Darn. That’s the end.

In response to my challenge for a direct citation for “the cancer risk alone that will come from the mining of uranium”, as I predicted, you were unable to provide one because there’s no such thing.

I did find this citation from a CDC website.

How likely is uranium to cause cancer?

Humans and animals exposed to high levels of uranium did not have higher cancer rates. The Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR IV) reported that eating food or drinking water that has normal amounts of uranium will most likely not cause cancer.

Uranium can decay into other radioactive substances, such as radium, which can cause cancer if you are exposed to enough of them for a long enough period of time. Studies have reported lung and other cancers in uranium miners; however, the miners also smoked and were exposed to other substances that cause cancer, such as radon and silica dust.

See, ya got nothin’. All you’ve presented is horrible scenarios that are based from hearsay & conjecture that have been injected with a fair amount of government conspiracy theories. I’m not going to live my life that way. I’m going to form my opinion by using objective & relative data.

Let’s also address another issue that I brought forward in my reply… the reason for this article. You haven’t addressed the fact that Maute is trying to create an ordinance that would clearly be tossed out (by means of the Dillon Rule). Instead of asking for a level playing field, she’s trying to change the rules of the game in the same way Jack Dunavant tried with his beloved “chemical trespass” ordinance.

Maute’s attempt at creating a no-mining zone has the stench of somebody who wants to avoid the independent study completely, but that seems to be the modus operandi of the SCC.

(At least she hasn’t advocated overthrowing the county government as the Shireen Parsons faction did…)

Uranium is known to cause increased risk of kidney disease by the way, and radon, which is released from uranium enriched rock definitely can cause lung cancer.

Uranium tailings, the waste product left behind for us to deal with for the next two hundred thousand years, contain radium and thorium. (The storage of the radioactive tailings must also be paid for perpetually, by a bankrupt government.)

Radium can be used in a medical setting to treat cancer, however long-term exposure can cause bone, liver and breast cancer. Thorium is also believed to increase the risk of cancer, although again it can be used in treating some diseases, over-exposure is detrimental to one’s health.

Why would we want this stuff brought to the surface where people will be exposed to it? What’s in it for us? Surely you’re not thinking that this is going to be some sort of economic boon for area folks! That’s a laugh, the only thing that area folks will share in is the risk!

Sorry Bruce, you may trust science, but I don’t trust people, particularly when there are large sums of money involved. As with all mining, they will get the gold…and southside with get the big glowing shaft.

You speak of “the cancer risk alone that will come from the mining of uranium”. I’d like to see a direct citation for that and you won’t be able to produce one because “the mining of uranium” is an unknown at this time. That’s where I have a big beef with the SCC-type of mental thuggery. They throw out all of these doom-and-gloom scenarios that are either based on total conjecture or stuff that happened in Australia in a “scare tactic” maneuver.

I’ve also got a problem with this asinine “Let’s put a 25-mile No Mining circle around um… well… HERE!” idea. It’s stupid and there’s a ZERO percent chance that if it ever passed that it would hold up in court.

What’s wrong with an independent study? Oh, I know the answer to that one. It just might say that uranium mining is safe. That would take away any leverage that SCC had and cement their reputation as doom-and-gloomers who were talking out of their ass from the beginning.

I’m not scared of the unknown. I want to learn more about it.

You know that I’m no tree-hugger, but the idea of mining this poison so close to home is beyond scary to me. The cancer risk alone that will come from the mining of uranium should be enough to turn any rational person against it.

I just don’t get you on this one.