Jennifer Carling is concerned about the potential repercussions of living in a decades-old subdivision of Elliot Lake, Ont., that’s now under the microscope.
Carling is one of four homeowners in the former northern Ontario uranium mining town who want the federal Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and mining company BHP to address high levels of radiation on their properties.
According to the families and their legal representatives, their homes are on a site that held mine waste and it was never properly cleaned up.
Uranium mining operations in Elliot Lake ended in 1996, and work to decommission and remediate those mines was completed in 2002. BHP acquired the historical mines sites from Rio Algom Limited in 2000.
“I want the mine waste removed from the property and fresh fill put in place,” Carling told CBC News.
“And I’m not doing this for me, I’m already 74.”
In addition to her concern about possible mine waste outside her home, Carling said she’s worried about radon inside her house.
What is radon?
Radon is a radioactive gas that naturally occurs when uranium in rock breaks down. It’s the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, after cigarettes, according to Health Canada. It’s also invisible and odourless, and can only be detected with testing.
While Carling has taken measures, including having a special radon exhaust fan system that helps vent gases out of her home, she’s worried about it failing and resulting in higher-than-acceptable levels of the gas.
Health Canada says radon levels of 200 becquerels per cubic metre or more are considered unsafe.
The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CLEA), which is representing the four families, hired experts to do an assessment. They found the properties around their homes have unsafe levels of gamma radiation, according to the CLEA.
“What our experts found is that the hotspots are the places where they had higher-than-guideline gamma radiation, in the places where there’s historical documentation that the mine waste was placed,” said Jacqueline Wilson, one of the lawyers for the homeowners.
Carling said she’s also concerned about the potential “cancer-causing” properties of radon.
“I couldn’t, you know, in conscience sell this house to a family with small children, having them playing outside with the gamma radiation.”
A history of uranium mining
BHP said in a statement that three of the four homes with high levels of radiation were used as company housing when the mines were still in operation.
The homes were part of a remediation program and Rio Algom sold them to the mine workers in the 1970s.
“After receiving the letter from CELA, we have begun a detailed review to better understand the complex history of these properties,” BHP spokesperson Megan Hjulfors said in the company’s statement.
“This review is currently ongoing. We are committed to understanding the history of these properties, what has happened and remediate, as appropriate.”
Carol Hughes, NDP MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing who represents Elliot Lake, raised the issue in the House of Commons on June 15.
“This waste from closed uranium mines was widely used as fill for construction in the 1960s,” she said.
“Without knowing, these families have been exposed to radiation above allowable limits, caused by mine wastes buried in their yards and driveways.”
The CELA said the federal government has refused to respond in a meaningful way so far.
In an email to CBC News, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the country’s nuclear regulator, said it does not regulate historic mine waste at non-licensed sites or radon in homes.
The commission said questions on historic waste should be directed to Natural Resources Canada.
Waste rock was used on some properties in the Elliot Lake area prior to 1976 when uranium mining was regulated solely by the provincial government.– Natural Resources Canada
In an email, Natural Resources Canada told CBC News that tailings and waste produced by uranium mines in Elliot Lake were all safely stored in tailings management facilities in the area.
But the email went on to say “the government is aware that waste rock was used on some properties in the Elliot Lake area prior to 1976 when uranium mining was regulated solely by the provincial government.”
Natural Resources Canada added that mining companies are responsible for managing their waste, and the government of Canada only takes over if the producer no longer exists or if it was a Crown corporation.
For Elliot Lake, BHP, which now owns Rio Algom, would be responsible if a cleanup is necessary.
As for radon in the four homes, Natural Resources Canada said prior testing by the Federal-Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity determined the gas was naturally occurring, and could not be removed by excavating the nearby soil and putting in clean fill.
“There is no permanent solution for these properties other than maintaining radon abatement systems,” the email said.
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