Environmental Nightmares

Carbon Emissions Across the United States - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

2008-06-15T05:07:00.001-07:00

Electric power production and transportation are the two largest sources of carbon emissions in the United States. But there are big differences in emissions between companies, and from state to state, that may make it harder to reach any agreement on cuts.

State committee gives temporary protection to Mount Taylor - Las Cruces Sun-News

2008-06-15T05:00:00.001-07:00

By HEATHER CLARK Associated Press Writer

Article Launched: 06/14/2008 06:49:20 PM MDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A state committee has approved a proposal from five American Indian tribes to give central New Mexico's Mount Taylor temporary protection as a cultural property at a contentious meeting attended by hundreds of people.

The state Cultural Properties Review Committee voted 4-2 Saturday in Grants for an emergency listing of more than 422,000 acres (660 square miles) surrounding the mountain's summit on the state Register of Cultural Properties.

The Navajo Nation, the Acoma, Laguna and Zuni pueblos and the Hopi tribe of Arizona asked the state to approve the listing for a mountain they consider sacred to protect it from an anticipated uranium mining boom, according to the nomination report.

State committee gives temporary protection to Mount Taylor - Las Cruces Sun-News

Tornado Slams Greeley Colorado

2008-05-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

This tornado must be a reason why PowerTech Uranium must be kicked out of the US. If a tornado hits PowerTech Uranium uranium recovery extraction facility, will they be given a variance as to scattering their poisons across Weld County?

Photo Link for Crow Butte Resources ISL mines

2008-05-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

Defenders of the Black Hills current aerial photo link to Crow Butte Resources In Situ Leach Uranium Mine.

Sure doesn't look like minimal impact to me but of course I am not a scientist with degrees in tomfoolery so this is just my opinion.

But again it does show just how expansive the ISR/ISL well field will be and it should doesn't look like minimal impact. I wonder what effect this has on the wildlife?

Navajo Challenge Uranium Mining Permit on Tribal Lands

2008-04-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Way to go...The war drums are beating in Navajo Country, URI aka Hydro is going to get scalped!!!

The Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock, New Mexico will fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the permitted company, Hydro Resources, Inc., demanding that they stay off Navajo lands in New Mexico.

Can't steal uranium any more, no more suffering, no more pain. Time to open eyes on those that believe nuclear energy is going to stop the "electricity shortage." What shortage, the only shortage is in those people's pockets that speculate that nuclear energy will save polar bears from drowning.

The only way to deal with climate change is to stop using those current sources of energy that are causing the problem in the first place. If that seems impossible, then perhaps we are heading down that road to self-extinction without the help of a comet or any other natural catastrophe.

Nuclear energy is not clean energy, it is not renewable energy...it is just another lethal weapon as a wolf hiding under sheep skin.

2 Die in Pakistan Nuclear Plant Accident

2008-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Today two nuclear workers died at the Khushab nuclear plant north of Islamabad.

This plant purportedly is producing electricity but is also a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant.

As this is a developing story, and horrible tragedy, more news and possible mass civilian evacuations are possible. People living near the accident have already been evacuated with buses on standby should the accident escalate.

Nuclear energy in the wrong hands is dangerous, especially those gotten by elicit means through espionage as was Pakistan's case with A.Q. Khan.

Visit our new website: WAKINYAN HOKSILA

2008-04-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

We have uplinked another website Wakinyan Hoksila, which means Thunder Boy. This name was told to me by my grandmother, who said that it is the name of the last warrior society in our community. These Hunkpapa warriors vowed to never have children so they'd never have to know that suffering in reservation society. The most notable of these Hunkpapa warriors was Rain in the Face whose very name struck terror in the hearts of early trespassers. It is with honor that our new website uses the honorable namesake.

Please visit our website http://www.wakinyanhoksila.com/ Use our forum to discuss news and other personal reflections on the nuclear nightmares.

Always remember that the new corporate nukewashing has discovered that they could use drowning polar bears as their evil marketing strategy to promote nuclear energy. While I agree there is climate change, I don't agree that nuclear energy has part in finding the solution. My firm belief is that the energy giants knew that they were harming our climate, poisoning our air. But they also knew that the days of large construction projects are over, there can only be so many bridges, so many mega-skyscrapers, so many railroads, superhighways; so they invented this delusion that we need nuclear energy.

What we really need is to reconsider our use of our existing energy sources, we need to make them less harmful to our air, our water, and our land. We need leaders that aren't two-faced shills to corporate interests. Nuclear energy is not clean energy, it is not renewable energy; it is too expensive: the costs of accidents, destruction to our environment, our air and our land and water are not worth the supposed benefits.

But above all, ask yourself...Do we have an energy shortage? Or do we have a shortage of leaders, willing to tell us the truth---THAT NUCLEAR ENERGY IS NOT THE SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

NAVAJO PRESIDENT JOE SHIRLEY, JR., TELLS CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE NATION WILL NOT WATCH ANOTHER GENERATION HARMED BY URANIUM MINING

2008-04-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

NEWS FROM THE NAVAJO NATION
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2008

NAVAJO PRESIDENT JOE SHIRLEY, JR., TELLS CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE NATION WILL NOT WATCH ANOTHER GENERATION HARMED BY URANIUM MINING

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., told a Congressional subcommittee here Friday that the Navajo Nation remains opposed to uranium mining on or near its land, and will take whatever action necessary to prevent it.

"It is unconscionable to me that the federal government would consider
allowing uranium mining to be restarted anywhere near the Navajo Nation when we are still suffering from previous mining activities," he said. "In response to attempts to renew uranium mining, the Navajo Nation Council passed, and I signed into law, the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act. This law places a ban on all uranium mining both within the Navajo Nation boundary, and within Navajo Indian Country."

Testifying at a joint oversight hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands at the Flagstaff City Council Chambers, President Shirley said Navajos "do not want to not sit by, ignorant of the effects of uranium mining, only to watch another generation of mothers and fathers die."

"We are doing everything we can to speak out and do something about it," he said. "We do not want a new generation of babies born with birth defects. We will not allow our people to live with cancers and other disorders as faceless companies make profits only to declare bankruptcy and then walk away from the damage they have caused, regardless of the bond they have in place."

The hearing was held to gather testimony on "Community Impacts of Proposed Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon National Park." In December 2007, the U.S. Forest Service authorized VANE Minerals, LLC, to conduct exploratory drilling for uranium three miles south of Grand Canyon National Park. The Park Service used Categorical Exclusion Category 8 to approve the drilling, which covers short-term investigations and which had limited public involvement. Consultation with tribes amounted to sending a letter.

On March 6, Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Raul Grijalva wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to ask that the Forest Service re-initiate the process "to ensure a more rigorous public involvement and environmental analysis process."

About 200 people filled the council chamber at the Flagstaff City Hall. Also presenting testimony during the first morning panel with President Shirley was Kaibab Paiute Tribal Chairwoman Ono Segundo and Havasupai Tribal Chairman Don Watahomigie. Both also testified that their tribes are opposed to renewed uranium mining in and around the Grand Canyon region.

Appearing with Congressman Grijalva was Arizona Congressman Ed Pastor and California Congresswoman Grace Napolitano.

President Shirley said that as the Cold War raged more than 50 years ago, the United States government began a massive effort to mine and process uranium ore for use in the country's nuclear weapons programs. Much of that uranium was mined on or near Navajo lands by Navajo hands.

"Today, the legacy of uranium mining continues to devastate both the people and the land," he said. "The workers, their families, and their neighbors suffer increased incidences of cancers and other medical disorders caused by their exposure to uranium. Fathers and sons who went to work in the mines and the processing facilities brought uranium dust into their homes to unknowingly expose their families to radiation."

"The mines, many simply abandoned, have left open open scars in the ground with leaking radioactive waste. The companies that processed the uranium ore dumped their waste in open – and in some cases unauthorized – pits, exposing both the soil and the water to radiation."

Asked by Congressman Pastor whether the Navajo Nation sees any benefits to come from uranium mining, President Shirley the opposite has been true in the past.

"Many of my people have died. Many of my medicine people have died, Congressman, " he said. "And as a result, our culture has gone away, some of it. Some of the medicine people with the knowledge they have, when they go on, it's just like a library has gone on. You lose a lot of culture. That has happened to my people."

He said the tragedy of uranium's legacy extends not only to those who worked in the mines but to those who worked and lived near the mines that also experienced devastating illnesses. Decades later, families who live in those same areas continue to experience health problems.

"The remnants of uranium activity continue to pollute our land, our water, and our lives," he said. "It would be unforgivable to allow this cycle to continue for another generation."

He explained that in recent years, many companies have approached the Navajo Nation with promises of riches.

"They have promised us newer and cleaner methods of mining that they say will not harm the land, the water, or the people," he said. "We have repeatedly declined their offers."

He said the Nation has been told that in situ leach mining is a process that injects a solution into the ground to separate the ore from the surrounding rock.

"These companies claim the process is harmless," President Shirley said. "The science on this process is, at best, inconclusive, and, at worst, points to increased radioactive contaminants in the groundwater after the mining operations cease."

He said he cannot believe the claims of safety "when history and science establish a different record."

"The Navajo people have been consistently lied to by companies and government officials concerning the effects of various mining activities. Unfortunately, the true cost of these activities is understood only later when the companies have stolen away with their profits leaving the Navajo people to bear the health burdens."

Asked by whether he was contacted by the Forest Service about allowing VANE to conduct exploratory drilling near the Grand Canyon, President Shirley said no. He added that any Navajo official or division director who may have been contacted would have given the Forest Service the same answer.

"Every testimony coming from the Navajo Nation, whether it's through me, any of our council delegates, any of our legislators, it's no, we do not want the further mining of the uranium ore on Navajoland or on land contiguous to Navajoland," he said. "So if there's any conversation that took place with any of the U.S. Forest representatives, that's what they've heard."

"We just don't want it," he said. "We have a law in place, and that's the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act that says no way will we allow, no way will the Navajo Nation or any of its departments or any of its staff allow the further mining of uranium ore on Navajo land."

# # #
PHOTOS, AUDIO AVAILABLE

CONTACT
George Hardeen, Communications Director
Office of the President & Vice President
The Navajo Nation
DESK 928-871-7917
CELL 928-309-8532
pressoffice@ opvp.org

Defenders of the Black Hills Announcements

2008-03-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Uranium Hearing in Rapid City, SD
April 2 and 3, 2008 - Wed. and Thurs. 8:30 AM (MDST)

On March 12, 2008, the SD Water Management Board held a hearing in Pierre, SD, on changes to the rules for Chapter 74:55:01 - 74:55:01:61 Underground Injection Control -- Class III Wells. The changes are being made to coincide with the changes that the Board of Minerals made last year to accommodate 'In Situ Leach' uranium mining. However, as the Board violated state law in cutting off the time for submitting written comments to three weeks before the hearing, a continuation was sought and obtained.

The Water Management Board has continued the hearing for April 2 & 3, 2008, in the Angostura and Deerfield Rooms at theRadisson Hotel on Mount Rushmore Road and Main St., Rapid City, SD. The Hearing will begin at 8:30 AM with a presentation on ISL Uranium Mining by Powertech Uranium Mining Company. General comments and specific comments for changes to the rules will follow. The Board is asking that spokespersons for groups present their comments and not repeat what has been stated previously.

One of the most important rules being considered is 74:55:01:24, Designation of exempted aquifers. With a ten year drought in the Region, with changing weather patterns and global warming, it is very important to maintain underground sources of water for the years to come. We strongly encourage everyone to ask for a copy of the rules by calling 605-773-3296, on the Internet at http://www.state.sd.us/denr/DES/Ground/grundprg.htm

We also ask as many people as possible to attend this hearing to show your support for keeping our groundwater intact and unpolluted with disturbed uranium. In every place in the world where groundwater has been disturbed for In Situ Leach uranium mining, the groundwater has NOT been able to be restored to its previous condition.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING FOR THE FUTURE OF THE REGION'S GROUNDWATER SOURCES.

Remember, water = life.
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April 1 - Hearing - Stark County Commissioners
Dickinson, ND - 8:30 AM

To determine zoning change from agricultural to industrial for mining coal and uranium. All down winders urged to attend to keep the air and water safe.

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IMPORTANT --URGENT!!
Rochford Road Announcement

The Pennington County Highway Department held a meeting regarding the reconstruction of South Rochford Road at Hill City, SD, on Monday, March 3, 2008, at 6:30 pm. This project runs from Deerfield Lake to the village of Rochford passing through the middle of Reynolds Prairie, or the Pe Sla, one of the most important and sacred Lakota annual pilgrimage sites. Currently it is a gravel road but the plans are to asphalt eleven (11) miles of road with $7.5 million dollars. If the road is blacktopped, housing development and increased traffic will occur. The Hill City Chamber of Commerce is pushing this project.

Although this project is located on 80% federal land and is funded 80% by federal dollars, the federal NEPA process has not been started. The federal NEPA process should handle this project. Please send letters to the Rapid City Journal urging the federal agencies, the US Federal Highway Administration and the US Forest Service, Custer SD Office, to begin the NEPA process to protect this sacred place and the environment. Thank you.

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An International Commemoration of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868

April 12, 2008

9:00 AM -5:00PM (MDST)

Mother Butler Center, 221 Knollwood Drive
Rapid City, SD

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In memory of Akicita Cikala (Garfield Grassrope) and Oyate Olotapi (Tony Black Feather)
Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council delegates to the United Nations

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Agenda

Honoring Ceremony

International Report on United Nations Activities

Discussion on Trans Canada Keystone Pipeline

Discussion on Long Term Plans for Bear Butte

Discussion on a Special Meeting on Decolonization

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Noon meal to be provided.
Donations welcome. Salads, desserts, drinks for the noon meal welcome.

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Sponsored by Defenders of the Black Hills on behalf of the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council
Email: bhdefenders@msn.com Phone: 605-399-1868

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PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ORGANIZATIONS FROM FIVE STATES JOIN TOGETHER
TO ADDRESS PROPOSED URANIUM MINING

CASPER, WY - Organizations from Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado met in Casper, WY, on Saturday, March 15, to discuss their joint concerns about uranium mining in the Northern Great Plains. Citizens from ten organizations are voicing their concerns about surface and ground water, human health, and local property values.

Defenders of the Black Hills, South Dakota Sierra Club, and ACTion for the Environment attended from South Dakota, which faces mining proposals along the southern Black Hills. The Powder River Basin Resource Council and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance came from Wyoming, where exploratory and mining permits have been applied for in the state. Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction traveled from the northern part of Colorado where uranium mining is also proposed near Fort Collins. Western Nebraska Resources Council, Nebraskans for Peace, and Nebraska Sierra Club arrived from northwest Nebraska where Crow Butte Resources is seeking to expand their uranium mining operations. Members of Dakota Resource Council from northwestern North Dakota are also facing new plans for uranium mining in their part of that state.

In all five states, companies plan to use 'in situ' leach mining (ISL) which injects a dissolving solution underground into suspected uranium deposits. The solution dissolves the uranium and its radioactive decay products, as well as heavy metals. This radioactive solution is pumped to the surface. The uranium is then removed and shipped to a mill for concentration into "yellowcake." The water is re-treated and then injected back underground in a cycle that continues until all the uranium has been extracted. Reverse osmosis is then often used to remove some of the toxics from the water, and the remaining liquid is either injected underground or retained in shallow ponds. Numerous uranium mining companies are making plans throughout the West as a result of recent increases in the price of uranium.

"In Wyoming, there are significant questions about regulation and oversight of uranium operations," according to Wilma Tope, Powder River Basin Resource Council Board Member. "Citizens need to have a stronger voice in uranium activities." Wilma's family owns a ranch in Crook County, WY, and has banded together with other local residents to pressure regulators to ensure adequate protection of local water supplies - both quality and quantity.

In South Dakota, Powertech Uranium Corporation has started drilling more uranium exploratory wells in an area where they already have 4,000 wells in the southwestern Black Hills. "It's already been proven world-wide that ISL mining contaminates aquifers and then those aquifers cannot be restored to their previous state," said Charmaine White Face, Coordinator for Defenders of the Black Hills. "South Dakota relies very heavily on aquifers for drinking water and livestock use. We've been in a drought for the last ten years and the last thing we need to do is poison our water," she said.

ACTion for the Environment is very concerned that South Dakota taxpayers will once again have to take on the toxic messes that are left when a mining company leaves as happened previously with Canadian companies. Powertech is a Canadian company. "The Board of Minerals and Environment should remember what happened when they gave approval for the Brohm gold mine. Now SD people are paying for that mess. Are we going to have to pay for a radioactive mess left by another Canadian company?" said Gary Heckenliable of ACTion for the Environment. "Not only South Dakota residents but all the taxpayers of the United States are going to have to pay for this for many, many years to come," he said.

Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction (CARD), formed last year in response to Powertech's proposal to mine in the rapidly-growing area near Fort Collins. "Of course uranium mining always causes some form of contamination. Water at in situ leach mining sites is not returned to its original condition," said Jackie Adolph, a member of CARD. "Most people don't know that federal policies that subsidize the nuclear industry aren't just about power plants. The nuclear industry's largest negative impacts have always been in uranium mining and milling processes."

In Nebraska, Crow Butte Resources (a subsidiary of the Canadian company Cameco Corp.) is seeking to expand one the largest and oldest ISL mines in the country. Organizations have intervened in the NRC's licensing procedures. "We are particularly concerned about protection of local water supplies and cultural resources," said Buffalo Bruce, Vice Chair of the Western Nebraska Resources Council. "The NRC has failed to fulfill its duties under the Trust Doctrine, which protects indigenous rights granted to Native American populations under U.S. treaties."

North Dakota just recently started public hearings to accept comments on ISL mining in that state. Ken Kudrna, a member of Dakota Resource Council, lives only a few miles from where uranium mining is planned to begin.

The groups have issued a common statement:

"We want the uranium industry to know that we stand together on this issue. Whether in a rural setting or a populated area, uranium mining causes radioactive contamination. Past uranium sites continue to contaminate the air, land, and water. Any bonds designed to pay for clean-up of former mining areas have not been sufficient, and taxpayers have been forced to pay the bill. We call on the public and all elected officials to do everything possible to protect the water, land, and local economies from proposed uranium activities."

More information can be found at:

Defenders of the Black Hills: www.defendblackhills.org
Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction: www.nunnglow.com
Powder River Basin Resource Council: www.powderriverbasin.org
Nebraskans for Peace: http://www.nebraskansforpeace.org/
Contact: Charmaine White Face: (605) 399-1868 Shannon Anderson: (307) 763-1816

Colorado State University - News & Information

2008-01-25T10:58:00.001-08:00

Colorado State University - News & Information

FEB 2, 2008 URANIUM SYMPOSIUM AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY EXPLORES SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

Note to Editors: Reporters interested in attending the symposium are asked to register as well as to RSVP to Dell Rae Moellenberg at 970-491-6009 or dellrae.moellenberg@colostate.edu.

The symposium will provide an overview of the basic sciences associated with uranium, particularly as it relates to environmental, medical and health questions, for professionals and members of the public. The symposium will not cover social or economic issues around uranium mining.

Hopefully some of the anti-nuclear groups can attend this very important symposium and ask the right questions regardless if these questions involve the social and economic impacts as well as the environmental impacts that in-situ-recovery uranium mining has.

The people have a right to know and a right to contest top-down mining initiatives. For too long have we been beguiled by the insufficient, bewildering permitting process!

Way to go, Colorado! Don't forget Montrose County either!

The Associated Press: Nuclear Revival Rekindles Waste Concerns

2008-01-19T14:51:00.001-08:00

BEAUMONT-HAGUE, France (AP) — Thousands of canisters of highly radioactive waste from the world's most nuclear-energized nation lie, silent and deadly, beneath this jutting tip of Normandy. Above ground, cows graze and Atlantic waves crash into heather-covered hills.

The spent fuel, vitrified into blocks of black glass that will remain dangerous for thousands of years, is in "interim storage." Like nearly all the world's nuclear waste, it is still waiting for the long-term disposal solution that has eluded scientists and governments in the six decades since the atomic era began.

....

The Associated Press: Nuclear Revival Rekindles Waste Concerns

And the French nuclear giant AREVA says that nuclear energy is safe, but never says anything about what is going in its own country in terms of storing its nuclear waste...another case of "they screaming the loudest, are often heard, but not listen to."

Come on, America, we need the French Connection as much as we need a case of hemorrhoids...don't fall for their slightly misleading spiel as have the availability entrepreneurs (danged nook spooks) have in this country. It isn't about an energy shortage as much as it really is about actually constructing the nuclear plants, the support facilities, and the mining for iron, uranium and other exotic ores necessary for construction; often found in third world countries like Africa, South America, Navajo Reservation and in Lakota Treaty land (Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, and Nebraska)!

NO NUKES
NO COAL

NO KIDDING

Opponents challenge uranium mine expansion » RapidCityJournal.com

2008-01-17T10:57:00.001-08:00

Opponents challenge uranium mine expansion » RapidCityJournal.com

Seeking to block the mine expansion are Tom Cook of Chadron and Debra White Plume of Pine Ridge, S.D., the Slim Buttes Agricultural Development Corp., Owe Aku, a nonprofit Oglala Lakota cultural group from Pine Ridge, and the Western Nebraska Resources Council.

Hopefully this serves notice to the Tribal councils that more and more Native Americans are becoming aware of the increasing drive by the foreign uranium mining companies such as CAMECO to continue their plundering of treaty land. Also since the tribal councils are the only body recognized by the federal government, the tribal councils should take the lead in furthering their own independent water quality studies of the ground and surface water.

To back up the data in any proposed tribal water study, all Indian Health Service health records must be acquired to provide a legal basis for the coming water conflict. Correlation of the reservation's health crises to water quality analysis will provide the legal basis for tribes, increasing their sovereignty as well as strengthening their individual roles in the Winters Doctrine.

Bismarck Tribune - The Weeklies: Public asked to provide input on uranium mining

2008-01-12T21:48:00.001-08:00

Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - The Weeklies: Public asked to provide input on uranium mining

With uranium mining potentially starting up again in North Dakota’s western counties, some state officials want to meet with the public to talk about uranium mining rules.
State geologist Ed Murphy said he’s organizing a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Belfield Memorial Hall.

First Nations vow to occupy eastern Ont. site to block uranium mining | Published January 11th, 2008

2008-01-11T14:53:00.001-08:00

First Nations vow to occupy eastern Ont. site to block uranium mining | Published January 11th, 2008

Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Published Friday January 11th, 2008

TORONTO - Aboriginals in eastern Ontario warned Friday that they would ignore a court order and illegally occupy the site of a proposed uranium mine north of Kingston later this month unless the province calls a halt to the project.

The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation said it usually permits mining activities on its lands, but will not tolerate uranium exploration because of its impact on the environment and potential to adversely affect people's health.

"The destruction of the land, the consequence of a uranium mine being built, and the health effects will be devastating on our community," former Ardoch chief Robert Lovelace told a news conference at the legislature.

"We have taken a stand that there will be no uranium mine in that area."

The Ardoch First Nation is fighting Frontenac Ventures Corp., which has staked approximately 400 mineral claims covering more than 8,000 hectares of land, and successfully won a court injunction last October to prevent aboriginals from occupying the site.

Tri-City Herald: Mid-Columbia news

2008-01-11T14:23:00.001-08:00

Hanford workers prepare for high-risk excavation of waste (w/video)

Hanford cleanup

Published Thursday, January 10th, 2008

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer

Hanford workers are preparing to start next week digging up radioactive and chemical waste that could spontaneously catch fire when exposed to air.

"We're planning for the worst case," said John Darby, project manager for the Department of Energy's contractor, Washington Closure Hanford.

The 618-7 Burial Ground was used from 1960 to 1973 for waste from the Hanford nuclear reservation's 300 Area just north of Richland where fuel was made for Hanford's reactors and research was conducted.

Tri-City Herald: Mid-Columbia news

Energy Prospects - No Nukes or Coal, Idaho Petition Says

2008-01-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Energy Prospects - No Nukes or Coal, Idaho Petition Says
Here is a good one...help Idahoans stop the nuclear reactor expansion in their state!

Uranium company wants to start drilling - Denver Business Journal:

2008-01-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

Uranium company wants to start drilling - Denver Business Journal:

I wonder how CARD will respond to this?

How to make uranium, in five easy steps.

2007-12-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Powertech Uranium, facing an extreme embarrassment, loses its wits to Coloradan opposition as shown in this timeline listed in the Rocky Mountain Chronicle.

The cartoon character sucking uranium through a straw, looks just like Mr. Blubaugh, PowerTech vice-president...evidently they read my repeated statement, posted in all their newspapers, that he should prove to us that in-situ leach uranium mining is safe by drinking some of the dissolving solution (lixiviant), then I'll believe him. Now if we could just get South Dakota to hear this same message!

Oh well!!! It really isn't about the uranium, it is really about increasing property values, and speculating on company stocks. Ever since Mr. Gore proclaimed Global Warming, the nuclear industry shills daily that their energy is safe for the environment and will start Global Cooling, formerly known as Nuclear Winter, through nuclear proliferation.

New Mexico Governor Calls on NRC to Abandon Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Uranium Mining Applications

2007-12-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

Process Violates Government-to Government Consultation, Limits Public Participation

December 3, 2007 -- (SANTA FE – NM) -- In a recent letter, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson called on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to abandon the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) process for new uranium mining activities in New Mexico and across the West, citing concerns about the lack of site-specific environmental review and public participation. Under the NRC’s proposal, new uranium mining activities – and the public’s right to comment on them -- would fall principally under one single “generic” environmental impact statement rather than separate, site-specific environmental reviews.

In the letter, Governor Richardson notes that a generic approach is contrary to the principles of government-to-government consultation with sovereign Native American Tribes and Pueblos, is contrary to NRC’s duties and obligations under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), and limits the ability of local communities and citizens to voice concerns regarding the specific licensing of potential operators in New Mexico.

“The NRC should abandon the “generic” process for reviewing any proposed uranium recovery operation,” said Governor Richardson. “The west is a diverse, unique, and vast area where one size does not fit all. As such, the State of New Mexico does not support the scope and approach of the proposed process."

The majority of uranium resources in New Mexico are located in the northwest portion of the state, which includes a large portion of Indian lands. Any proposed uranium recovery will pose unique cultural and environmental justice issues that the GEIS process will not adequately address. A GEIS approach looks at the bigger picture without adequately considering the specifics on the ground of each license in each location. The real concern is that down the road the NRC will rely on the GEIS as the primary environmental document and not conduct a separate, in-depth environmental review when reviewing license applications for specific sites in New Mexico.

The GEIS proposal is contrary to the State of New Mexico’s commitment to a full public participation in its state permitting process. Individual review of each permit is key for uranium operations due to the extensive history of environmental degradation and public health impacts from past uranium mining and milling practices.

“Overall, the state of New Mexico believes that the proposed generic statement is contrary to NRC’s duties and obligations under NEPA and any generic analysis will fall far short of assessing and identifying all possible environmental impacts in the western United States,” said Governor Richardson. “The State of New Mexico remains committed to an open, transparent and thorough review process of all uranium permits and we implore the NRC to commit itself to the same level of public involvement."

Governor Richardson’s letter was sent to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday, November 30th.

Text of letter follows:

November 21, 2007
Chairman Dale E. Klein
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555

Dear Chairman Klein:

As outlined in my letter dated July 31, 2007, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) proposed Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for newly proposed uranium recovery operations in the western United States concerns me greatly. This proposal will directly impact New Mexico, a state rich in uranium reserves but with an unfortunate history of environmental degradation from past uranium mining and milling.

The NRC’s decision to pursue a GEIS is highly questionable since it is not clear that there is a wide-ranging federal program that is concerted, systematic, and connected which would warrant the use of a “programmatic” approach as opposed to separate, site-specific environmental reviews. The State of New Mexico requests that the NRC reconsider its decision to use a GEIS approach. A GEIS results in a more “generic” review on a broader scale of general concepts without taking into consideration that there are unique issues related to specific sites within each specific geographical area.

Moreover, a GEIS often is used as a tool in the “tiering” process to serve as a master document whereby subsequent, site specific environmental reviews only amount to an environmental assessment with heavy reliance on the “generic” document. This means that instead of performing a comprehensive, in-depth environmental review at each site in New Mexico for each license application, the NRC would only conduct an environmental assessment and rely on the GEIS for a large portion of its site-specific analysis. Given the unique environmental, geographical, cultural, historical, economic, and regional aspects of New Mexico, it is contrary to the goals and purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the NRC to use a GEIS approach in this instance.

A significant issue pertains to the unique cultural and historical factors in the State of New Mexico. The majority of uranium resources in New Mexico are located in the Grants Mineral Belt in the northwestern portion of the State. This area includes large portions of “Indian Lands.” Consequently, any proposed uranium recovery and processing operations in New Mexico will pose unique cultural and environmental justice issues that the GEIS process will not adequately address.

Likewise, a GEIS unduly limits the ability of local communities and citizens to voice specific concerns regarding the licensing of potential operators in their neighborhoods and communities. Given the concerns of many citizens in New Mexico about the public health, environmental, and cultural impacts of new uranium mining actions, a process that forces the public to comment on an environmental document that only considers broad-based issues for a large regional area undermines the purposes and intent of NEPA to ensure that specific major federal actions do not adversely impact the environment. The use of a generic, general, programmatic approach instead of ensuring an in-depth evaluation at the site specific level is disrespectful of the general public’s right to have a meaningful voice in decisions of such magnitude and importance.

In addition, a “generic” approach is contrary to the principles of government-to-government consultation with the many sovereign Native American Tribes and Pueblos in New Mexico. Some thirty-five Native American tribes claim cultural affiliation with historic properties in New Mexico, including archaeological sites, landscapes, traditional cultural properties and sacred sites. In many cases, traditional Native American cultural properties consist of cultural landscapes and special landforms with spiritual relationships that could be affected by this proposed undertaking having long-term adverse impacts or potentially detrimental effects to the very existence of the people.

Potential impacts on New Mexico’s sovereign Tribes and Pueblos will undoubtedly result in a “finding of significant impact” in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) evaluation, which will require the NRC to perform an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In this context, the NRC should abandon the GEIS process and adopt the full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for reviewing any proposed activity that will occur at specific sites within our state. A full EIS process will give the state and the public the opportunity to address site-specific and cultural concerns unique to proposed operations in New Mexico. While the NRC may claim that site specific evaluations will occur with each license application in New Mexico at a later stage, there is no guarantee that such evaluations will be beyond an environmental assessment.

The GEIS proposal also is contrary to the State of New Mexico’s commitment to full public participation in its state permitting process in which each permit is evaluated on a case-by-case manner. This individual review is particularly important for uranium operations due to the extensive history of environmental degradation and public impacts as a result of past uranium mining and milling practices, the varying hydrologic, geologic, and ecologic conditions of each particular site, and cultural resources unique to New Mexico. A full EIS process is also consistent with the NRC’s decision to complete an EIS for new nuclear reactor applications rather than following a GEIS process.

Unlike the Navajo Nation, the State of New Mexico currently has not taken a broad policy position on uranium mining. However, if uranium mining and milling are to resume in New Mexico, the state must be sure that the public is given a robust opportunity to participate in the decisions and that all environmental, water resource, and potential public health issues are thoroughly examined for each operation. The State of New Mexico is committed to an open, transparent and thorough review process of all uranium permits and we implore the NRC to commit itself to the same level of public involvement.

Overall, the State of New Mexico believes that the proposed GEIS is contrary to NRC’s duties and obligations under NEPA and that the generic analysis of the proposed action of “construction, operation, and decommissioning of an ISL uranium mill” will fall far short of assessing and identifying all possible environmental impacts in the western United States. The west is a diverse, unique, and vast area where one size does not fit all. As such, the State of New Mexico does not support the scope and approach of the proposed GEIS.

Lastly, the State of New Mexico wishes to reiterate the importance of holding public meetings in affected communities on an ongoing basis. Such meetings are vital to the public participation process. The meetings held in August and September earlier this year were helpful and productive in establishing a dialogue with the NRC and we hope that the NRC will continue to hold such meetings in the future.

Please submit these comments as part of the official record regarding this matter. I hope that the NRC will weigh these comments heavily and provide the public with a genuine opportunity to review and evaluate individual EIS’s for all proposed in situ leach (ISL) and conventional mill operations in New Mexico.

Sincerely,
Bill Richardson
Governor of New Mexico
cc: Chief, Rulemaking, Directives and Editing Branch
Mail Stop T-6D59
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

Source: New Mexico Governor

Uranium Impacts Native and non-Native Seek Justice

2007-11-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Bluewater Valley Downstream Alliance ? Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project

Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining ? Laguna Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment

Navajo Uranium Radiation Vicitms Committee

New Mexico Environmental Law Center ? Post '71 Uranium Workers Committee

Sierra Club Environmental Justice Office ? Southwest Research and Information Center

Press Release

For More Information:

Thursday Nov. 15, 2007

Mitchell Capitan, 505-786-5209

Linda Evers, 505-287-2304

Candace Head-Dylla, 505-401-4349

Chris Shuey, 505-262-1862

Robert Tohe, 928-774-6103

Grass-roots and nongovernmental organizations

seek justice for uranium impacts in meetings with members of Congress

WASHINGTON , DC — Representatives of grass-roots groups and nongovernmental organizations from New Mexico and Arizona told members of Congress last week that they want a federal moratorium on new uranium development in the region until the widespread environmental and public health damages from past mining and milling are resolved and workers and communities are fully compensated.

The organizations were in Washington, D.C. to participate in the Navajo Uranium Roundtable sponsored by Rep. Tom Udall of New Mexico, and co-hosted by Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah, Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona, and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr.

The groups, which represented communities in the Eastern Navajo Agency, Acoma and Laguna pueblos, and the Milan and Grants area, supported the Navajo Nation's requests for funding to clean up hundreds of abandoned mines in Navajo communities, fully compensate uranium workers, conduct health studies in uranium-impacted communities, and honor and respect the Navajo Nation's 2005 law banning uranium mining and processing in Navajo Country.

Speakers for the grassroots groups joined President Shirley, other Navajo Nation officials, and Laguna Pueblo Governor John E. Antonio, in calling for a federal moratorium on new uranium mining.

Mitchell Capitan, founder of Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), based in Crownpoint, said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is "tilted toward industry" and cannot be trusted to properly regulate uranium in situ leach (ISL) mines and new uranium mills. He charged that the NRC did not give fair consideration to ENDAUM's technical and legal arguments challenging NRC's 1998 licensing of Hydro Resources, Inc.'s (HRI) proposed ISL mines in Churchrock and Crownpoint. To illustrate his point, Capitan provided copies of a photo from the NRC's web site showing agency officials smiling and shaking hands with executives of a Wyoming uranium company, which had just submitted an application for a new ISL mine — long before the proposed facility is subjected to NRC staff review and approved by the Commission.

Larry J. King, an ENDAUM member and Churchrock Chapter resident, said his community recommends a federal uranium mine clean-up program that would address legacy sites throughout the West. He also called for Congress to force NRC to return to its mission to protect public health and safety. He cited an NRC ruling in 2006 that classified high levels of radiation from mining wastes at a proposed ISL site across the highway from his home as "background" radiation.

Robert Tohe, environmental justice organizer for the Sierra Club in Flagstaff , Ariz. , said Congress should give federal land management agencies the authority to deny exploration and mining permits on Native American sacred sites and in sacred places. He noted that several mining companies are exploring for uranium on and around Mt. Taylor , one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo people and a sacred place for Acoma and Laguna pueblos.

Long-time Diné uranium worker advocate Phil Harrison, Jr., who is now a delegate to the Navajo Nation Council, and attorney Keith Killian of Grand Junction , Colorado , called on Congress to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to address disparities in compensation awards between Native Americans and non-Indian uranium workers and downwinders. They said the range of compensable diseases should be expanded and attention given to the lack of compensation for dependents of former workers and people who lived, and still live, in mining-impacted communities.

Harrison, Paguate resident Alvino Waconda, and Milan residents Linda Evers and Liz Lucero, all of whom are former uranium workers, supported amending RECA to include people who worked in the uranium industry after 1971. Evers said her group has collected nearly 1,500 surveys of post-1971 uranium workers, and that the vast majority of workers are reporting a wide range of cancers, respiratory diseases and kidney disease. Evers said she expects to report the first results by the end of the year.

Milan residents Candace Head-Dylla, Milton Head and Art Gebeau, representing the Bluewater Valley Downstream Alliance (BVDA), handed out information packets showing how groundwater contamination around the Homestake Uranium Mill north of Milan has spread to three aquifers covering several miles of land since first detected in 1961. They said the plumes contain high levels of uranium and other toxic substances and are inching toward Milan 's municipal water wells, yet no groundwater monitoring is being conducted ahead of the contamination plume. Dozens of private wells in communities near the mill have been shut down, but until very recently some residents were unknowingly still drinking tainted water from private wells, the BVDA members said. They recommended that Congress should amend federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act, to ensure that that uranium mine and mill wastes and associated discharges are regulated as toxic pollutants.

The grass-roots people were assisted by staffs of Southwest Research and Information Center , Natural Resources Defense Council, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center , Earthworks, and The Raben Group. A list of major policy objectives advocated by the groups follows.

Dr. Johnnye Lewis, a University of New Mexico toxicologist who was invited by the Navajo Nation and Udall staffs to provide scientific guidance, spoke to the need for a comprehensive health study, noting that the lack of health data is often misconstrued as a lack of effect. Dr. Lewis, who is the principal investigator for the first community-based health and exposure study in Navajo communities, emphasized the need for health studies to be conducted by independent investigators to ensure the validity and scientific integrity of results.

GRASS-ROOTS AND NONGOVERENMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS'

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL RESPONSES TO THE URANIUM MINING LEGACY AND PROPOSED NEW URANIUM DEVELOPMENT ON THE NAVAJO NATION AND THROUGHOUT THE FOUR CORNERS AREA

1. Seek legislation to impose a federal moratorium on new uranium development until environmental pollution from previous mining and milling is cleaned up, workers are appropriately compensated, and community health studies conducted.

2. Amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to, among other things, include certain New Mexico counties in the areas exposed to fallout from nuclear weapons testing, expand the universe of compensable diseases for uranium workers, and extend eligibility for compensation to workers who worked after 1971. Congress should also investigate compensation strategies for dependents of former uranium workers and for residents of communities impacted by uranium development.

3. Respect and protect the Navajo Nation's sovereign right to enact the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act (DNRPA) of 2005, which prohibits uranium mining and processing by any means anywhere in Navajo Country.

4. Ensure full funding for health studies among residents of communities impacted by uranium mining and milling, and restore cuts in existing studies.

5. Require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to drop work on the proposed Generic Environmental Impact Statement for uranium in situ leach mining and to return to full and fair implementation of its statutory authority to protect public health and safety.

6. Amend the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Atomic Energy Act to make clear and certain that uranium mill and mine wastes are defined as "pollutants" and are subject to the same level of regulatory control and scrutiny as all other pollutants. Uranium mine and mill waste should not be exempt from any federal public health or environmental statute.

7. Enact a comprehensive federal abandoned uranium mine clean-up program, including funds for cleanup of abandoned mines on the Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo and throughout the Four Corners Area. Ensure that financially viable companies are held responsible for cleaning, or paying for cleanup, of the mining and milling sites they abandoned.

8. Reaffirm the principal of religious freedom by authorizing federal land management agencies to deny exploration, mining and milling permits on sacred sites or in sacred places, including and especially Mt. Taylor in northwestern New Mexico .

*****

Public Meeting about Abandoned Uranium Mines in the Cave Hills Area

2007-11-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Defenders of the Black Hills

P. O. Box 2003, Rapid City, SD 57709

Nov. 6, 2007

Public Service Announcement

“Public Meeting about Abandoned Uranium Mines in the Cave Hills Area”

On Tues. Nov. 13, 2007, the US Forest Service will hold a meeting in Ludlow regarding the abandoned uranium mines in the Cave Hills area at Riley Pass. The meeting is for the public and will be held in the Ludlow Hall from 5-8:00 PM.

Representatives from Tronox, formerly Kerr-McGee, the mining company that dug the uranium mine at Riley Pass will be there as well as representatives from SD School of Mines and Technology.

We encourage as many people as possible to attend and question how and when all of the 89 mines are going to be cleaned up, the health concerns from no cleanup after 30 years of leaving the mines exposed, possible destruction of more burial and sacred sites in the cleanup process, and how much taxpayer dollars are being used for the cleanup.

For more information call (605) 399-1868, or email: bhdefenders@msn.com

South Dakota ISL uranium mining: Now you see it, now you don't

2007-11-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

Einstein once said that nuclear reactors are terrible ways to boil water; I say that poisoning water to mine uranium and promote nuclear energy is even more dangerous since we cannot easily see radioactive poisoning and heavy metal groundwater contamination especially if it is buried deep underground.

My purpose in this blog post is continue my drive to inform the rest of this country about the dangerous situation developing in South Dakota over in situ leach uranium mining. Continuing in this, there are several factors I consider very important background information before delving into this situation with me: (1) the groundwater hydrology in South Dakota hasn't been fully mapped as it has in Colorado where the direction of groundwater flow has been illustrated beautifully; (2) as a volunteer researcher for the Defenders of the Black Hills I attended the first meetings with the State of South Dakota over uranium mining permitting regulations and PowerTech Uranium's application to conduct exploratory drilling in Fall River county where I can only felt that we experienced racism, outright bigotry and environmental injustice from state officials; and (3) our verbal comments as well as those submitted in writing were largely passed over in favor of PowerTech Uranium and its cohorts attending with them, Energy Metals (currently mining in Wyoming), and Crow Butte Resources (currently mining in Nebraska).

Current concerns and fears I share about in situ leach uranium mining are below blockquoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-situ_leaching#Controversies

The concerns of environmental groups and landholders centre around;

Acidification of groundwaters

Mobilisation of potentially hazardous heavy metals and, in the case of uranium, radioactive heavy metals.^[6]

Disturbance of the groundwater table, mixing of groundwater aquifers and general disturbance of the land atop the ore body

Destruction of habitat for stygofauna and other rock-inhabiting organisms, bacteria, et cetera.

Potential spills of acidic and metal-bearing or salt-bearing leachates upon the surface

As illustrated below, in situ leach uranium mining can experience several dangerous failures that are impossible or very difficult to remediate when these failures occur:

Although in-situ leach uranium mining is supposedly safe, I contend that it isn't, After reading published reports from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and existing controversial conditions reportedly resulting from in-situ leach uranium mining in Texas, Wyoming, and New Mexico as well as Australia and Russia, I should think that modern science could find a different means to generate electricity, other than using coal, uranium, gas, oil or hydropower.

For starters, the restoration process, technically named a groundwater sweep, at an in situ leach uranium mine uses reverse osmosis (RO) where high pressured water called the pore volume (the actual displacement yield of the well field) is injected back through the contaminated ore zone and extracted through another well head pump, then passed through a filter that usually clogs with the contaminated liquid during the first pass. This contaminated material is then removed from the filter and clean water is then repeatedly injected into the ore body until a certain groundwater standard has been achieved, usually pre-mining water quality standards.

The first critical subject to note is as quoted in NUREG/CR-6870:

The concentrate liquid waste from the RO units is either fed to evaporation ponds, injected into deep disposal wells, or dried for disposal at a licensed facility.

The waste is highly radioactive and emit high concentrations of radon to the atmosphere while also having the extreme possibility of escaping into the environment during catastrophic storms or acts of terrorism or through negligence. Disposing of this contaminant into deep disposal wells is just as dangerous since we don't really understand what happens down there yet but "out of sight, out of mind" seems to be valid science acceptable to the NRC.

Another important aspect that the NUREG states is that often the groundwater sweep doesn't remove all of the lixiviant, requiring another process of injecting more poisons (hydrogen sulfide, sodium hydrosulfide, or alkaline solutions) into the earth to stabilize the lixiviant to keep it from continuing to react with the ore body, thereby increasing the levels of uranium in the groundwater. But injecting these other poisons into the groundwater is acceptable to the NRC if it is within the pre-mining groundwater quality standards as measured by pH ratios yet this doesn't mean that it is any better because now its chemical composition is radically different.

NOW as I am finished with this, knowing that you are fully aware of my small perspective on the bigger picture as this form of toxic uranium mining, you must agree that uranium mining in all forms is dangerous to us, to all of us! Call your local congress representative, have them start investigating why uranium mining is allowed to continue in this country although the facts remain that it is very dangerous and toxic. Support all of the groups I have listed in the right sidebar!

Nuclear power and water scarcity

2007-10-30T10:32:00.001-07:00

The Pluralism Project:
ScienceAlert - Australia & NZ - Nuclear power and water scarcity

Nuclear power and water scarcity

Monday, 29 October 2007
By Sue Wareham and Jim Green

The connections between water scarcity, power generation and the federal government's promotion of nuclear power are worth reflecting on in National Water Week, held from October 21-27.

Some problems associated with nuclear power are much discussed – such as its connection to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Less well known is the fact that nuclear power is the most water-hungry of all energy sources, with a single reactor consuming 35-65 million litres of water each day.

Water scarcity is already a serious problem for Australia's power-generation industry, largely because of our heavy reliance on water-guzzling coal-fired plants. Current problems in Australia's power industry resulting from water shortages include: expensive long-distance water haulage to some power plants as local supplies dwindle; reduced electrical generating capacity and output at some coal and hydro plants; higher and more volatile electricity prices; increased risks of blackouts; and intensified competition for water between power plants, agriculture, industries, and environmental flows.

Introducing nuclear power would exacerbate those problems. A December 2006 report by the Commonwealth Department of Parliamentary Services notes that the water requirements for a nuclear power station are 20-83 per cent higher than for other power stations. Moreover, those calculations do not include water consumption by uranium mines. The Roxby Downs mine in South Australia uses 35 million litres of water each day, with plans to increase this to 150 million litres each day. Mine operator BHP Billiton does not pay one cent for this water despite recording a record $17 billion profit in 2006-07.

Water outflows from nuclear power plants can damage the local environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states:

"When nuclear power plants remove water from a lake or river for steam production and cooling, fish and other aquatic life can be affected. Water pollutants, such as heavy metals and salts, build up in the water used in the nuclear power plant systems. These water pollutants, as well as the higher temperature of the water discharged from the power plant, can negatively affect water quality and aquatic life."

A report by the U.S. Nuclear Information and Resource Service details the destruction of delicate marine ecosystems and large numbers of animals, including endangered species, by nuclear power plants. Most of the damage is done by water inflow pipes, while expulsion of warm water causes further damage.

Another documented problem is 'cold stunning' - fish acclimatise to warm water but die when the reactor is taken off-line and warm water is no longer expelled. In New Jersey, local fishermen estimated that 4,000 fish died from cold stunning when a reactor was shut down.

Nuclear reactors in numerous European countries have been periodically taken off-line or operated at reduced output in recent years because of water shortages driven by climate change, drought and heat waves. Nuclear utilities have also sought and secured exemptions from operating conditions in order to discharge overheated water.

The water consumption of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency and conservation measures is negligible compared to nuclear or coal. Operating a 2,400 Watt fan heater for one hour consumes 0.01 litres of water if wind is the energy source, 0.26 litres if solar is the energy source, 4.5 litres if coal is the energy source, or 5.5 litres if nuclear power is the energy source.

Tim Flannery, the 2007 Australian of the Year, notes that hastening the uptake of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal 'hot rocks' will help ease the water crisis as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions - a win-win outcome.

Globally, there is another compelling reason to ensure that decisions on water allocation - including its use in energy production - are made wisely and equitably. Limited access to water is already contributing to armed conflicts ('water wars') in a number of places around the globe. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently noted that shortages of food and water in sub-Saharan Africa were a precursor to the current tragic violence in Darfur. The problem goes "far beyond Darfur", he warned, as many other places are now suffering water shortages.

Australia can ill-afford to replace one thirsty industry, coal, with an even thirstier one, nuclear power.

Dr Sue Wareham became involved in MAPW over 20 years ago out of a "horror at the destructive capacity of a single nuclear weapon." Sue believes that her work through MAPW is fundamental to her commitment to the protection of human life and the improvement of human well-being.

Dr Jim Green is the national nuclear campaigner for Friends of the Earth and author of the report No Solution To Climate Change (pdf file 1.98MB) launched in September 2005. His PhD thesis dealt with the history of the Lucas Heights nuclear plant and the debate over the replacement of its nuclear research reactor. He is a member of the EnergyScience Coalition. Read his essay Environmentalists Do Not Support Nuclear Power: Critique of James Lovelock and Patrick Moore.

Know The Real ENEMY MINE

2007-10-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Below is the running list of international uranium mining companies seeking immediate wealth at the expense of our environment currently being assaulted by the nuclear renaissance. Most agree that international mining companies often conduct their business in foreign countries on account of lax environmental laws and regulations, and are often financed through an arcane, often mystical, financing mechanisms designed to confuse their investors. In essence, profit and greed are driving this new affront to our basic sense of responsibility which is providing that we don't destroy our environment while satisfying our immediate needs for omnipotence over poverty and want.

As I write, the pro-DNA and pro-environment groups are waging a battle in Congress over two major pieces legislation HR 2272 Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 and the Senate energy bill (H.R.6) to protect our environment from irresponsible mining practices on Federal land and to stop the nuclear industry from obtaining unlimited construction and development loans without Congressional approval. This list intends to assist our cause; to get at the root of the issue is the easiest way to stop it until more rational thought is given by the public.

Major Uranium Mining Companies

AREVA - The AREVA group was formed through the merger of all CEA-Industrie, COGEMA, FRAMATOME ANP and FCI operations. In the nuclear sector, AREVA provides services for every aspect of power generation. From uranium mining through to site clean-up and decommissioning, for power plant construction or fuel fabrication.

AREVA NC - A wholly owned subsidiary of the AREVA group, this is an industrial group active in the energy sector offering electric utilities all over the world a full range of products and services for nuclear power generation. AREVA NC's operations range from uranium mining, conversion and enrichment through to spent fuel reprocessing and recycling.

AREVA Resources Canada Inc - The company - a subsidiary of the AREVA group - is one of the world's leading uranium exploration, mining and milling companies.

Australian Uranium - This is an independent website dedicated to furthering research and discussion about the Australian uranium mining and export industries. The site includes discussion forums and a blog.

BHP Billiton - This is the world's fourth largest producer of uranium. The company acquired the Olympic Dam mine in Australia as part of its purchase of WMC Resources.

Cameco Corporation - This is an excellent web site from the world's biggest uranium producer. It's easy to navigate, well laid out with good use of graphics. Importantly it also gives a reasonable amount of information on Cameco operations with details of uranium reserves, production, processing sites and stock prices.

Denison Mines Inc - Denison's interests include stakes in the McClean Lake and Midwest uranium projects, both in northern Saskatchewan.

DIAMO - Website of the Czech uranium mining company. *In CZECH only*

Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) - The company operates the Ranger mine in Australia's Northern Territory. The site includes information on the company, the Ranger mine, the Jabiluka site, environmental management (with a special focus on water management which is a big issue in this tropical area), and community relations.

Havilah Resources NL (HR) - This Australian company has formed a subsidiary, Curnamona Energy Pty Ltd, that will hold 100% of Havilah's Tertiary uranium exploration interests in its Curnamona Craton tenements.

Heathgate Resources - The website includes information about Heathgate Resources, the Beverley uranium mine, Environmental Impact Statement, publications and contact details.

Industrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) - By law, INB is the company in charge of promoting in Brazil uranium, exploitation, from mining and primary processing up to its placement in nuclear fuel elements.

International Uranium (USA) Corp (IUC) - This company is in the business of recycling uranium-bearing waste products as an alternative to the direct disposal of these waste products. In addition, IUC is engaged in the selling of uranium recovered from these operations. IUC also sells vanadium and other metals that can be produced as a co- product with uranium. IUC, together with its affliates, owns several uranium and uranium/vanadium mines and exploration properties that are on standby.

Kazatomprom - National Atomic Company Kazatomprom was established by decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 14 July, 1997 in the form of closed joint- stock company in order to strengthen control over nuclear materials production and export.

Mega Uranium Ltd - This is a mining company with a focus on uranium. It has uranium resources in Australia (Ben Lomond and Maureen, total 23.6 million lbs U3O8) and uranium exploration projects in Australia, Argentina, Mongolia and Canada.

Navoi Mining & Metallurgy Combinat (NMMC) - Initially founded in the 1950s for uranium ore mining and processing at the Uchkuduk Deposit, NMMC is now among the ten largest uranium and gold producers in the world.

Rio Tinto plc - This is one of the world's most diversified mining companies. The group also includes Rossing in Namibia and Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). Both companies supply uranium oxide for use in electricity generation.

Rossing Uranium Mine - Plenty of corporate (including media releases) and operational information on the site of this Namibian uranium mine.

Saskatchewan Industry and Resources (SIR) - The Exploration and Geological Services Division promotes mineral exploration and development by maintaining a geoscience database, and administering the disposition of metallic and industrial mineral claims on Crown lands. SIR manages its mineral resources through the administration of royalty and tax systems, and collecting and maintaining production and sales information.

UraMin Inc - The company was established to acquire and develop uranium properties throughout the world. UraMin is currently focusing on the development of their advanced exploration project, the Trekkopje Uranium Project in Namibia.

Uranerz Energy Corp - The company is involved in uranium exploration and mining. Uranerz's corporate goal is to create shareholder wealth through the discovery or acquisition of quality uranium deposits, and developing those deposits into profitable producing mines using low cost mining methods such as in-situ and heap leach technologies. The company is focused in Wyoming, USA, Mongolia and Saskatchewan, Canada.

Urangesellschaft mbH (UG) - This is an international uranium mining and trading company. It supplies nuclear power plants with natural and enriched uranium, with separative work, and renders all services connected with such supplies.

Uranium Miner - Uranium Miner provides insight into uranium resource companies that offer outstanding properties, management and experience in the mining/exploration industry. Includes a comprehensive list of uranium mining companies. Also includes a glossary of uranium mining and general mining terms.

Uranium One Inc - The company is engaged in the exploration and development of uranium and gold resource properties in South Africa, Australia and Canada. The company's principal assets are the Dominion Uranium Project in South Africa, the Honeymoon Uranium Project in Australia and, through its majority-owned subsidiary, Aflease Gold Ltd, the Modder East Gold Project in South Africa. Through a joint venture with Pitchstone Exploration Ltd, the company is also engaged in the acquisition and development of uranium exploration properties in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Uranium Resources Inc (URI) - The Group's principal activities are to acquire, explore, develop and mine uranium properties. The Group uses the in-situ leach (ISL) mining process to extract uranium.

Uranium SA - This web site is designed to inform the general community about the current and potential uranium mining operations in South Australia. It also deals with issues related to the use and management of uranium in the context of safety and sustainable development.

UrAsia Energy - The company's annualized production is an estimated 1.4 million pounds of uranium, which comes from its 70% interest in the Akdala in-situ leach uranium mine in Kazakhstan. The company's goal is to be producing in excess of 10 million pounds annually by 2015 from at least three assets in Central Asia.

Wyoming Mining Association - Uranium (WMA) - Everything about the uranium industry in Wyoming, including a useful library of articles about the uranium industry, geological information, and technical information about the mining operations.

Junior Uranium Companies

Adresmin Gold Corp - This Canadian company has entered into negotiations with a private Peruvian prospector to acquire a 'high- quality' uranium project in Peru.

Alberta Star Development Corp - Alberta Star has high hopes for its Longtom property in Canada's Great Bear area in the Northwest Territories. The company has called this property its 'Olympic Dam-style' iron, copper, gold, silver, cobalt, and uranium project.

Aldershot Resources Ltd - This is a Canadian based company focused in uranium exploration with projects in Quebec, Australia and Zambia.

Altius Minerals Corp - The company has entered into a joint venture with JNR Resources Inc to develop the Rocky Brook uranium property in western Newfoundland, Canada. Altius and partner Fronteer Development Group have a uranium exploration program under way in the central mineral belt of Labrador.

Bayswater Uranium Corp - This is a Canadian based exploration company with a large, highly prospective and diverse property base. Bayswater is focused mainly on uranium, with properties in each of Canada's major uranium producing and exploration regions.

Bitterroot Resources Ltd - This Canadian company has entered into an option/joint venture agreement with Cameco Corp covering exploration targets within a 780 square mile area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA.

CanAlaska - The company is a mineral exploration firm exploring for uranium in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, Canada. Since September 2004, the company has assembled one of the largest exploration portfolios in the region.

Commander Resources - This is a Canadian junior exploration company with control one of the largest new gold districts in Canada and a new uranium belt in Newfoundland.

Consolidated Abaddon - This is a Canadian uranium exploration company actively involved with the development of properties in the Athabasca Basin of Northern Saskatchewan and the Sims Basin of Labrador. Property partners include International Uranium Corp and Triex Minerals Corp.

Crosshair Exploration & Mining - This is a Canadian uranium and gold exploration and development company with projects in Newfoundland and Labrador. The company has developed into a dominant player in the exploration for uranium in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador.

Dejour Enterprises Ltd - This Canadian company has aggressively been researching and acquiring uranium properties in the Saskatchewan Athabasca Basin.

El Nino Ventures Inc - The company is a major landholder in the Bancroft region of Ontario, Canada, with its option on 8 uranium properties, on which it may earn 100% interest, in the townships of Faraday, Cardiff, and Monmouth. The properties in total are comprised of 37 mineral claims containing 247 claim units, and the claims cover a total of some 3952 hectares.

Energy Metals Corp - In 2004, Energy Metals (formerly Clan Resources) acquired a 100% interest in the Aurora uranium property in Oregon and in uranium properties in Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona.

Firestone Ventures Inc - This Canadian company's portfolio includes a 100% interest in more than 110,000 acres of land in southwestern Alberta.

Fjordland Exploration Inc - The company has an option to earn up to 80% in the Olympic-Rob copper-gold-uranium project located in Yukon, Canada.

Formation Capital Corp - This Canadian company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, has interests in base, precious metal and uranium projects in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Forsys Metals Corp - This Canadian company recently completed a transaction to acquire 90% interest in the Valencia Uranium Deposit in Namibia, while the remaining 10% is owned by Ongopolo Mining & Processing

Forum Uranium Corp - This is a Canadian-based energy company with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of energy projects. The company has a 100% interest in over 165,000 hectares of uranium exploration properties located in the prolific Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan and a 65% interest in the Costigan Lake Joint Venture nearby the Key Lake uranium mine.

Fronteer Development Group - In September 2004, Fronteer announced that it and its partner, Northwestern Development Group, had intersected high-grade uranium mineralization in a recent drill program at the Longtom property in Canada's Northwest Territories. Fronteer is also a partner with Altius Mineral Corp on a uranium exploration program in Labrador, Canada, and with Albert Star.

Globex Mining Enterprises Inc - This is a Canadian-based exploration company with a very large North American portfolio of advanced properties with gold, copper, zinc, silver, uranium, platinum, palladium, magnesium and talc potential.

International KRL Resources Corp (IRK) - The company has acquired an option on 52 claims at the Nor property in the Yukon Territory, Canada. IRK has also acquired a mineral claim block on the Carswell Dome Formation in Saskatchewan.

JNR Resources Inc (JNR) - The company has a joint venture with International Uranium Corp (IUC) to explore the Moore Lake area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada, for uranium. JNR is also planning to explore for uranium at its 100%-owned Black Lake project on the north rim of the Athabasca Basin. It has a joint venture with Altius Minerals on exploring for uranium in Newfoundland.

Khan Resources Inc - The company, through a subsidiary, owns 58% of the former-producing Dornod uranium property in the Dornod region of eastern Mongolia. This property hosts two separate deposits - the #2 open pit which was previously mined by the Russians, and the extensively explored #7 undergound deposit.

Landmark Minerals Inc - This is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on exploring and developing uranium properties in Algeria.

Laramide Resources Ltd - This Canadian company is acquiring the Westmoreland copper/gold/uranium project in Queensland, Australia. Laramide expects this developmental-stage project to become its 'flagship asset'.

Logan Resources Ltd - The company acquired the Carswell property, consisting of 7552 hectares located in the Athabasca Basin, Canada, in 2004.

Mesa Uranium Inc - This is a Canadian exploration company focused on exploring for uranium on the 100% owned Lisbon Valley Project in the historic Lisbon Valley Mining District in Southeastern Utah, USA.

Northern Continental Resources Inc (NCR) - The company is planning an exploration program for the Russell Lake uranium project in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Northwestern Mineral Ventures Inc - This is an emerging junior exploration company, which is concentrating on the acquisition of properties with potential uranium and/or silver-gold targets. The company has acquired 100% exploration rights to two uranium concessions in Niger, and also has an option to earn up to 75% ownership of the Waterbury Project, which consists of nine uranium claims in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Paladin Resources Ltd - This is an Australian listed company involved in the mineral resource sector with projects both in Australia and Africa. The resource arm of Paladin has a strong emphasis on uranium. With the recent acquisition of the Langer Heinrich Uranium Project in Namibia, Paladin believes that, in combination with its Kayelekera Project in Malawi, it has control of the two most advanced uranium projects in Africa.

Pan African Mining Corp - This Canadian company is an exploratory resource company with approximately 10,000 square kilometres of diversified mineral properties and 2500 square kilometres of uranium properties in Madagascar. The company is exploring these properties for gold, uranium, precious stones, base metals and industrial commodities.

Pathfinder Resources Ltd - This is a mineral exploration company focused on the discovery of world-class uranium deposits. Pathfinder has the largest land position in Canada's Thelon Basin region, recognized as one of the most prospective areas for discovery of high-grade uranium deposits. The Company's other uranium interests include 88,000 acres in the Hermitage Uranium Belt of Newfoundland, and a partnership in a uranium syndicate formed to acquire prospective uranium properties in Central America.

Pitchstone Exploration Ltd - This is a public company exploring for uranium in Canada. Pitchstone began acquiring land in early 2003 in the heart of the eastern Athabasca Basin uranium district in proximity to the major, high-grade uranium producers. Currently the company owns 50 to 100% interest in the mineral rights to more than 200,000 hectares of land situated in the eastern Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan and in the Hornby Bay Basin, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.

Quincy Gold Corp - The company has been staking claims for uranium-containing property in the Horse Creek area of Natrona County, Wyoming (an area formerly explored by Phillips Petroleum and Union Carbide) and in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Quincy Gold is also pursuing a controlling interest in the Hosta Butte deposit in New Mexico, the Hansen deposit in Colorado, and a property in the Churchrock area of New Mexico.

Rampart Ventures Ltd - The company has been acquiring uranium properties in the Thunder Bay area of northern Ontario, Canada.

Rodinia Minerals Inc - This Canadian company has entered into an option agreement with Cooper Minerals of Nevada, USA, to buy a 100% interest in the Workman Creek uranium deposit in Gilia County, Arizona.

Santoy Resources Ltd - This Canadian company has actively been acquiring strategically located uranium properties within four main geographic locations for uranium occurrences: the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Southeast British Columbia, the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador, and in the USA.

Solex Resources Corp - This Canadian company specializes in the acquisition and development of uranium and base metal- properties in Peru.

Solitaire Minerals Corp - The company has increased its uranium landholdings in the Riou Lake area of northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

Starfire Minerals Inc - The company has optioned the Capri uranium prospect near Gran Remous, Quebec, Canada.

Strathmore Minerals Corp - The company has uranium properties in the US, Canada, and Peru. It is evaluating the NoseRock area in New Mexico for a possible underground operation or in situ leach operation.

Summit Resources Ltd - The company is focussed on uranium,copper, gold and base metal exploration and mine development projects in the Mount Isa metals province in northwest Queensland, Australia.

Thelon Ventures Ltd - The company's portfolio includes uranium properties in the Athabasca Basin, Canada and Nevada's White River Valley, USA.

Titan Uranium Inc - The company is focused on the discovery of high grade uranium in Canada. It is currently exploring projects in the Thelon and Athabasca basins, Canada.

Trend Mining Co - The company has signed a letter of intent with Nuinsco Resources Ltd as 'a prelude to a joint venture agreement relating to Trend's Cree Lake/Diabase Peninsula Project in Saskatchewan'. Under these arrangements, Nuinsco will assume operating management and will explore for uranium mineralization on mining claims that Trend owns or holds under a purchase option in the Athabasca Basin, Canada.

Triex Minerals Corp - The company has entered into an agreement with Roughrider Uranium Corp to acquire a 51% interest in approximately 220,000 acres in the Athabasca Basin in Northeast Alberta, Canada, in an area known as the Old Fort Bay property. Triex and Roughrider have jointly acquired a 50% interest in 11,000 acres situated in the Maybelle River area with Strathmore Minerals Corp.

U3O8 Corp - This is a private Canadian junior exploration company which, through a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, has been granted a reconnaissance permit to carry out geological and geophysical surveys for uranium over an area of 579,500 hectares in western Guyana, South America.

UEX Corp - The company was formed under an agreement between Cameco Corp and Pioneer Metals Corp and is an active explorer in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. UEX has a total of 13 projects either 100%-owned, joint ventured or under option totaling approximately 248,000 hectares located in the eastern, western and northern perimeters of the Athabasca Basin.

UGL Enterprises Ltd - In late December 2004, UGL announced that it had closed on its acquisition of a 100% interest in the Naidal uranium project located in northeast Mongolia for US$5,000 in cash and 100,000 shares of the company's stock. UGL said it also has several other uranium projects in Mongolia under review.

United Carina Resources Corp - This Canadian company owns the Hatchet Lake uranium prospect, consisting of 16,990 hectares of contiguous claims that have been subject to previous exploration for uranium. The properties are located approximately 18 miles north and northeast of Rabbit Lake, McLean Lake, Collins Bay and Eagle Point uranium deposits.

Universal Uranium Ltd - The company has negotiated an agreement to explore and develop the Lisbon Valley Property in Utah, USA. The Lisbon Valley was home to 16 previous producing uranium mines.

UNOR Inc - Formerly named Hornby Bay Exploration Ltd, the company is principally a mineral exploration company engaged in the exploration of its mineral properties, with uranium its primary focus. UNOR currently has mineral projects in Nunavut; Ontario; Manitoba; and British Columbia.

Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) - The company is engaged in the acquisition and development of uranium resources in the south western United States. UEC has 13 properties in 5 states, including one project in Texas, currently being permitted for ISL mining.

Uranium Power Corp (UPC) - This Vancouver, Canada, based company is engaged in the exploration and development of high- grade, low-cost uranium properties in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.

Uravan Minerals Inc - The company is planning to use the proceeds from the private placement of shares in the company to fund exploration at its Boomerang uranium and gold property in the southwest Thelon Basin of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Vena Resources Inc - This Canadian company is dedicated to exploring and developing mineral properties in Peru. Vena has entered into joint venture and purchase options on a number of prospective properties and uranium initiatives.

Western Prospector Group Ltd - This Canadian company announced in December 2004 that it had acquired three additional uranium properties in the Saddle Hills uranium basin in northeastern Mongolia. The acquisition, the company said, brought Western Prospector's total holdings to 100,659 contiguous hectares in the Saddle Hills basin.

Yankee Hat Minerals Ltd - The company has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire a 50% interest in uranium on permits covering some 18-million acres in the North West Territories of Canada.

Blog Action Day: Protecting the Environment Protects Our Children

2007-10-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Protecting the Environment Protects Our Children