The prospect of a uranium mine opening 200 miles west of Virginia Beach, Va., is frightening for the city's water supply, local officials say.

Virginia Beach Director of Public Utilities Thomas Leahy told City Council members Tuesday that should a uranium mine be established in Pittsylvania County, a hurricane or tropical storm could cause radioactive waste to flow into Lake Gaston, the source of the city's water supply, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported.

Land owned by Walter Coles of Virginia Uranium Inc. is thought to hold the U.S. East Coast's biggest lode of uranium, valued at between $7 billion and $10 billion, which would be used to produce "yellow cake" for U.S. nuclear power plants. Virginia barred uranium mining 25 years ago but a state panel voted this month to study the impact of such mining, the newspaper said.

"We drink the water here and we wouldn't want a situation where a tailings system could be impacted by a hurricane or any other type of disaster," Coles told city officials.

"It seems that Virginia Beach is in position to be a big loser," the Virginian-Pilot reported Councilwoman Barbara Henley as saying.