McDonnell Says Safe Uranium Mining Would Benefit State

Gov. Bob McDonnell said this morning that he's waiting to see the results of a study on the safety of uranium mining in Southside Virginia, but that the state stands "to gain a lot by a safe and vibrant nuclear industry."

Virginia Uranium wants to mine a 119-million pound deposit in Pittsylvania County, which would require the state overturning a 1982 ban on the practice, and tap into a resource that could be worth $10 billion. 

A National Academy of Sciences committee is currently studying whether that can be done safely, and is expected to issue a report in December, just before the start of the 2012 legislative session where a battle to lift the ban is likely.
"The obvious challenge is, can it be mined safely so it doesn't create public safety issues for the people around the mining site, or worse, contamination of groundwater that could impact... Virginia Beach,"McDonnell said on WNIS radio this morning.

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