Demand for uranium threatens Grand Canyon biodiversity (and LA’s drinking water)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/17/uranium-demand-grand-canyon-biodiversity

Demand for uranium threatens Grand Canyon biodiversity

Government report released on Friday will recommend whether raft of proposed mines in region should go ahead

Felicity Carus
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 February 2011 16.11 GMT

The natural beauty and unique species of the Grand Canyon are "in the crosshairs" because of renewed interest in the region's uranium reserves. That is the warning from critics of the mines, ahead of the release of a government report on Friday on the potential impact of fresh mining.

Mining has been banned within the Grand Canyon national park since President Roosevelt declared it a national monument in 1908. But since 2003, foreign companies have submitted 2,215 claims to prospect on the edge of the canyon.

Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, temporarily withdrew 1m acres of land from exploration in 2009 to allow time for an environmental assessment. Salazar must decide by July whether to ban "mineral entry" for two-thirds of the claims for the next 20 years.

Uranium deposits mineralise in 2,000-feet deep "breccia" pipes, a geological feature common to the world-famous golden brown sedimentary rock in the canyon. When left alone, the uranium is not harmful. But once dissolved in water, it can leach into springs and aquifers that then feed into the Colorado river, which ultimately supplies 18 million people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The water can remain contaminated for decades after a mine shuts.

…

[Wilms]

1. The part that the "Nukes are Green" crowd fail to mention. n/t

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. (One of the parts)

There’s also transport and storage.