U.S. Rep. Robert Hurt’s (R-5th) Democratic Party
challenger for the 5th District, John Douglass, recently sent Hurt a
letter[1]
calling on Hurt to introduce a bill that would ban uranium mining within 50
miles of residential areas in Virginia.[2]
Douglass’s letter also accuses Hurt of having financial interests in the mining
project in Pittsylvania County that has been stalled since a moratorium was
imposed in 1982 by Virginia’s legislature.[3]
Unsurprisingly, Hurt responded that the latter claim was
false.
In response to the idea of introducing a bill that would
prohibit uranium mining within 50 miles of residential areas in Virginia, the
Hurt campaign stated that the issue of uranium mining belonged to the state of
Virginia, not the federal government, as if the federal government had never
intervened in state issues for the good of the public welfare.[4]
There is clear evidence, however, that residential areas
near uranium mining and processing facilities are under increased risk of
radiological exposure.[5]
Thus, public health is a real issue that cannot be
ignored by either the state or federal government.
If the state of Virginia is first willing to lift the ban on
uranium mining in Virginia and then fails to protect the public health in
residential areas within 50 miles of the uranium mining sites, then how can the
federal government stand by and do nothing? It can’t and it shouldn’t.
John Douglass’s call for a bill to protect these residential
areas is a sensible and moral policy decision that cannot be constrained by the
straightjacket of rigid federalism.
No power source and no amount of profit can justify
knowingly putting individuals in harm’s way. If we continue down this path,
where will it end?
[1] http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/Douglass+Letter+to+Hurt+--+Federal+Mining+Ban+8.3.pdf
[2] http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Douglass-to-Hurt-Ban-Uranium-Mining-Near-Residential-Areas-165018436.html
[3] http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/uranium_mining_in_virginia/
[4] http://www.nbc29.com/story/19196903/hurt-addresses-douglass-claims-uranium-mining-debates?clienttype=printable
[5] http://www.ewg.org/sites/mining_google/communities/arizona.php;
See also http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22435323
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