Uranium Mining in Virginia

Uranium Mining in Virginia
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2012-09-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309220874

Uranium mining in the Commonwealth of Virginia has been prohibited since 1982 by a state moratorium, although approval for restricted uranium exploration in the state was granted in 2007. Uranium Mining in Virginia examines the scientific, technical, environmental, human health and safety, and regulatory aspects of uranium mining, milling, and processing as they relate to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of assisting the Commonwealth to determine whether uranium mining, milling, and processing can be undertaken in a manner that safeguards the environment, natural and historic resources, agricultural lands, and the health and well-being of its citizens. According to this report, if Virginia lifts its moratorium, there are "steep hurdles to be surmounted" before mining and processing could take place within a regulatory setting that appropriately protects workers, the public, and the environment, especially given that the state has no experience regulating mining and processing of the radioactive element. The authoring committee was not asked to recommend whether uranium mining should be permitted, or to consider the potential benefits to the state were uranium mining to be pursued. It also was not asked to compare the relative risks of uranium mining to the mining of other fuels such as coal. This book will be of interest to decision makers at the state and local level, the energy industry, and concerned citizens.

Uranium mining in the Southwest: Dealing with its half-life and its role in Leslie Marmon Silko's 'Ceremony'

Uranium mining in the Southwest: Dealing with its half-life and its role in Leslie Marmon Silko's 'Ceremony'
Author: Alexander Waldmann
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 15
Release: 2004-07-29
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 3638296512

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Mannheim (Anglistics), course: Proseminar II, language: English, abstract: “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that much of the human cost of North American uranium production has been born, unwittingly and mostly unwillingly, by indigenous peoples” (Four Directions Council, 1987, 2). This statement given in a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights reveals the problems and the negative side effects during the uranium milling process and the aftermaths on the indigenous tribes in the American Southwest. But what is the reason for this situation and what makes uranium mining so dangerous and causes one of the most dangerous decay products known to humans? This paper tries to answer these questions and the effects on the Laguna Pueblo people, dealing in particular with environmental and health risks. I will also attempt to compare the alleged benefits for the Laguna Indians and the long term effects of uranium and its half-life. Furthermore, I will point out the important role of uranium in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony and its power in the ceremonial process and Tayo’s healing. This healing process and the final understanding of the ceremony pattern are also connected to the Pueblo’s attempt to deal with the remains of the uranium mining age. Trying to clarify this entanglement will conclude this paper.

Uranium geochemistry, mineralogy, geology, exploration and resources

Uranium geochemistry, mineralogy, geology, exploration and resources
Author: B. de Vivo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400960603

turning points that, in the course of a few years, have made this The uranium minerals that today are at the centre of worldwide metal an essential raw material. attention were unknown until 1780, when Wagsfort found a First, the destructive property of fission reactions made uranium a metal of fundamental strategic importance, increas pitchblende sample in 10hanngeorgenstadt. This discovery passed unnoticed, however, since Wags fort thought that it ing research in some nations, but the revolution came with the plan for the real possibility of utilizing chain reactions for contained a black species of a zinc mineral-hence the n':lme 'pitchblende' (= pitch-like blende). Seven years later, Klaproth, energy production in place of conventional fuels. while examining the mineral, noted that it contained an oxide Since that time a 'uranium race' has been in progress in many countries-often justified by the well-founded hope of of an unknown metal, which he called 'uranium' in honour of the planet Uranus, recently discovered by Herschel. Klaproth becoming self-sufficient with regard to energy, or at least of also believed that he had separated the metal, but, in fact, the paying off a part of the financial deficit due to increasing fuel imports.