Uranium Mining in Virginia
Scientific, Technical, Environmental, Human Health and Safety, and Regulatory Aspects of Uranium Mining and Processing in Virginia
Committee on Uranium Mining in Virginia
Committee on Earth Resources
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Division on Earth and Life Studies
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by a grant from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with funding provided by Virginia Uranium, Inc. The opinions, findings, and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the study sponsors.
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COMMITTEE ON URANIUM MINING IN VIRGINIA
PAUL A. LOCKE, Chair, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
CORBY G. ANDERSON, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
LAWRENCE W. BARNTHOUSE, LWB Environmental Services, Inc., Hamilton, Ohio
PAUL D. BLANC, University of California, San Francisco
SCOTT C. BROOKS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee
PATRICIA A. BUFFLER, IOM, University of California, Berkeley
MICHEL CUNEY, Nancy Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Vandoeuvre, France
PETER L. deFUR, Environmental Stewardship Concepts, Henrico, Virginia
MARY R. ENGLISH, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
KEITH N. ESHLEMAN, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, Frostburg
R. WILLIAM FIELD, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City
JILL LIPOTI, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton
HENRY A. SCHNELL, AREVA NC (retired), British Columbia, Canada
JEFFREY J. WONG, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento
National Research Council Staff
DAVID A. FEARY, Study Director
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Program Officer
STEPHANIE JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer
SOLMAZ SPENCE, Communications Officer
NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate
PENELOPE GIBBS, Senior Program Associate
COURTNEY R. GIBBS, Program Associate
JASON R. ORTEGO, Research Associate
COMMITTEE ON EARTH RESOURCES
CLAYTON R. NICHOLS, Chair, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (retired), Ocean Park, Washington
SARA J. BANASZAK, America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Washington, D.C.
JAMES A. BRIERLEY, Brierley Consultancy LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
THURE CERLING, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
ELAINE T. CULLEN, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, Spokane Research Laboratory (retired), Chattaroy, Washington
DONALD JUCKETT, American Association for Petroleum Geologists (retired), Springfield, Virginia
ANN S. MAEST, Stratus Consulting, Boulder, Colorado
LELAND L. “ROY” MINK, U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Program (retired), Worley, Idaho
MARY M. POULTON, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
ARTHUR W. RAY, Wiley Environmental Strategies, Columbia, Maryland
RICHARD J. SWEIGARD, University of Kentucky, Lexington
ELIZABETH J. WILSON, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
National Research Council Staff
ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Program Officer
NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate
ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
CORALE L. BRIERLEY, Chair, Brierley Consultancy LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
WILLIAM E. DIETRICH, University of California, Berkeley
WILLIAM. L. GRAF, University of South Carolina, Columbia
RUSSELL J. HEMLEY, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.
MURRAY W. HITZMAN, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
EDWARD KAVAZANJIAN, Jr., Arizona State University, Tempe
DAVID R. MAIDMENT, University of Texas, Austin
ROBERT B. MCMASTER, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
M. MEGHAN MILLER, UNAVCO, Inc., Boulder, Colorado
ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ, University of California, Davis
CLAUDIA INÉS MORA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
BRIJ M. MOUDGIL, University of Florida, Gainesville
CLAYTON R. NICHOLS, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (retired), Ocean Park, Washington
HENRY N. POLLACK, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
DAVID T. SANDWELL, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
PETER M. SHEARER, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
REGINAL SPILLER, Azimuth Investments LLC, Texas
TERRY C. WALLACE, Jr., Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
National Research Council Staff
ANTHONY R. de SOUZA, Director (until April 2012)
ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Director (from April 2012)
DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer
ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer
SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer
MARK D. LANGE, Program Officer
JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Financial and Administrative Associate
NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate
JASON R. ORTEGO, Research Associate
COURTNEY R. GIBBS, Program Associate
ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant
CHANDA IJAMES, Senior Program Assistant
Preface
The Commonwealth of Virginia first undertook the study of uranium mining and processing more than 25 years ago, after several potentially commercially viable deposits of uranium were discovered in the state. Since that time, issues surrounding uranium mining have raised substantial questions and have been extensively debated and discussed. In 2009, the National Research Council of the National Academies was asked to undertake this study and address a series of detailed questions about uranium mining, processing, and reclamation to assist decision making by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In accepting its charge to address a highly emotive issue such as uranium mining and its related activities, the committee was mindful of its obligation to provide technical and scientific answers to the questions in its statement of task. In doing so, the committee benefited from briefings provided by international experts, including U.S. and international regulators, scientists, engineers, and others. Equally important, the committee benefited from the extensive testimony provided by the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. We received many hours of public input, spread over all but one of our committee meetings, but particularly focused on the two evening “town hall” meetings that we held in Danville and Richmond, Virginia. Hundreds of members of local communities attended and spoke at these town hall sessions. On behalf of the committee, I wish to express our appreciation for the many specific comments and questions directed to the committee at these gatherings. We are hopeful that our report is reflective of what we learned, and that with this report we have managed to help inform the public discussion and debate on this important topic. Although we specifically do not make any recommendations concerning whether mining and processing of uranium should or should not be permitted in the Commonwealth
of Virginia, we believe that this report will provide a solid scientific basis to inform those who will make such decisions on behalf of Virginia citizens and their communities.
The need to prepare our report in time for the 2011-2012 legislative session in Virginia imposed a very tight time limit, as we sought to collectively understand the scientific, technical, and regulatory subtleties of issues usually outside our specific disciplines. As we started the committee process, we realized that it would not be possible, considering the breadth of the task statement and the time constraints, to prepare a scientifically and technically dense treatise. I thank the committee for rising to the challenge and preparing a report that we hope will be—as much as possible given the specialized nature of its content—accessible to legislators and the wider public who are interested in this topic. I would also like to thank the committee members for their thoughtful deliberations and willingness to consider alternative viewpoints and learn from, and share, expertise across disciplines.
Finally, the committee acknowledges the support provided by the National Research Council staff, who handled our numerous and sometimes challenging logistic and research demands. In particular, the committee would like to thank Deborah Glickson, Jason Ortego, and Solmaz Spence for contributing to the report writing and research efforts, and Courtney Gibbs and Penelope Gibbs for making sure that our meetings ran without a hitch. Stephanie Johnson added her scholarship and organizational skills and, by doing so, improved our work. Anthony de Souza provided the committee with his valuable perspective and experience.
Special thanks and praise go to two staff members who were instrumental to this report. Nicholas Rogers played a key role in almost all aspects of this project as a researcher and financial manager. And David Feary, our study director, kept the committee on track and moving in the right direction. The committee is indebted to him for his hard work and leadership.
Paul A. Locke, Chair
Committee on Uranium Mining in Virginia
Acknowledgments
This report was greatly enhanced by all those who made presentations to the committee at the public committee meetings, both the speakers specifically invited by the committee to make presentations as well as the numerous interested citizens who provided their perspectives and viewpoints. The presentations and discussions at these meetings provided invaluable input and context for the committee’s deliberations. The provision of additional text and figures by William Lassetter, Theresa McClenaghan, Jim Neton, and Maria Angelica Zamora-Duran are also gratefully acknowledged.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Jan Beyea, Consulting in the Public Interest, Lambertville, New Jersey
Corale L. Brierley, Brierley Consulting, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Philip Egidi, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Grand Junction, Colorado
Rodney C. Ewing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
John Greeves, JTG Consulting, Frederick, Maryland
Kelvin Gregory, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
David C. Kocher, SENES Oak Ridge, Inc., Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Craig Little, Tow Lines Inc., Grand Junction, Colorado
Robert Pierson, Independent Consultant, Walkersville, West Virginia
Samuel B. Romberger, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
Jonathan M. Samet, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
William H. Schlesinger, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York
Courtney Young, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dianne R. Nielson, energy and environmental policy consultant, and Chris G. Whipple, ENVIRON International Corporation. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Contents
2 VIRGINIA PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
Geology and Geography of Virginia
Climatic and Environmental Characteristics
3 URANIUM OCCURRENCES, RESOURCES, AND MARKETS
Worldwide Occurrences of Uranium
Virginia Occurrences and Prospectivity Status
Uranium Resources, Reserves, and Markets
5 POTENTIAL HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF URANIUM MINING, PROCESSING, AND RECLAMATION
Radionuclide-Related Health Hazards
Principal Uranium Mining and Processing Exposures other than Radionuclides
6 POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF URANIUM MINING, PROCESSING, AND RECLAMATION
Environmental Exposure Pathways
7 REGULATION AND OVERSIGHT OF URANIUM MINING, PROCESSING, RECLAMATION, AND LONG-TERM STEWARDSHIP
Federal Laws, Regulations, and Policies
State Agencies, Laws, Regulations, and Policies
Public Participation in the Regulation of Uranium Mining, Processing, and Reclamation