[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2DAfpAyfuU]
Hampton Roads protesters were joined by activists from around the country as they marched in opposition to a proposal to begin uranium mining in Virginia. Groups from across the state have accused several Virginia legislators of putting community health and local water supply at risk by considering lifting the state’s 30-year ban on uranium mining.
“I’m here working for a clean, safe future for my kids,” said Mirlene Val, a protester that travelled from Florida to organize Hampton Roads voters for the August 23rd primary election. “I will not allow my kids to inherit a country that is contaminated with toxic waste because politicians aren’t courageous enough to do the right thing.”
Protesters staged a New Orleans-style funeral procession, warning of the “death of the Virginia” if the ban on uranium mining is lifted. Afterward, they collected petition signatures from passersby to send to Governor Bob McDonnell and other state legislators asking them to commit to keeping the mining ban. Many beach-goers gathered to watch the march, and over a hundred signed the petition immediately after the protest.
Canadian mining company Virginia Uranium is aggressively lobbying legislators to lift the mining ban in hopes of beginning mining in Southside Virginia. The first site they want to mine is adjacent to the water supply for the Hampton Roads region. A recent study by the city of Virginia Beach predicts that a spill at the first proposed mining site could contaminate drinking water for up to two years for Virginia Beach and other nearby communities. Exposure to uranium waste has been linked to increases in leukemia, kidney disease, and other severe health problems.
Protest organizer Phaedra Jackson asked, “how can the Governor and our legislature be so cold, so blind to the consequences of harvesting nuclear power and materials in Virginia? How many nuclear disasters and environmental catastrophes do we have to face before politicians decide there have been enough deaths and enough suffering?”
Contaminated drinking water and the uranium mining ban have emerged as critical issues in the August 23rd primary election and the November 8th general election. Those elections are being held to elect both houses of the state legislature. Residents of the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area will vote in several important races, including the primary race between Delegate Algie Howell and challenger Rick James in House District 90.
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