A provisional committee of 13 scientists and experts was selected to conduct the scientific study to help Virginia’s leaders determine if uranium mining could be done safely in the state.
National Research Council staff chose the panel of experts after a nomination process. Now, the public has 14 days left to comment on the selections.
The committee will examine the scientific, technical, environmental, human health and safety and regulatory aspects of uranium mining, milling and processing in Virginia. The experts are expected to write the report by late fall next year.
“For any of our reports, the committee tries to carry out its charge objectively and credibly,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Walsh for the National Academy of Sciences/NRC.
The Uranium Mining Subcommittee of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission asked the National Academy of Sciences to study the impacts of uranium mining in Virginia, which had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982. The NRC is an arm of the NAS.
The National Research Council aimed to balance the scientific perspectives on the provisional committee and will review public comments, including those regarding bias or conflict of interest of the committee members, Walsh said. As part of the process, members will confidentially disclose potential sources of bias or conflict of interest. Conflict of interest for the NRC typically means financial ties.
The committee members must serve as volunteers and won’t be paid for the work, Walsh added.
The committee is scheduling its first meeting, where experts can go over their backgrounds and assess whether any other scientific expertise is still needed to address all the points of the study.
Virginia Tech will sponsor the $1.4 million study, handling the money and working with NAS. Virginia Uranium Inc. — the company that seeks to mine and mill uranium ore at Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County — is funding the technical study.
“It looks overall like a very accomplished group of scientists and professors have been selected,” said Patrick Wales, project manager for Virginia Uranium Inc.
The company is still evaluating the selections.
“We feel and always have felt very strongly that the National Academy of Sciences is a great entity to undertake a study,” Wales said.
Danville resident Deborah Dix, who describes herself as a concerned citizen, commented the day the public comment period opened.
She’s not as encouraged by the selections.
“One of the most glaring conflicts of interest to me is Areva,” Dix said. “I believe it is a conflict of interest because they are a uranium mining corporation. They would benefit economically by taking uranium from Virginia.”
Comment online at www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/ or send written comments, attention Uranium Mining in Virginia, to Division on Earth and Life Studies, 500 Fifth St. Northwest Washington D.C. 20001.
Who are the experts chosen to do the uranium study?
Joaquin Ruiz, executive dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Science and professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona, will serve as committee chair.
Corby Anderson, professor at the Colorado School of Mines, is an expert in the fields of mineral processing, waste minimization and recycling.
Lawrence Barnthouse, president and principal scientist of LWB Environmental Services, Inc., is a consultant for nuclear and non-nuclear plants, Superfund ecological risk assessments and risk-based environmental restoration planning.
Scott Brooks, senior scientist in the Environmental Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researched the fate and transformation of radionuclides in the environment.
Patricia Buffler, professor at the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley, is an expert in environmental causes of cancer.
Michel Cuney, director of Genesis and Management of Mineral Resources for the National Center for Scientific Research at the Henri Poincaré Universite in France, has visited or worked on most major uranium deposits in the world and can provide insight on how uranium extraction techniques could affect deposits and local environments in Virginia.
Peter L. deFur, president of Environmental Stewardship Concepts LLC in Richmond, is also an associate professor at the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he researches environmental health and ecological risk assessment.
Mary English, senior fellow at the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, is a social scientist who can provide guidance on conducting socioeconomic impact assessments.
R. William Field, professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has been involved in numerous radiation-related epidemiologic projects.
Jill Lipoti, director of the Division of Environmental Safety and Health at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, specializes in radiation exposure and preparedness for chemical and radiological emergencies.
Paul Locke, environmental health scientist and attorney, is an expert in how decision makers use environmental health science and toxicology in regulation and policy-making.
Henry Schnell is the technical authority in the Expertise & Technical Department in the Mining Business Unit with Areva NC Inc.
Jeffrey Wong is deputy director of the Science, Pollution Prevention and Technology Program at the California EPA and serves as the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s chief scientist.
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