What with Nicolas Sarkozy getting divorced, bombs following Bhutto, China in a tiff over Bush being nice to the Dalai Lama, Turkey getting ready to invade Iraq, and the US Congress Republicans refusing to fund health care for kids (just how mean can you get?), it seems kind of anti-climatic to turn to Labrador’s Inuit government and uranium.
Labrador’s Inuit government is considering suspending all uranium mining and development on its territory because of concerns over the safe disposal of the radioactive element’s waste. Nunatsiavut, an Inuit settlement in Labrador the size of New Brunswick, boasts vast deposits of the highly lucrative metal and has attracted the eye of mining companies eager to explore and develop. But the push to drill for uranium in the region could be thwarted after the Nunatsiavut government introduced a motion last week that would implement a moratorium on uranium mining. “The tailings disposal is a very big concern. How do you dispose of it and store it for hundreds and hundreds of years afterwards safely?” said William Barbour, Nunatsiavut’s minister of land and resources, in an interview Thursday. “None of us, including beneficiaries, have been up to now totally convinced by anyone who is an expert in the area.”
I suggest putting the uninformed minister, William Barbour on an plane and sending him on an all expenses paid trip to the 24 uranium mill tailings sites spread across ten US states from Oregon to Pennsylvania, from Texas to South Dakota. I am no expert, but i do know that from 1985 until about 1900, we closed these tailings piles as part of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. Then we moved to a surveillance and maintenance program. And there is still an active office of experts in Grand Junction,Colorado ready and willing (I suspect) to help at any time.
Is this proclaimed ignorance, really ignorance. Or is this just politics–I often pretend to be old and stupid when I want to avoid debate or action involving the young. Or is this another of those too typical Canadian pride things–as much as they accuse the average American of not knowing or caring about Canada, the average Canadian is generally woefully ignorant of the USA, critical of the USA, and loath to follow successes below the border.
Witness the mining company environmentalist who refers to success in Saskatchewan; he too fails to mention UMTRA–if he is aware of it.
“We see it as part of the ongoing process that needs to be had when you’re discussing any major development such as uranium mining,” John Roberts [vice-president of environment for Aurora] said from Toronto. Roberts said he is confident the company can allay the Nunatsiavut government’s concerns, noting the approval of other, larger uranium projects in Saskatchewan. “Canada has some of the most stringent regulations for mining uranium of any country in the world,” he said.
In this case I submit, the USA has the most stringents regulations. I reiterate: Mr. Roberts, charter a private plane and fly Mr. Barbour south. Let him go where the Dalai Lama goes, even if he justifiably chooses to avoid Congress.
I recommend starting in the Four Corners area where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah come together. Go and see those marvellous sights and stop off at those places with names of magic: Mexican Hat; Tuba City; and Durango. At each there is a pile we stabilized against geomorpholgy. Then move north to the town that is no longer: Uravan where on a high mesa you will find three uranium mill tailings piles encapsulated. Hence to Durango and Rifle. If that is not enough, there is still Lakeview, Oregon, and Falls City, Texas. I will go with given half a chance. Think of it as an act of international goodwill and a journey of pride that was but a very small part of a war justly fought and won.
