Emily C. starts a petition: No uranium mining in Oregon

from PeaceWorks Community Radio listeners

“No uranium mining in Oregon.”

(June 25, 2026) – Emily C. started a petition on change.org to oppose uranium mining in Oregon. She is asking people to sign the petition and send a clear message that we do not want uranium mining on our public lands. “Not in McDermitt Caldera, not in Oregon, not on our watch.”

Emily says the uranium mining project on BLM land will become the largest uranium mine in the United States. The uranium will be used in proprietary small modular reactor (SMR) technology, sold to companies like Amazon to power data centers.

“While the company stands to profit billions of dollars from pit mining uranium on public lands, the EPA says radioactive dust from the wastes can blow into populated areas. Surface water and groundwater can be contaminated for hundreds of years. With a half-life of 76,000 years, it will produce radon for millennia.

“Exposure to uranium and radioactive mining waste / byproducts through the air, food and water leads to higher risk of kidney disease, lung cancer, bone cancers, high blood pressure, autoimmune dysfunction, reproductive function and infertility and premature birth and birth defects.

“Oregonians are already living with—and dying from—the impacts of uranium mining. In “Uranium: The Lakeview Story” (1980 – it’s a film), residents of Lake County, Oregon share about the lasting health impacts their community faces after 1950s uranium mining near their community.

(By the way, it was only for two years, and they have so many problems there.)

“The United States has no permanent solution for storing highly radioactive waste, including spent uranium fuel rods. Nuclear waste from power plants and small modular reactors is piling up at 70 sites in 35 states. There are an estimated 90,000-plus metric tons—almost 200 million pounds—of used radioactive fuel in the United States, either stored in cooling ponds or enclosed within steel and concrete storage casks.

“This project will add another 30 to 40 million pounds of uranium to the problem. Please sign the petition.”

Read by Robin Bloomgarden for KEPW Whole Community News.