Uranium, whether we like it or not, is a part of our daily lives, said Pamela Schwann, the president of Saskatchewan’s Mining Association.
“Uranium is a naturally occurring substance and radiation is all around us,” said Schwann. “People don’t realize that.”
Make no mistake, uraninite, the major ore mineral from uranium, can be potentially hazardous.
The risks associated with uranium mining are monitored by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) but because Nova Scotia doesn’t have an active mine, testing for uranium and radon gas in the province is not regulated by the CNSC.
Peter Elder, the chief science officer at CNSC and the vicepresident of its technical support branch, explained that uraninite’s properties as a heavy metal are actually more toxic than its radioactivity.
“Well, like any mineral, it has some hazards,” said Elder.
“Overall, the statistics are that uranium mining is actually one of the safest types of mining based on conventional health and safety.”
Dr. Erin Adlakha, an assistant professor and mineralogist at Saint Mary’s University, has stated that although the presence of uraninite itself is not inherently dangerous to the public, failing to monitor and regulate the mineral is.
“Leaving it in the ground is not the option,” she said, explaining that the mineral is found within faults and fractures in rock and that it can dissolve in ground water naturally flowing through those structures. The danger, said Adlakha, is to Nova Scotians who unwittingly live on or near uranium deposits as the uranium from the mineral is potentially toxic if inhaled or ingested. Uranium and radon gas, given off as a decay product of uranium, is also dangerous if inhaled.
“Having a piece of uraninite next to you is not inherently dangerous,” said Adlakha, who had a uraninite specimen beside her during her interview with The Chronicle Herald. “It is radioactive but that radioactive decay is producing primarily alpha particles and those particles are low energy. They only travel eight centimetres into the air and so they can’t penetrate your skin.”
Adlakha warned that handling uraninite is potentially hazardous without proper training or protection such as gloves. Inhaling uraninite particles or radon gas given off by uraninite is potentially dangerous, as chronic internal exposure of lung cells to alpha particle radiation can lead to lung cancer.
Due to the province’s uranium deposits, Nova Scotians test for traces of uranium in their drinking water and for radon released into the air.
Sean Kirby, the executive director for the Mining Association of Nova Scotia, said the province’s ban puts the public at risk.
“Because we can no longer
explore for uranium, Nova Scotia does not proactively identify where uranium is a potential health risk,” he said.
But the director of the Atlantic Canada chapter of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Gretchen Fitzgerald, said that there are alternatives that don’t allow mining.
“There are other ways to figure out radiation risks,” she said, citing that there are programs to monitor radon levels in people’s homes. “I don’t think that’s a great argument for starting a mine or even starting exploration.”
Fitzgerald explained she believed that the potential for contamination due to uranium mining was not worth it.
Twila Gaudet, the director of consultation for the Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative, also voiced her doubts about uranium mining.
“We are always concerned about any potential environmental impacts on our lands and waters from any type of activity happening here, including mining and exploration,” wrote Gaudet in an email.
FEDERAL SUPERVISION
The CNSC is the regulatory and licensing body for all nuclear materials in Canada, ranging from uranium mines to nuclear power plants.
Under the CNSC, working uranium mines — like Saskatchewan’s Cigar Lake mine — follow the Nuclear Safety and Control Act for all mining operations.
Elder said that mines are required to do a thorough assessment of any potential releases tothe environment and have plans in place to mitigate those releases.
“Where we do regulate, we regulate it to the highest standards in the world,” said Elder.
According to CNSC’s annual report, no uranium worker received a radiation dose above the regulatory limit. There has never been, said Elder, an incident in Canadian uranium mines where there have been off-site impacts.
When asked if Nova Scotia’s uranium ban was warranted given CNSC’s safety policies, Edler said that only the province could answer that.
“That’s a policy decision for the province,” he said.
Media relations officer Bruce Nunn was asked if, given the recent creation of Nova Scotia’s Energy and Mines Department, the provincial government would review some of its policies.
“Government departments are always looking for better ways to serve the interests of Nova Scotians,” he said. “When a new idea or approach reaches the point of warranting a policy discussion, we will have those discussions. However, as we have said, changes to the Uranium Prohibition Act are not being discussed nor contemplated at this time.”
Given Canada’s safety regulations, Schwann said she is advocating for more Canadian uranium mines.
“When you look at us compared to other jurisdictions that are producing similar commodities, we have much higher safety performance standards. You should want minerals being produced in Canada compared to some other country that is not as strongly regulated,” she said.