Last month this column discussed the proposed development of a uranium mine in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Developers indicate that the mine would create more than 300 jobs and pump more than $150 million annually into an economically challenged area of Virginia. This is a most attractive upside.

The first step in developing the proposed mine is prevailing upon the Commonwealth's legislature to lift the ban on uranium mining in Virginia that was enacted in 1982 following the nuclear accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island.

Shortly after last month's column appeared, the National Academy of Science released the results of a $1.4 million study on uranium mining in Virginia. This study was not about whether mining should be permitted or the potential benefits of mining but rather, first, about potential impacts on the environment, public health, and worker safety, and second, about technical options for best practices for mining, milling, processing and reclamation.

Uranium has never been mined in the eastern United States. Uranium mining has only occurred in states west of the 100th meridian in sparsely populated areas where annual rainfall is usually less than 15 inches per year. Approximately half the uranium producing mines in the west closed in the early 1980's when the price of uranium oxide declined significantly. Mining was no longer economically feasible because deposits being mined were low grade compared to higher grade deposits in Canada and Australia. However, since 2000, the average price of uranium oxide has increased almost five-fold.

Many environmental groups are concerned about the downside of uranium mining in Virginia. They point out that during the early years of uranium mining in the west, radiation hazards were not strongly considered and workers were exposed to significant radiation. Would there be adequate safeguards in the Virginia mine?

They have other concerns including fears of water pollution, both surface and groundwater from mine tailings. Virginia which has more than three times the annual rainfall of the western states and may be visited by hurricanes or northeasters that can cause severe flooding and place water supplies many miles downstream of the mine at risk of radioactive contamination.

Still other concerns are air pollution from dust associated with ore milling, and long term radiation risks of tailings disposal sites to the health of persons living near the proposed mine site and elsewhere.

So what did the National Academy report conclude? It determined that uranium mining in Virginia is economically viable. That said, it expressed strong concern about environmental risks. However, it stated that at least some of the public and worker health risks could be mitigated if internationally recognized and accepted best practices for design, construction, operation and monitoring were used at the mine site.

Important Note: Governor McDonnell has asked the Virginia legislature to take no action during the 2012 legislative session to remove the state's uranium mining ban.