Groups opposed to tapping a rich uranium deposit in Southside Virginia want members of a National Academy of Sciences study committee to consider the catastrophic events in Japan as they weigh the consequences of uranium mining in the state.

The Dan River Basin Association, Southside Concerned Citizens Inc. and Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, among others, said they have asked the NAS to assess the impact of Japan's nuclear power crisis on global uranium prices. They wonder if a sharp decline in uranium prices could lead to the abandonment of a
uranium mining operation amid a global slump.

The NAS did not immediate immediately respond.

Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to tap a 119-million-pound uranium deposit near the North Carolina border.

A company official called the request a delay tactic.

©2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.