is
spreading long range respiratory havoc.
The Coles Hill deposit is located in the Banister River watershed,
which feeds into the Dan River, which feeds into the Staunton River
(Roanoke River) which passes through Kerr Lake, then Lake Gaston and on
down through eastern North Carolina before dumping into the Albemarle
Sound. This would also adversely impact the water piped to the
Tidewater area. The proposed uranium mine would threaten these
waterways and the Atlantic Ocean.
Uranium has a half life of 100,000 years.
There is no way to neutralize or dilute uranium, and there is no way to
safely dispose of uranium waste products.
Radiation is cumulative in the human body, meaning that it stays with
you for life and that which you receive as an adult is added to what
you received as a child. Too much exposure will lead to cancer and
death.
10. Corporate greed far outweighs corporate concern for human life.
11. Uranium contamination cannot be cleaned up or neutralized. And it
cannot be removed from river beds or silt deposits.
12. The uranium at Coles Hill is encased in rock which has prevented it
from leaching out to contaminate our air and water. Mining this deposit
will open Pandoraís box, unleashing radioactive materials, heavy metals
and toxic chemicals downwind and downstream.
13. Property values will surely decline if uranium is mined in southern
Virginia. Who would want to live there? Farm products would become
worthless, after all who would want to buy food products from a
radioactively contaminated area?
At the heart of this issue is democracy, Dunavant says. ìWho gets to
decide what our community looks like and how safe it is? Is it a
citizen majority or a handful of corporate executives? The answer,
Dunavant says, is in the Virginia Constitution which declares that Ö
ìall power is vested in, and consequently derived from the people.î
Dunavant says the mission of the Southside Concerned Citizens is to
educate the people of south central Virginia about issues that affect
their health, safety and welfare. ìWe are a quality of life
corporation!î he declares.