Uranium

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=56 BGCOLOR="#666633" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="00fc8c83.jpg"> <div> <B>Uranium</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=160 BGCOLOR="#666633" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>EnviroNotes</B></div> <div> <B> <a href="HTMLobj-876/radon_july_20.pdf"><u>Radon Gas</u> </a>  </B></div> <div> <B> <a href="HTMLobj-875/URANIUM_IN_YOUR_WELL.pdf"><u>Uranium</u> </a>  </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id109_m.htm#_eh_s_points_for_discussion_re" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Uranium"><U><B>Discussion Paper on</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id109_m.htm#_eh_s_points_for_discussion_re" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Uranium"><U><B>modernizing Ontario's Mining Act</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id109_m.htm#presentation_to_citizen_s_inquiry" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Uranium"><U><B>Presentation to the Citizen's Inquiry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccamu.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccamu.ca"><U><B>Uranium News</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Organisations</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/"><U><B> Canadian Coalition</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/"><U><B>for Nuclear</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/"><U><B>Responsibility</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.fighturanium.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fighturanium.com"><U><B>Fight Uranium Mining and Exploration (FUME)</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>(Haliburton)</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://kNOw-URANIUM.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://kNOw-URANIUM.org"><U><B>kNOw-URANIUM.org</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccamu.ca/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccamu.ca/"><U><B>The Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium</B></U></A><B> (CCAMU)</B></div> <div> <B>(Frontenac)</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id117_land_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FYI"><U><B> </B></U></A><A HREF="id117_land_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FYI"><U><B>Mineral rights vs. property rights</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U><B>Uranium: A Discussion Guide</B></U></A></div> <div> <B> QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS</B></div> <div> <B>by Dr. Gordon Edwards et al.</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccamu.ca/the-science-of-uranium.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccamu.ca/the-science-of-urani"><U><B>The Science of Uranium</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=392 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="uranium_mining_and_exploration_in"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><B>Uranium Mining and Exploration in Haliburton</B></div> <div> <B> <A NAME="living_with_uranium"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Radiation map of Haliburton County (Where do you live?)</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="37002a60.jpg" border=0 width="1282" height="1446" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <I><B>Central Metasedimentary Belt (Grenville Province), Ontario-Quebec     equivalent Uranium (eU, ppm) 0 (blue) to 3.05 (purple red)</B></I></div> <div> Part of Map 4559  <A HREF="http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/comp_e.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/comp_e.php"><U>http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/comp_e.php</U></A>  </div> <div> Explanation of map readings <A HREF="http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/about_e.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/about_e.php"><U>http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/gamma/about_e.php</U></A></div> <div>  <a href="HTMLobj-882/Uranium2011smallerFinal.jpg"><u>Download a larger map (9 meg)</u> </a>  </div> <bR> <div> <B>Ten Things You Should Know About Uranium Mining</B>  <a href="HTMLobj-883/10_Things_You_Should_Know_about_Uranium_Mining.pdf"><u>Download</u> </a>  </div> <div> <B> <A NAME="factsheet"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> <a href="HTMLobj-884/Ontario_at_Risk-1_Page_Summary.pdf"><u>Download the Ontario's Rural/Cottage Country at Risk! factsheet</u> </a>  </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="_eh_s_points_for_discussion_re"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A> </FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>EH's</B></FONT> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Points for Discussion RE: "MODERNIZING ONTARIO'S MINING ACT"</B></FONT> <B>(pdf) </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> <a href="HTMLobj-868/POINTS_FOR_DISCUSSION.pdf"><u>Download Here</u> </a>  </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#presentation_to_citizen_s_inquiry" TITLE="Uranium"><U><B>Environment Haliburton's presentation to the Citizen's Inquiry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="want_nuclear_power_demysified_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Want Nuclear Power demystified?</B></div> <div> <I><B>Read</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U><B> </B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U><B>Uranium: A Discussion Guide</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U> QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U>by Dr. Gordon Edwards et al.</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>WATCH</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://youtube.com/user/RainbowBridgeTV " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://youtube.com/user/RainbowBridgeTV "><U><B>Dr.Gordon Edwards' speech and slideshow</B></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>Nuclear Power - Hope or Hoax?</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>presented January 16, 2008, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://youtube.com/user/RainbowBridgeTV" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://youtube.com/user/RainbowBridgeTV"><U><I><B>http://youtube.com/user/RainbowBridgeTV</B></I></U></A><I><B>   </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Dr. Gordon Edwards</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> is the president of the </B></I></FONT><A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/"><U><I><B>Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility</B></I></U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> and one of the foremost experts on this controversial energy source in Canada. For over thirty years, he has brought transparency and accountability to every aspect of Canada's nuclear industry. He had acted as a consultant to many government organizations, such as the Auditor General of Canada, the Ontario Royal Comission on Electric Power Planning, the Select Commitee on Ontario Hydro Affairs, Siting Task Force for Radioactive Waste.</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Relevant links:</B></I></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/"><U><I><B>http://www.ccnr.org/ </B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.sierraclub.ca/prairie" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sierraclub.ca/prairie"><U><I><B>http://www.sierraclub.ca/prairie</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.rbcc.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.rbcc.ca"><U><I><B>http://www.rbcc.ca</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The plutonium core in the bomb that destroyed Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 was the size of a grapefruit.</B></I></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="344582c0.gif" border=0 width="600" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <I><B>Edward Burtynsky</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Uranium Tailings #12, Elliot Lake, Ontario, 1995</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>chromogenic print</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>http://www.cowlesgallery.com/ </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>G.1. What are the greatest environmental risks from a uranium mine?</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The greatest risks to the environment are (1) contamination of ground water and river systems with dissolved radioactive materials; (2) catastrophic failures of tailings containment; (3) the dispersal of radioactive dust, which finds its way into water, plants, animals, fish and humans; (4) releases of radon gas into the air, which will deposit radon daughters on the ground for hundreds of miles around; (5) pollution of surface and ground water by chemical pollutants in tailings, notable heavy metals, acids, ammonia and salts.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>In the short term, chemical pollution has caused by far the most damage. Whole groups of organisms have disappeared downstream from some uranium tailings areas. Radiation hazards are more subtle and will take longer to be manifested.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Unless the tailings are properly disposed of, these hazards will continue unabated for thousands of years. Tailings hazards will probably get worse as time goes on because of erosion, neglect and climatic change.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> from <A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U>Uranium: A Discussion Guide</U></A><A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U> </U></A><A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U> QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS by Dr. Gordon Edwards et al</U></A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ccnr.org/nfb_uranium_0.html"><U>.</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="county_unites_in_fight_against_uranium"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>County unites in fight against uranium</B></div> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! brings mining opponents together to share ideas and tactics</B></div> <div> <B>Haliburton Echo, May13, 2008</B></div> <div> <B>Matt James</B></div> <bR> <div> When Highlands East residents Robin Simpson and Christine Atrill first discovered that their land had been staked for uranium exploration, they felt alone in their fight against the government and the mining companies to save their land.</div> <bR> <div> On May 10 Environment Haliburton! organized an information session at Sir Sandford Fleming College about the impact of uranium in Haliburton County. And there, inside the great hall, it was obvious that Simpson and Atrill were no longer alone.</div> <bR> <div> Not only have four councils (Haliburton County, Dysart et al, Algonquin Highlands and Highlands East) passed a motion for a moratorium on uranium mining, but 12 other municipalities have asked the Ontario government to revamp the Mining Act and give more rights to landowners.</div> <bR> <div> “On the drive here I was thinking about how things have changed over the years,” said Dysart et al Reeve Murray Fearrey, who opened the meeting. “It’s simple to just believe the federal and provincial regulators were all right and if they made a law, we’d accept it and it had to be good for us. That’s just the way we grew up. But recently people are more educated, we’re better informed, and we can make choices now that we couldn’t make before.”</div> <bR> <div> The council of Highlands East, where most of the uranium staking has been taking place, was the first in the county to ask for the moratorium.</div> <bR> <div> Reeve Dave Burton, responding to EH!’s request to explain what he felt were his duties and responsibilities, says his job is to “participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the municipality and its residents.”</div> <bR> <div> “We have to have a vision and a plan for moving forward together,” said the reeve. “At one time mining and lumber were industries that were needed here, but now, 50 years later we have grown into a people business.” Tourism and cottaging are now our two major economic influences.</div> <bR> <div> Burton walked the group through provincial and county policies. The province says that mining will be permitted only if issues of public health, safety and environmental impact are addressed.</div> <bR> <div> The vision of the county’s official plan is to achieve a sustainable, natural environment and a stable, diversified and year-round economy based on clean, small- to medium-sized economic activities.</div> <bR> <div> Highlands East’s official plan strives to maintain or improve the environment and water quality. Council’s priority is to plan and manage change in a manner that will provide the greatest protection of natural features that are so fundamental to the local quality.</div> <bR> <div> Burton was thankful of the aid he received in drafting the resolution for a uranium mining moratorium. He quoted Fearrey who said that the moratorium is the right thing to do because it’s being done for the right reasons.</div> <bR> <div> Burton said, “We need to look beyond short term financial gains and consider what impact the short term will have for future wealth and health for the municipality.”</div> <bR> <div> Burton told the crowd, “You have to communicate with your elected reps. Tell us your concerns and wants and needs. That enables us to make a more informed decision.”</div> <bR> <div> Simpson and Atrill were part of the speakers’ panel representing FUME – Fight Uranium Mining Exploration. The meeting was the kick off for FUME’s letter-writing campaign to pressure the province into calling a moratorium on uranium mining. For a donation of $5 FUME will send five copies of a pre-written letter to the Premier, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, MPP Laurie Scott, John Tory and Howard Hampton.</div> <bR> <div> Simpson also said FUME will be doing another round of water and well testing within the next month. Cottagers or residents in areas of interest can contact FUME for more information. Simpson makes the process very easy and asks only for enough money to cover the cost of the bottles used for the tests.</div> <bR> <div> Atrill had good news about land initially slated for exploration north of an existing mining project called Halo. Atrill said the land is now deemed untouchable for mining. Instead, the government is considering it as a green energy windmill area.</div> <bR> <div> Look for part two of the Environment Haliburton meeting in next week’s Echo. Individuals from outside the county will discuss their battles against uranium mining: John Kittle gives an overview of uranium issues and opposition in eastern Ontario; Linda Harvey, a retired doctor talks about some health issues revolving around uranium mining; John Hudson, a retired United Church minister, discusses the effects of uranium mining on First Nations; Valerie Hunnius of the Paudash Lake Conservation Association gives a brief history of the environmental impacts and clean up of the Bicroft and Dyno mines; and lawyer Michael Swinwood describes his class-action lawsuit and the possibility of one for Haliburton County.</div> <bR> <div> <B>We plan, God laughs'</B></div> <div> <B>Guest speakers share nightmare stories of uranium and radon</B></div> <div> Posted By Matt James</div> <div> May 20, 2008</div> <div> Haliburton Echo</div> <bR> <div> <I>This is part two of the May 10 information meeting that Environment Haliburton hosted at Sir Sandford Fleming College.</I></div> <bR> <div> Most people who live in a rural area such as Haliburton County do so by choice; they no longer desire or tolerate the hustle and bustle of city life. Unfortunately for some, the move has been nothing but a nightmare.</div> <bR> <div> John Kittle and his wife Sheila bought a two-acre retirement property on the Mississippi River in North Frontenac. Less than a year later they found out that they were 10 km down river from a uranium site.</div> <bR> <div> What’s unique about Kittle is his background — he has degrees in physics and computer science and spent three years in a nuclear physics lab studying radioactive properties of uranium.</div> <bR> <div> “The core of my message here today,” said Kittle, “is that something is wrong with democracy in this country. Too much power is concentrated in too few people including provincial and federal politicians and also the mining industries.</div> <bR> <div> “These people are making decisions that will affect us for a long time. These decisions will affect our environment, our health, our property values and our rights as citizens and if we want this to change we’re going to have to stand up and demand it.”</div> <bR> <div> Kittle said the Mining Act is archaic, dating back to 1800s and the wild west days. He also showed a slide, which he pulled directly from the website of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. It was a map verifying uranium deposits in Ontario.</div> <bR> <div> “This is what Ontario, the province, is advertising to the world,” said Kittle. “Come to Ontario, we’re open.”</div> <bR> <div> Kittle made numerous calls to various provincial ministries and a number of other organizations. “Nobody in government takes any responsibility whatsoever for regulating or even monitoring uranium exploration in the province,” said Kittle. “Mining companies are on the honour system in Ontario.”</div> <bR> <div> It angers him when people say that the mining uranium is Ontario is necessary. “Since the early the 80s Ontario gets all of its uranium from Northern Saskatchewan. No uranium is currently mined in Ontario,” said Kittle. “And over 85 per cent of mined uranium in Northern Saskatchewan is exported, so you can’t tell me we need Ontario uranium to keep the lights on in the province, which is what [Premier Dalton] McGuinty believes.”</div> <bR> <div> He said uranium mines’ track records aren’t very good. In 2005 the auditor general identified of 5,600 dormant mine sites in Ontario; 4,000 were potentially hazardous to public health and safety.</div> <bR> <div> Kittle says many things about mining in Ontario are wrong: free entry to private property, Ministry of Natural Resources policies for Crown land, citizens’ lack of rights, and government energy policies that are a holiday for mining assessments.</div> <bR> <div> “And it’s wrong that the Ontario government treats people who oppose uranium exploitation like enemies of the state,” said Kittle. “Ontario should be ashamed.”</div> <bR> <div> What continues to be the most difficult challenge for those fighting uranium exploration and mining is convincing the general public that it is nothing but bad news. It’s human nature that we have to experience something tragic before we grasp the idea that something needs to change.</div> <bR> <div> Three local municipalities and the county have passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on uranium mining in Ontario. Kittle says, “It’s the best one I’ve ever seen. It’s oriented for cottagers, eco-tourism, energy, everything is in there.”</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dangerous stuff and historical wastelands</B></div> <bR> <div> Linda Harvey is a retired family physician living in the Sharbot Lake area. She also has degrees in physiology and biology with specialties in ecology and field biology.</div> <bR> <div> “I wanted to speak to you today about a whole host of issues pertaining to uranium and the environment but I scraped them all expect one,” said Harvey. “I’m going to speak to you about radioactivity and what it does to the human body and the bodies of the other organisms is gets into.”</div> <bR> <div> The majority of Harvey’s address was quite technical. To paraphrase, she said that once rock formations are broken up radon gas is released. This gas is a product of the radioactive decay of uranium, which leads to a process called ionizing. And Harvey says that, “All ionizing radiation is known to be destructive to biological tissue.” Essentially, she said, it’s like “a wrecking ball in a China shop.”</div> <bR> <div> And this process goes deeper than bones; it can disrupt and rewire DNA cells and can be passed on from generation to generation causing genetic defects. But there were two examples of what Harvey said that put the topic into perspective.</div> <bR> <div> “We haven’t even begun to see what we’ve already done,” she said. “We are poised on the edge of a nuclear renaissance. Why we can even consider this economically I cannot fathom, but biologically it’s pure insanity.”</div> <bR> <div> Harvey spoke about an experience she had in a university chemistry lab. There was a small accident and a flask of concentrated sulfuric acid burst, scattering in all directions. A small portion landed on Harvey’s lab coat, which she took home and laundered thoroughly.</div> <bR> <div> There were two small holes in the front that gradually got bigger and by the end of the year she could hardly hang the coat on a hanger.</div> <bR> <div> “What was going on in that lab coat is very similar to what excess radioactivity is doing to our bodies,” she said.</div> <bR> <div> Valerie Hunnius is the secretary of the Paudash Lake Conservation Association (PLCA). She gave a little history about the Bicroft, Dyno, and Faraday mines, as well as their environmental impacts and the lack of clean up and responsibility — not by the residents but by the government and mining companies after mining ceased in the early 60s.</div> <bR> <div> “There was no safety net in place when they closed the mines,” said Hunnius.</div> <bR> <div> For years the PLCA tried to build good working relationships with the government and mining companies to get someone to take responsibility to safely decommission the mines.</div> <bR> <div> But all efforts were in vain.</div> <bR> <div> In 1985 Hunnius and the PLCA contacted the Canadian Institute for Radiation Safety. The institute was asked to do reports on a couple of items; one was on exposure risks to people near the abandoned mine sites.</div> <bR> <div> “It was very clear there was a heightened risk of cancers, there was a heightened risk of genetic damage, and there was a heightened risk of birth defects.”</div> <bR> <div> Hunnius also talked about the housing sites that were examined in the Bicroft area.</div> <bR> <div> “Of the 129 sites that were looked at, 109 were found to need remediation because of the gravel from waste rock,” she said.</div> <bR> <div> The PLCA lobbied the federal and provincial government to clean and safely decommission the mines.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Where do we go from here?</B></div> <bR> <div> John Hudson is a retired United Church of Canada minister. He lives at Snow Grove Station, a small island on the Mississippi River, approximately five kilometres from the Frontenac Ventures proposed uranium mine site. He is a great supporter of the First Nations — so great that his involvement in a blockade for 108 days landed him a contempt of court charge and a jail sentence of six months.</div> <bR> <div> Commenting on his role in the struggle, he said, “It’s a political problem that needs a political solution — not the courts.” He believes civil disobedience is an important part of democracy.</div> <bR> <div> His very good friend Michael Swinwood has launched a $1.2 class action lawsuit against the province and was a very influential speaker. His message was that as a group, and as a society, we need to come together in great numbers and take a stand.</div> <bR> <div> So where do we go from here?</div> <bR> <div> “Let’s not go away,” said Kittle.</div> <bR> <div> “We need to form coalitions of all groups,” added Hudson.</div> <bR> <div> “Shift happens,” said Swinwood.</div> <bR> <div> “Here, here,” responded one man in the crowd.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Uranium Mining and Exploration in Haliburton</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/"><U><B>http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>A group of activists dedicated to the defence of our environment and the preservation of the beauty of the Haliburton Highlands. Our aim is to change the mining act, stop uranium mining and exploration and investigate the possibility of raising a class action lawsuit against the government for putting the health and welfare of its citizens in danger. Contact us at: </B><A HREF="mailto:fighturanium@gmail.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:fighturanium@gmail.com"><U><B>fighturanium@gmail.com</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Uranium Exploration in the Haliburton Area</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>As you may or may not be aware, the Highlands East and Bancroft areas are actively being staked and claimed for potential uranium mining and exploration. Currently, roughly 17% of Monmouth township has been staked (appox. 8500 acres). This includes both private property and crown land. </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.elninoventures.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.elninoventures.com/"><U><B>El Nino Ventures</B></U></A></FONT><B>, one of the two larger stakeholders in Monmouth, has claimed a total of 9,765 acres in Faraday, Cardiff and Monmouth townships and is currently exploring the Amalgamated Rare Earth claim in Monmouth. Another prospector has claimed roughly 5,000 acres in Monmouth.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Your land could be staked! In Ontario, most property owners hold only the surface rights and not the mineral rights to their land. This means a prospector (anyone who applies and pays the $25 licence fee) could come on to your land without being required to notify you and claim the mineral rights. The mineral rights holder can then start exploring (this could include drilling, digging, stripping, building roads, etc. ) on your land. Under the Ontario Mining Act, there is nothing the surface rights owner can do to stop this. But we can try! For more information on mining and mineral rights in Ontario, follow this </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.cmd/cs/.ce/7_0_A/.s/7_0_252/_s.7_0_A/7_0_252/_l/en?docid=STEL01_049810" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.gov.on.ca/ont/portal/!ut/p/.c"><U><B>link</B></U></A></FONT><B> to the Government of Ontario website.</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Check out </B></FONT><A HREF="http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/"><U><B>http://f-u-m-e.blogspot.com/</B></U></A><B> for more information about Uranium Mining and Exploration in Haliburton County</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="uranium_mines_have_troubled_past"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Uranium mines have troubled past</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Matt James</B></div> <div> <B>Haliburton Echo</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 07:00 </I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Local News </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >- As the possibility of advanced uranium exploration inches closer and closer to the forests and properties of Highlands East, the public's concern is also inching forward - what about the environmental and health issues caused by the mining of uranium? </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Some residents of Ontario are still up in arms about mining companies that have staked claims, explored the property, extracted the minerals, and bailed, leaving behind a mess. The track records of several mining companies aren't so good. </div> <bR> <div> In 1974, at an Elliott Lake uranium mine, work was stopped because of unsafe working conditions. Many of the mining employees were diagnosed with cancer and silicosis due to radioactivity from the uranium. In all there are more than 200 names on the Elliott Lake Uranium Miners Memorial, with space, unfortunately, for those who will die in the future from the same ailments. </div> <bR> <div> But that was then right? </div> <bR> <div> Elliott Lake is also known for having the most uranium tailings, which is the waste left after ore has been extracted from rock. In Elliott Lake more than 100 tons of tailing waste has been created and that waste continues to be radioactive for hundreds of years. </div> <bR> <div> According to the Pembina Institute, a group designed to advance sustainable energy solutions through innovative research, education, consulting and advocacy, 85 per cent of the radioactive elements contained in the original uranium ore end up in the tailings, and as of 2003, there were 213 million tons of uranium mill tailings in storage at 24 tailings sites across Canada with enough material to fill the Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) approximately 100 times. </div> <bR> <div> And there quite the history of spillage. Uranium, in all of its aspects just doesn't have the same reputation as say, a cuddly bunny or wind power: </div> <bR> <div> • In Chalk River, Ontario in 1958, an irradiated fuel element broke and a nuclear plant caught fire. 400,000 square metres around the building were contaminated. </div> <bR> <div> • In July 1976 radiation levels in some buildings in Port Hope were 100 times more than a safe levels and bone marrow abnormalities were found in town residents. </div> <bR> <div> • The next October Port Hope is said to be `walking a tightrope' by an environment ministry official. Uranium leaked from the Altered Resources Ltd refinery into untreated sewage at a sewage treatment plant and had built up to more than 75,000 cubic feet. </div> <bR> <div> • A leak of about two million litres of radioactive and heavy metal contaminated water, enough to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools, occurred at the Rabbit Lake, Sask., uranium mine and mill area on November 7, 1989. The water burst from a faulty valve on a 10 km stretch of pipeline carrying run off and ground water seepage from the Collin's Bay open pit uranium mine to the Rabbit Lake uranium mill. The spill was not noticed for 14 hours even though three Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) inspectors were on-site. </div> <bR> <div> • A total of 153 spills were reported at three uranium mines in StateplaceSaskatchewan between 1981-1989. Amoc mining reported 62 spills, Cameco 48 and Key Lake 43. Three quarters of these were estimated to be radioactive. The spill totals were requested after Cameco's Rabbit Lake mine reported a spill of two million litres of radium and arsenic-contaminated water. </div> <bR> <div> • In August 1993, two million litres of contaminated water spilled from a tailings site at Rio Algom's Stanleigh mine in placeElliot Lake. The spill took place as a result of a power failure and Rio Algom was charged by the Atomic Energy Control Board with one count of failure to provide appropriate training for its employees and one count of failure to prevent the spill under "reasonably foreseeable circumstances". The radiological and chemically contaminated water spilled into McCabe Lake. </div> <bR> <div> While history reminds us of the burdens involved in the mining of uranium, the necessity of power in everyday life continues to drive the need to explore for uranium, a key component in the production of nuclear power. </div> <bR> <div> Today approximately 50 per cent of the electrical power generated in StateOntario comes from nuclear sources and approximately 15 per cent of placecountry-regionCanada's hydro comes from nuclear reactors where uranium is used as a fuel. </div> <bR> <div> Because we now live in a society that is more health and environmentally conscious, John Steele, a media relations officer with the Ministry of the Environment, says there are more stringent standards. </div> <bR> <div> “If you go back to the days when uranium mining was is its infancy, things have changed,” says Steele, “provincially and federally.” </div> <bR> <div> Stephen Hazell, the executive director of the Sierra Club, an environmental group, isn't so sure that environmental laws have changed all that much. </div> <bR> <div> “One thing that's certainly happened is that we've stopped enforcing [the laws],” Hazell says. “There's very little enforcement of violations of the certain environmental acts and that applies provincially and federally.” </div> <bR> <div> He feels that there was a time back in the 80s when the provincial government was very serious about enforcing pollution law but that's not the case anymore. </div> <bR> <div> “The feds are largely absent from the field of enforcing the laws that we've got.” </div> <bR> <div> As covered in the land rights article in last week's Echo the mining laws are among Ontario's oldest. </div> <bR> <div> “This issue of the free entry system of mining in Ontario has been an issue for a long time,” Hazell said. “But most mining has been done in places where people don't own cottages, or they're not residing in little towns. They're in more remote areas on Crown land, so it's not often even an issue.” </div> <bR> <div> But in Highlands East land is being staked for uranium on privately-owned land and Hazell said residents understand that once the exploration companies start mucking about in the ore bodies, the release of radioactive isotopes enter into the natural ecosystem and that's not good for the price of land and it's not good for people's health. </div> <bR> <div> If high-grade uranium is found, Hazell thinks the chances that mining will happen is pretty good. </div> <bR> <div> “I'm speculating a bit but it really all depends on what the local community wants. If the locals are really dead set against it, then you probably have a 50/50 chance of stopping it. </div> <bR> <div> “And once the [mining] industry gets established, it's going to get even harder [to fight] because they're going to have that much more economic clout,” said Hazell. If the issue ever comes to public consultation and a yes or no vote Hazell said, “It's a very, very, important decision for the people in Haliburton [Highlands East].” </div> <bR> <div> The Pembina Institute says “Environment Canada and Heath Canada have concluded that effluent from uranium mining and milling operations in placecountry-regionCanada meets the definition of a toxic substance for the purpose of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.” And “operating and now-closed uranium tailings management facilities have been associated with severe pollution of surface and ground water with radionuclides (principally uranium), heavy metals and conventional pollutants.” </div> <bR> <div> In regards to health effects, uranium mining for workers is a risky business. While the Pembina Institute admits that current mining and milling operations in placecountry-regionCanada are much more careful about ensuring workers stay within radiation exposure limits, a number of studies have linked relatively low level radon and radiation exposure levels to cancers over a long period of time. </div> <bR> <div> Natural Resources country-regionCanada runs a program called the Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND), which operates out of the CANMET Energy Technology Centre in Ottawa. On the government website, it is says that, “Acidic drainage is recognized as the largest environmental liability facing the mining industry and, to a lesser extent, the public through abandoned mines.” </div> <bR> <div> The program has been implemented to develop and apply new technologies to prevent and control acidic drainage. The site says that tremendous progress has been made and the target is for new mines to open without long-term concerns about acidic drainage upon closure of the mine. </div> <bR> <div> Perhaps one day the world will agree that a more environmentally friendly way to produce power should be implemented. For the time being environmental and human health concerns will continue to be on the minds of Highlands East residents as they await news of a possible uranium mining.</div> <div> Green Party calls for halt to uranium mining  TheStar.com - News - Green Party calls for halt to uranium mining</div> <div> September 18, 2007</div> <div> Canadian press</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="uranium_mining_and_refining_pose_a"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Uranium mining and refining pose a threat to health and the environment and Canada should impose a moratorium on the industry, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Tuesday.</B></div> <bR> <div> May says she supports efforts by Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium, which opposes a potential uranium mine in eastern Ontario.</div> <div> She said a mining firm, Frontenac Ventures, is prospecting for uranium on Algonquin First Nations territory near Sharbot Lake, west of Ottawa.</div> <div> "Canada must stop mining and refining uranium," said May. "The uranium extraction process is extremely hazardous to the environment and to the health of mine workers and the public. "  The hazard goes well beyond the mines and refining plants, she said. "Radioactive particles carried downwind and downstream have the potential to poison thousands of eastern Ontarians through the air they breathe and the water they drink."</div> <bR> <div> The industry also fuels the nuclear arms race, she said. "Uranium mining and nuclear power are the greatest obstacles to the goal of global nuclear disarmament. Mined uranium inevitably ends up as plutonium, radioactive waste, or worse – nuclear weapons. "</div> <bR> <div> May chastised the Ontario Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty – now embroiled in an election campaign – for its plan to build more nuclear power generating stations. She called that a foolish decision, taken by a government acting like "bunnies in the headlights."</div> <bR> <div> "The McGuinty government has completely and utterly failed to grasp the potential of energy efficiency and conservation." Ontario's plan to build more nukes has raised the demand for uranium, she said. "This pressure for uranium mining in Ontario . . . is part of this whole new nonsense that we're going to have more nuclear power."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> Uranium Tailings – Hazardous for 80,000 years</B></div> <bR> <div> To get uranium from a mine, the rock must first be dug out of the ground. Rocks that are more radioactive are classified as ore; those that are less radioactive are called waste rock. Waste rocks are often dangerously radioactive even though they do not qualify as ore.</div> <bR> <div> In the mill, the ore is crushed to a fine powder. Acids and other chemicals are used to separate the uranium from the sand-like residues, called “uranium tailings”. As Marie Curie showed, the residues are much more radioactive than the uranium that is extracted. In fact, 85 % of the radioactivity in the ore ends up in the tailings; only 15 % is uranium.</div> <bR> <div> The radioactive materials left behind in the uranium tailings are among the deadliest poisons known to science: radium-226, that killed so many of the dial painters; polonium-210, that was used to poison Litvinenko; radon gas, which remains one of the deadliest cancer-causing agent ever encountered; as well as thorium-230, lead-210, and others.</div> <bR> <div> The danger posed by a radioactive substance is not indicated by its weight or its volume, but by its degree of radioactivity. Radioactivity is measured in ”becquerels”. The number of becquerels is the number of radioactive disintegrations that take place every second.</div> <bR> <div> When uranium ore has lain undisturbed for hundreds of millions of years, then all of the uranium decay products will have exactly the same radioactivity as uranium-238. For example, if a 10-kilogram rock contains 1000 becquerels of uranium (about one gram), it will also contain 1000 becquerels of radium-226, 1000 becquerels of polonium-210, 1000 becquerels of radon, and so on. The total radioactivity of the rock is 14 000 becquerels, since there are 14 different radioactive substances in the “decay chain” (Figure 8). Once the uranium has been removed (two varieties) the residues still have about 12 000 becquerels of radioactivity left.</div> <bR> <div> To make matters worse, most of the uranium decay products are constantly replenished by the on-going radioactive disintegration of thorium-230, which has a 76 000 year half-life. This means that only half of the atoms of thorium-230 will disintegrate in 76 000 years.</div> <bR> <div> Thus the amount of radium, polonium, and radon in the tailings will remain almost the same for thousands of years, and will only be reduced by half in about 80 000 years. So how does one keep millions of tons of radioactive sand out of the environment for 80 000 years?</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>      </div> <div> <B> <A NAME="presentation_to_citizen_s_inquiry"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Presentation to Citizen's Inquiry, Peterborough, April 2008 </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>First I would like to introduce the newest member of Environment Haliburton! - the Green Man. The Green Man is a mythic symbol of rebirth, of live over death, a guardian of the forest, a silent witness and a lard of misrule. He is with us to day and will be with EH! As a witness to our love, care and protection of our home. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation. And congratulations to the organizers of this inquiry. … </B></div> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! is a small non-governmental organization with a focus on protecting and preserving the Haliburton Highlands - that is, haliburton with one L, as we seldom neglect to point out. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Haliburton County, particularly the Municipality of Highlands East, is currently the site of uranium exploration by a number of companies. One of them, Bancroft Uranium, is drilling as we speak - on crown land, that is, on the people's land. This is not our first experience with uranium mining. Several mines opened and closed in classic boom and bust style in the 1950s and 60s. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When we talk about the land we are also talking about life on the land and this life includes humans. As the human community living on the land, we are responsible for charting the future of our beautiful Haliburton Highlands. Official plans and strategic plans provide us with the chance to create a vision for our future. And we, as a community, have been clear that the future we dream of is one of sustainable development that protects our waters, lands and resources, that protects our future generations, and that is appropriate and appropriately scaled. No one looks toward to a future of open pit mines and tailings ponds that will be dangerous for millennia. </B></div> <div> <B>We are tremendously thankful that the government that is closest to the people, the Township of Highlands East, has joined with many other local governments to petition the province to place a moratorium on uranium mineral exploration and mining. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But here's the rub. The current drilling operations are on the people's land not on private land, therefore, the Official Plans, statements of the will of the residents, are not in effect. The Mining Act rules. Companies have no obligation to consult with the community. For all the impact the community vision has, we may as well be a silent as the Green Man. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We understand that the uranium industry claims to offer benefits - 40 jobs, increases to the local tax base. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! considers these claims in the light of the recent history of uranium mining in Haliburton County. In the late 50's and early 60's, the Bicroft Mine was open for 80 months and the Dyno mine for 26 months. At its peak, the Bicroft mine </B></div> <div> <B>employed 500 people and the Dyno mine 450. It appears that no taxes were paid, as there was a tax holiday on uranium mines. Three communities, Bicroft Heights, Dyno Estates and Cardiff were built to accommodate mine workers. When the mines closed many of the houses were bull dozed, others were sold as retirement homes at prices considerably below construction costs and the province was left on the hook for the costs of infrastructure. Few of the miners actually purchased the homes as they moved to follow mining jobs. </B></div> <div> <B>Unhappily for us, the mines were closed at a time when no government took responsibility for rehabilitation. Studies done more than a decade after the mines closed found that: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. Waste rock had been used for roads, driveways and building foundations </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. Mine sites were not secured </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. Radionuclides were taken up in the trees that grew on the mine sites </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It took the work of the Paudash Lake Conservation Association to alert Canada and Ontario to the lack of remediation and oversight . </B></div> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! is concerned about an open pit uranium mine beside an area designated for residential use. We are concerned about the crushed waste rock that may contaminate groundwater with heavy metals and radionuclides seeping through fissures in the rock. We are concerned about tailings ponds deteriorating and leaking into nearby creeks, or entering the aquifers. We are concerned about radioactive dust taken by the winds and deposited on neighbouring properties. We are concerned about the need to protect the site for thousands of years as most of the radioactivity left in the waste rock and tailings is long-lived. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! is also concerned about the use to which the uranium will be put. Nuclear power is neither cheap, nor clean. We have only to look at our power bills and see the monthly payment for the `stranded debt' to feel the cost of nuclear. The plants constructed in the past have all come in over time and over budget The Darlington nuclear plant was an astonishing 270% over budget. Refurbishing existing plants also comes in over budget and over time. When the full uranium cycle is included, nuclear power does produce greenhouse gases. And surely there is no one who does not fear a nuclear holocaust. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The enormous investment proposed by Ontario in new nuclear generation is not in our best interest. Such investment means that funds will not be available for solutions more appropriate for our community. Other environmentally benign sources of power could be generated locally for local distribution. One of the most effective strategies for energy conservation in Haliburton County would be a major investment in home renovations. But enormous public investment in nuclear power will starve cheaper, more sustainable and more appropriate solutions to both the impending energy crisis and the climate crisis. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! is concerned about the disposal of nuclear waste. To date no safe storage answer has been found. Spent fuel is accumulating in temporary facilities all over the world! In the absence of an answer, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization proposes a 300-year strategy to implement its plan to store nuclear waste. The hubris of planning for 300 years is mind boggling. The arrogance of assuming that dangerous waste could be protected for hundreds of thousands of years is equally mind-boggling.. To continue to expand nuclear power generation when we don't know how to manage dangerous waste is the antithesis of the precautionary principle and of sustainable development. What are we proposing to leave for future generations? </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! is concerned that mining activities in the province take place under a Mining Act that has not been substantially changed in well over 100 years. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In particular, the separation of mineral and surface rights is of concern, as is the open access/free entry system of staking. Such a strategy creates conditions for conflict, for exploration booms, for the misuse of the people's resources. Ontario and Haliburton County are nothing like they were a century ago. The Mining Act should reflect current conditions.  Environment Haliburton! recommends that the Mining Act be rewritten: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. to respect Aboriginal and Treaty rights not only as codified by the Supreme Court but also as recognized through our systems of natural justice and fair play </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. to ensure that the interests of the local community are addressed </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. to ensure that a local community can effectively say no to mining in its backyard </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>. to ensure that there is environmental protection throughout the mining cycle </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! recommends that uranium stay in the ground, that is, that Ontario institute a moratorium on uranium mining including exploration for uranium. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! recommends that Ontario refocus its energy planning to invest in conservation and alternate energy and begin to phase out existing nuclear plants. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Environment Haliburton! recommends that Ontario act upon the proposal by the Ardoch and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nations that a three-person joint panel be convened to investigate exploration and mining issues and to negotiate an interim measures agreement. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Finally as a settler and on behalf of Environment Haliburton! which is an organization of settlers, I apologise to Robert Lovelace, Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack McKay, Spokesman Sam McKay, Councillors Cecilia Begg and Darryl Sainnawap and Bruce Sakakeep because our courts have put them in jail for taking action to protect their lands and our futures. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Would that the government of Dalton McGuinty showed such care, concern and love for our lands and our future. Instead, the government of Dalton McGuinty brings shame upon all residents of Ontario and Canada. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Shame </B></div> <div> <B>Shame </B></div> <div> <B>Shame </B></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=32 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>      </B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>