A lively discussion is now taking place on whether to lift Virginia's state-wide ban on uranium mining enacted in 1982. On one side, is Virginia Uranium, Inc., whose founder owns much of the land and mineral rights in Pittsylvania County under which a uranium deposit estimated at near 120 million pounds is located. Virginia Uranium, Inc. has spent more than $500,000 since 2007 on public relations and lobbying to overturn the mining ban and seems to be getting ever closer to accomplishing this. A consulting company retained by the State determined that their proposed mine could support significant numbers of new jobs and provide a large economic boost.

On the other side, are a plethora of environmental groups and Pittsylvania County residents who are concerned about potential environmental and health risks to persons living near the mine and about impacts on local and regional water supplies. They make the point that presently Virginia has no mining regulations and is unprepared to oversee such an industry should the ban be lifted. They further state that all uranium mining in the United States previously has been in sparsely populated areas of the arid west and that risks to water supplies and the environment would be greatly magnified if uranium mining were to be allowed in the humid and highly populated east.

Briefly then, let's take a look at what uranium mining entails. Uranium is mined in three different ways: open pit mining, deep mining using shafts, and in-situ leaching. The first two are similar to techniques used to mine coal whereas leaching is somewhat similar to hydraulic fracturing in that a solution is injected into the ore body dissolving the uranium. The uranium-laden solution is then pumped to the surface and the uranium is retrieved.

When the Pittsylvania County uranium deposit was first considered for mining nearly 30 years ago, the method considered was open pit.

In open pit mining, once uranium-bearing ore is extracted, what happens to it? The ore is milled on site which involves crushing it and leaching it to remove uranium in the form of uranium oxide. Generally a ton of ore yields only about 4 pounds of uranium oxide. The remaining material known as tailings unfortunately contains much of the original radioactivity. The water used in the leaching process also is contaminated with radioactivity.

If uranium mining is allowed in Pittsylvania County, the mine tailings and wastewater should be contained in such a way that both surface and ground water are protected. Can Virginia Mining, Inc. manage this? Can the ground water supply in the county be adequately protected from seepage from the tailings? Pittsylvania County receives an average of 45 inches of rainfall each year. Can even the best and most efficiently managed tailings and wastewater withstand a major storm? If not, what are the possible impacts to downstream users, say, of Kerr Reservoir? I don't know the answers to these questions. I do know that even in the arid west, records of mining companies management of tailings and wastewater are shaky at best.

In all likelihood, the Virginia legislature, in 2012, will revisit the question of lifting the ban on uranium mining. Will potential economic growth outweigh environmental safety or vice versa? Who knows? If I were a betting man….oh, never mind. I'm happy that I'm not involved with this decision. The consequences may be far reaching.

Articles from Wikipedia, the Southern Environment Organization, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and the New York Times provided much of the background information for this article.