Good thing we're upstream, huh?
NY Times
May 22, 2008
Uranium Producer Warns of Lake Ontario Pollution
By IAN AUSTEN
OTTAWA — Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer, has told the Canadian
nuclear regulator that its refinery might have leaked uranium, arsenic and
fluorides into Lake Ontario.
The plant at Port Hope, Ontario, across the lake from Rochester and down the
shore from Toronto, first refined uranium for the Manhattan Project during World
War II. It has been temporarily closed since July to remove contaminated soil.
A spokesman for Cameco, Lyle Krahn, said Wednesday that a computer model created
for the cleanup, which is several months behind schedule, indicated that the
radioactive and toxic materials have been polluting a harbor adjacent to the
factory. The harbor leads directly to the lake.
The company notified the regulatory agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission, about the finding at a meeting last week and now plans drilling
tests to confirm the contamination and to measure its extent.
“We’re anticipating that material may have been entering the harbor,” Mr. Krahn
said, adding that Cameco did not know how long it would take to confirm any
possible pollution.
A spokesman for the agency, Aurèle Gervais, said: “The Port Hope UF6 plant
matter has been ongoing for some time and the harbor issue is a recent
development,” using the chemical formula for uranium hexafluoride.
In a background paper prepared for the agency’s commissioners last week, its
staff concluded that the potential remained for continued water pollution from
the plant.
Cameco in general and the aging Port Hope refinery, which transforms mined
uranium into forms suitable for electrical power reactors, have long been
targets of environmental groups and the regulatory agency.
After a flood last year closed one of the company’s mines, which produces about
10 percent of the world’s uranium, Linda J. Keen, then the head of the
regulatory agency, said her commissioners and staff had a “lack of confidence”
in Cameco and its management.
Gordon Edwards, the president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear
Responsibility, an environmental group in Montreal, said that contamination of
the lake had been assumed, given the plant’s age, history and location.
“There’s a long history of contamination at Port Hope,” he said. “The whole
siting of this refinery is absurd. It’s right in the center of town, it’s on
flood plain and right on the lakefront.”
The plant was opened in the 1930s by Eldorado Mining and Refining to process
radium and has undergone several cleanups.
The most recent effort began in July when a construction project at the factory
uncovered soil contamination that led to the plant’s closing. At the time, the
company said that the shutdown and cleanup would take about two months. Mr.
Krahn said the 18 million-Canadian-dollar project, which involves removing soil
under the plant and constructing a leakproof floor, will be finished by the
third quarter.
If drilling confirms lake pollution, Mr. Krahn said that Cameco did not expect
that would delay the plant’s reopening.
Good thing we're upstream, huh?
~WnyresidentBut your being a dick
Yeah, good thing that didn't happen in Cleveland, egad.Originally Posted by run4it
I have not forgotten. Keeping a close eye on things.
website for Army corps of engineers files on LOOW and NFSS
http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/fusrap/nfss/index.htm
if the above site does not have the documents, go below for the PDF files from SAIC findings for the Army Corps of Engineers on Lewiston and Porter area.
click on the "Niagara Falls Lewiston and Porter" file and check out the December 2007 report from SAIC and also the 2008 presentations and findings and read the conclusions.
https://backup.filesanywhere.com/v.a...Zg%AB%AA%AE%A3
What is disturbing to me is the government entities all know about the past reportings and testings, and still we go on with no startup of cleanup. I guess Dr. Resnikoff's report alarmed the Army Corps and also CWM to do additional research and testing to locate the contaminated areas for remediation. Another thing that I found very interesting, DEC website has CWM informational area with CWM report of radiological testing on their property. The Army Corp of Engineers terminology for the CWM property is "vicinity property" of NFSS site. Just check it out if you care. What a difference.
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