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In what is being viewed as a landmark demonstration of public support among the scientific community, the President of the Virginia Health Physics Society officially endorsed efforts to mine uranium in Virginia in an Op Ed in the Chatham Star Tribune. 
The Health Physics Society is an organization of nearly 6,000 scientific professionals from across the country that strives to promote best practices in radiation safety.
Carter Ficklen, the President of the organization’s Virginia chapter is a retired health physicist who worked for more than 10 years at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton and spent the last 18 years of his career at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson Lab in Newport News.
“It is the position of the Virginia Chapter of the Health Physics Society”, Mr. Fecklin writes in the Op Ed, “that uranium mining in the Commonwealth of Virginia can and should be pursued.” “The proposed mining endeavors,” he continued, “can be carried out with minimal impact on the environmental quality of the surrounding areas while simultaneously stimulating the economy of Southside Virginia, filling a vacancy in our country’s energy needs, and reducing the United State’s dependency on foreign sources of energy.”
The largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States, known as the Coles Hill deposit, is located in Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County. The deposit, a veritable mother lode of nuclear energy, contains enough uranium to fuel Virginia’s entire nuclear energy demand at current levels for more than 65 years, and America’s for more than 2 years. Yet, a 25-year-old moratorium on uranium mining in the Commonwealth stands in the way of its development.
The General Assembly is waiting for the results of an independent study by the National Academy of Sciences on the public health and environmental impact before determining whether to lift the moratorium and promulgate the necessary regulations and permitting to allow the development to proceed.
A 1984 independent study commissioned by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission determined that the Coles Hill deposit could be mined safely and without serious risks to the environment.
Concerns about the safety of uranium mining are based on “misinformation and misperceptions,” says Mr. Ficklen. In an effort to allay some of those concerns, Mr. Ficklen outlines the stringent regulatory structure that governs mining operations in the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency’s rigorous standards for water quality protect public water sources from contamination, and the tight regulation of mine tailings - the waste rock left over after mining is complete - by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission prevents the infiltration of radiation into the air, water and agriculture surrounding mining operations.
Mr. Ficklen illustrates the significant economic impact the project would entail for the economically distressed Southside region - 300-350 permanent jobs, as much as $300 million in annual economic impact and millions of dollars in local tax revenue each year.
Mr. Ficklen also argues that it is imperative to develop Virginia’s abundant uranium resources in order to reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of uranium and to fuel the vast expansion of electricity output that is expected in the coming decades. America currently imports 86% of our uranium from foreign countries, with roughly half purchased from state-run nuclear companies in Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Uzbekistan.
“The global demand for electricity is increasing at a fast pace with the overall world generation of electricity expected to increase by 60 percent between now and 2030,” Ficklen said.
“These increases can be achieved only by the rapid construction of new generating stations, and a significant number of these new stations will be nuclear plants fueled with uranium. To support the growing dependence on nuclear power, the uranium mining industry must significantly increase its annual production and processing of uranium ore.”
Aaron Ruby is a representative of the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance (VEIA), a grassroots coalition of nearly 1,000 Virginians that promotes the development of Virginia’s abundant energy resources as a solution to America’s dependence on foreign energy and as an engine for job creation and economic revitalization across Virginia. In particular, the VEIA promotes harnessing Virginia’s vast nuclear resources - from the Coles Hill uranium deposit in Southside to the expansion of North Anna power station in Central Virginia and nuclear components manufacturing in Newport News - to spread economic development and advance energy independence.
I wonder what the anti-Uranium mining folks have to say about this? Could it be that this is a win-win for the Piedmont? Jobs, economic stimulus, and it’s safe? I think so. Great post by the way, Aaron.
CD
I am one of the No Uranium People who live in Pittsylvania County, VA and the dude is a nuke and not an uranium miner;therefore, he has no clue to what he is talking about.
This is not a win-win for the State of VA and pro nukes, stay out of our county!
The only jobs the local people will have will be the the low paying jobs because Canada and France will bring in their own workers and miners!
The only people who will make monies of uranium mining will be VUI, INC and their investors, like the dude who wrote the story!
We do not want to raise our children to be uranium miners and you do not either!
Hey Ace, good on you for commenting. I utterly disagree, but I’m glad that you came here anyway.
So… I guess you’re not a uranium miner either, therefore you have no clue as to what you’re talking about? Or does it only go one way?
Incidentally, you never get around to saying why you think uranium mining is a Bad Thing. After all, the people who work the mine will be living and spending their wages in the area, and the mine itself will be paying royalties and taxes locally. That’s the local economic win. I’m assuming that you have some other unstated fear of uranium mining, not simply a distrust of furriners.
The article is not, in any case, the opinions of the writer; mostly it’s a report on the independent study that reviewed the likely impacts of uranium mining in Virginia. The people involved, the Health Physics Society, know a great deal about radiation and health. They also know that miners can work safely in uranium mines, always assuming that in-situ leach recovery is not used, which doesn’t even need miners.
The determining study, from the National Academy of Sciences, is unlikely to differ from this study or the previous one from 25 years ago. The message is this: your fears are groundless.
HI Ace,
So, you would rather have NO jobs than low paying jobs? Are you saying that people from Pittsylvania County cannot learn to do the high paying jobs? What evidence do you have that Canada and France will bring in their “own” workers and miners?
Why don’t you want your child to be a miner? These jobs are not like coal mining. Most Uranium mining is done by pumping lightly acidic or basic water into the ground and then pumping it out again. Uranium is picked up by the water leaving everything in place and then the water is processed to remove the Uranium and reused.
The jobs here will require training in chemistry and other industrial processes. They will allow the local schools to improve.
Why are you opposed to this? By the way, I do not live in VA and I am not an investor or owner in any Uranium interest. I am interested in expanding safe Nuclear power in our country. The jobs are all LOCAL. Often they are Union and they are all highly regulated by the strongest regulations of any industry.