National Academy uranium mining study addresses environmental issues
The National Academy of Sciences released its study on uranium mining in Virginia Monday, providing a clear path forward for safely developing the state’s uranium resources. Click here to read the full report.
“The study shows that major technological and regulatory advances over the past 30 years have dramatically improved the environmental and public health performance of the uranium mining and milling industry,” said Virginia Uranium, Inc. project manager, Patrick Wales.
Virginia Uranium is seeking to develop the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States located in Pittsylvania County. A 30-year-old moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia requires state agencies to develop a regulatory and permitting program for the industry before development can proceed. The issue is expected to be a major issue in the General Assembly this year.
VEIA Chairman Ray Ganthner responded to the study saying, “by requiring the adoption of the best practices [identified in the study] and applying the lessons from the industry’s past, the VEIA believes Virginia is fully capable of developing our uranium resources in a safe and environmentally responsible way.”
The NAS study identified many of the best industry practices and regulatory requirements adopted over the last 30 years to address most of the environmental issues associated with the industry. The management of tailings, the non-uranium material leftover from the milling process, has been a particular environmental concern for residents in the surrounding area.
Addressing the issue of tailings management head-on, the NAS concluded that “to date, modern tailings disposal cells have been effective at preventing groundwater contamination.” The report went on to say that “significant improvements have been made to tailings management practices to isolate mine waste from the environment, and below-grade disposal practices have been developed specifically to address concerns regarding tailing dam failures.”
“If uranium mining, processing, and reclamation are designed, constructed, operated, and monitored according to modern international best practices,” the report predicted that “near- to moderate-term environmental effects specific to uranium mining and processing should be substantially reduced.”
The NAS went on to explain that modern tailings management sites are designed to withstand severe weather events such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and are have been successful at preventing contamination of air and water in communities surrounding operations. The study acknowledged numerous other improvements by the industry in recent decades in the areas of worker safety and groundwater protection.
The NAS study particularly focused on industry practices and regulatory models from Canada, where uranium mining and milling has occurred for more than 50 years with a fairly exemplary record for environmental performance. The study pointed to the McLean Lake and Rabbit Lake operations as good examples of how rigorous government oversight and advanced technologies have been effective at protecting water quality and other environmental factors.
The study concluded that “best practices, if properly implemented in association with rigorous monitoring, should address or allow the site operator to take action to mitigate the majority of short-term environmental effects from routine uranium-specific mining and processing activities.”
Virginia Uranium Project Manager Patrick Wales said the company is committed to adopting “the best practices and regulatory requirements identified by the NAS as essential to protecting the environment and public health.”
The NAS study also emphasized that Virginia Uranium would have to navigate a lengthy regulatory process, involving intensive review by multiple regulatory agencies, before a single shovel would enter the ground at the Coles Hill site. If the moratorium is lifted in 2012, the NAS said, operation of a mine would not take place for another 5 to 9 years.
Other studies focusing on the socioeconomic aspect of uranium mining in Virginia by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission and the Research Triangle Institute have highlighted the significant economic impact of the proposed Coles Hill project, including more than 1,000 jobs and $135 million for Virginia’s economy each year.
