From the Fort Collins Coloradoan, "Opponents of a proposal to mine uranium beneath the prairie east of Wellington took their message Wednesday to farmers and ranchers of Weld County. Speaking to a crowd of about 200 people gathered at the Nunn Municipal Building, critics said the process Powertech Uranium Corp. plans to use in extracting millions of pounds of uranium from deeply buried ore deposits could contaminate local groundwater as well as a vast underground aquifer with radiation and heavy metals. The mining process known as in-situ recovery - which uses treated water pumped under high pressure to extract uranium - is dangerous because in part it is 'out of sight, out of mind,' said Lilias Jarding, of Fort Collins, who is working with local residents to fight the mining operation...
"Powertech has not yet applied to Weld County or state regulators for permits needed to mine in the area, said Richard Blubaugh, the company's vice president of environmental health and safety resources. But the company hopes to have final approval from regulators to begin mining by the end of 2009, he said. Blubaugh and other company officials attended the meeting, but did not address the crowd. The in-situ process is less polluting than traditional uranium mining techniques, he said. Safeguards would be taken to avoid contaminating the water, soil and air...
"The company has supporters, as well. Larry Cammeron, a local landowner, said the mining process is not understood and opposition to Powertech's plan is being driven by 'hysteria.' Mining operations would last 15 to 20 years, depending on whether pit mining is used on the southern end of the ore deposit, Blubaugh said. The Weld County uranium would be processed at a Wyoming facility and converted into fuel for nuclear power plants, he said."
More coverage from the Greeley Tribune "reg". They write, "Water and health hazards were the top concerns voiced by Nunn residents Wednesday during a meeting about plans to begin uranium drilling in the area...
"They fear that radiation and other harmful chemicals brought out during the mining would contaminate their water system and set up other health risks. Richard Blubaugh, president of environment, health and safety for Powertech said the mining process the company will be using at the Centennial site is called in-situ recovery, a process that is used for surface-mining techniques. The process is done by injecting a bicarbonate solution that will mobilize the uranium. He said he does not believe the site would cause danger to people living nearby, but he can understand their fears. 'We are going to be particularly careful to be protective of human health,' Blubaugh said...
"He said if the company decides to drill at the site, it would begin operations by late 2009. The process would take about 10 to 12 years to collect the uranium and then another four to five years to restore the land. According to the company's Web site, the Centennial project includes 5,760 acres of uranium mineral rights in Weld County with more than 3,000 drill holes totaling approximately 1 million feet of drilling already completed. Burkhart and others, however, said they plan to gain more community support to fight Powertech's plans by providing information about the health risks they say would be involved."
Say hello to SeeNunnGlow.com, the website set up by opponents of uranium mining in Weld County.
"2008 pres"
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