European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine uranium mining near the grand Canyon by Wayne King new York times a disconcerting scene in any Selling twas particularly so in Iron of the visitors enter in grand Canyon National Par three figures in White radiation suits masks Over their faces walked stiffly about pass ing out leaflets and warning Park visitors of the hazards of radiation. Another protester. Dressed in a scruffy Bear suit a Down at Heel Smokey. Shambles lugubrious by about bearing passers by. Him. Bear said a cheery woman with Blue tinted hair. The bears Are really in  said the Bear. They re Gonna mine for  it was guerrilla theater environmental division. The radiation suits were actually painters coveralls the masks simply props the players part of a group called Earth first whose members employ tactics of confrontational and civil disobedience to fight for wild places " but while the images the group tried to evoke involved not a Little theatrical License Clouds of radioactive dust billowing through the Park bears thai glow in the dark the Issue a real the potential for a proliferation of uranium mines within a Bear s stroll of the rim of the Majestic Canyon. Although the Dom Tilc uranium Industry a in the doldrums As a result of foreign Competition the Cost of nuclear plants and fears raised by accidents Many in the Industry do not believe the tailspin is permanent. More important insofar As the grand Canyon is concerned recent uranium discoveries on Public land just outside the Park Are so Rich that a Denver based min ing company says they can be mined at a profit even at today s depressed prices and a number of other companies Are lined up. The Denver based company. Energy fuels nuclear inc. Already operates three uranium mines All within 16 Miles of the Canyon s North rim and it is preparing to open one 13 Miles from the South rim and two Miles from the Park s Mam Entrance on Highway 180 on the South Side. If that mine goes Well the company Hopes to open As Many As two More a year in continuous development As Market conditions warrant. Other mining companies have also shown an avid interest with the result that tens of thousands of mining claims have been filed on Public lands around the grand Canyon. Only a tiny percentage Are Ever Likely to become working mines but the Prospect of a rash of development has disturbed environmentalists. The filing of Luch claims on Public lands is possible because of the mining act of 1872. When the legis lation was approved the nation was barely a Hundred years old. And the ,tic Bill 1,-irgely Barren lands under Federal Contr wore  not As Scenic or Spiri Tual  bul a lands Lor which the Best and possibly Only use was is Sites Lor clawing out the bounties below. The 1872 act provided that any trac of Public land not officially designated a a National Park or Monu ment or More recently. A wilderness area could be claimed As a mine site in the claimant could show Evi Dence of scalable hard Rock minerals underneath. In those Days the Law was the instrument of the grizzled prospectors of legend Lone men with a dream of striking it Rich by finding Copper or Gold and staking a claim " now. Critics of the hoary Law. Such is Dan Dagget conservation chairman of the Sierra club s plateau regional group say it has become a Blank Check for the mining Industry. Beyond the question of whether minerals under Federal control should simply be Given away to any company that can find and mine them a system Dag get terms an archaic corporate welfare system there is the question of what effect widespread mining near such areas As the grand Canyon would have on their fragile ecology and Scenic Beauty Ron Nuzman. A spokesman for Energy fuels nuclear said in Denver that in some areas uranium was considered no More dangerous than Coal and was mined in the same ways he said that his company s new mine would be dug into the ground but there will still be people in there with front end loaders and so Forth walking around and picking the stuff up although Unn Kim or is radioactive As it comes irom the ground. Nuzman. Supported by Robert c. Morton a geologist who is director of the . Bureau of mines said the level of radioactivity of the raw Ore was Low enough before processing that it could be mined by workers by Ordinary methods without expo sure to dangerous Levels of radiation. Although underground mining of Ura mum requires thorough ventilation to eliminate a Gas called radon a radioactive substance found in association with uranium and known to cause lung  in those who breathe it. The Ore itself is relatively  uranium Ore except in extreme instances is not dangerous according to Horton. I know of no mines in the United Stales that Are so highly a Dirac Lve by reason of uranium itself that they Are  nonetheless there is concern about the possibility of uranium spills such As might occur in a truck Acci Dent or dispersal of Ore through flooding. A year ago at Energy fuels nuclear s mine at Hack Canyon nine Miles North of the Park on the Canyon s North rim n Flash Hood carried away 10 ions of Stock piled Ore. Causing the company to be cited by the environmental Protection Agency for violation of the clean water act. Energy fuels quickly cleaned up the scattered Ore scooping up some 1.500 ions of Rock and soil along with in. That was Ore that was stockpiled waiting to be  said Nuzman. It was getting ready to be hauled to the Mill to to processed so it was Low level. We considered it Good Ore. But in terms of radioactivity rather  nonetheless he said. It was not a pleasant experience for  a system of barriers and ditches will be installed at the new mine to forestall similar occurrences he said. But beyond the of to of the Ore itself environmentalists Are concerned about the Impact of any heavy mining near the Park Energy fuels nuclear for example projects that it will mine 200 tons of Ore a Day and transport it to its Plant 240 Miles away at Blanding. Utah in 10 truck loads a Day. To do so it will have to route the 18-wheelers onto one of the two main Access roads into the Park which is Host to three million visitors a year. Also environmentalists say they Are generally concerned about the Long and Short term effects on wildlife grazing and Breeding areas. Energy fuels nuclear has pledged to do its utmost to mitigate the effects of its mining operations and to restore the Sites once they Are exhausted and abandoned. An environmental Impact statement is being pre pared by the government and is expected to be completed sometime this month. Saturday november 16. 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13