According to the Washington Post a company that wants to mine a vast uranium deposity in Southside Virginia will pay for a study to determine if the ore can be extracted without harming area residents or the environment. The Pittsylvania County deposit is thought to be the largest in the nation.

The study is a first step by Virginia Uranium toward persuading the General Assembly to lift a ban on uranium mining in the state that has been in place since 1982.

Homeowners in Pittsylvania county should be aware of the study and its outcome so they can be sure their interests are being protected.

"The company that wants to mine a vast uranium deposit in Southside Virginia will pay for a study to determine whether the ore can be extracted without harming humans and the environment, a state legislator said Friday.

Delegate Terry Kilgore said he has written a letter asking the National Academy of Sciences to proceed with a study on whether the 119 million pounds of uranium on 3,000 acres in Pittsylvania County can be mined safely.

Virginia Uranium Inc. had offered to pay for the study, which Mr. Kilgore estimated will cost up to $1.3 million.

He said the state, which is dealing with a $1.5 billion budget deficit, can't finance the study and no one else has come forward.

A subcommittee of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission that Mr. Kilgore heads decided earlier this year that the national academy should be the organization that studies whether uranium can safely be mined and milled in Virginia."

Read full story.