(UPDATE: For all of my posts pertaining to the Pittsylvania Uranium debate, please click here)
I just got home (OK, not "just" - it's now two hours later, and OOooo! My .wma file of the interview finally uploaded! You should right-click and "save file as" to your desktop and listen to it from there) from an extended interview and tour of Virginia Uranium, Inc., with Walter Coles, Jr. He introduced me to his father as well as Mick Mastilovic, the VP of Operations. All three gentlemen were gracious and willing to give me all the information they had; they answered questions fully, and emphasized their concern for safety and for our community.
For the record, on their behalf but not at their request, I believe them to be men of good character who are truly concerned for what is best for our community and its safety and well-being. I have seen charges of deceit and lying levelled against the Coles elsewhere, and from the information I have at this time, I find those allegations ignorant at best and libellous at worst - and I realize that some may find that statement worthy of attack.
However, considering that I am simply a concerned citizen - and not even a blogger of great renown and influence - they were happy to patiently answer any questions I had, and would keep answering until I understood the data and the issues involved. The openness and focus they had on educating me about uranium, uranium mining, and the safety issues involved were refreshing. I would encourage anyone to contact them to request a similar interview and tour, and I am confident that the staff of Virginia Uranium would jump at the opportunity to show others what they are all about.
Should the "opposition" wish to conduct an interview with me in a similar manner, I would certainly be delighted to accommodate them. My first question to them would be, "Why would you be uninterested in a scientific study by an impartial source which would give us firm information on safety risks concerning possible mining in this area?" In my opinion, the more information we have, the better decisions we make. So, why shouldn't the study be done?
Mr. Coles stated that the money to fund the study would be provided by Virginia Uranium, not Virginia taxpayers. He stated that the company was extremely motivated to have the study done by an impartial source with no follow-on interests. If, for instance, Virginia Tech were to do the study, they might be inclined to be biased in favor of results which would promote uranium mining; after all, many of their graduates might eventually be employed by VUI. However, Virginia Uranium is interested in institutions which will conduct the study without expectations of return.
At this point, Virginia Uranium is interested in knowing whether uranium mining can be done safely here in Pittsylvania County. From what they told me, even if the study started tomorrow, it looks like a minimum of perhaps three years before any solid, scientifically-backed answers could be provided - possibly even longer. Therefore, I am all for going ahead with the study so that we all have hard evidence on which to base our decision as to whether we want to support or oppose uranium mining.
The full audio file of the interview and presentation they gave in the office this morning is here (again, right-click and "save as" to listen to it from your computer - thanks for the suggestion Isophorone!). It is a .wma file (44megs!), and over 90 minutes long, but I present it without editing in the interest of full and fair disclosure. It will take a while to listen to, but I hope you do. Over the next few days, I plan on commenting on several of the questions we covered, and I hope also to post my video shots from the site where they are drilling for tests.
I received a warm response from Walter-the-Younger when I suggested that I return and get a series of videos interviewing the staff about what VUI is doing, how they acquire the samples, safety procedures and so on. I believe that interviews and videos like this can educate both me and the general public so that we can all make informed choices.
Please don't let the words "uranium mining" stampede you into the "not in my back yard" mentality. Let Virginia Uranium have the study done - heck, get LOTS of studies done! - and then we can have the debate over whether or not we want the mine.
