breaking news: cameco site shut down

Cameco site shut down

Port Hope operations suspended for two months following discovery of soil contamination at plant

Jul 21, 2007 04:30 AM
Thulasi Srikanthan
Staff Reporter

Cameco Corp will suspend operations at a Port Hope plant for at least two months after discovering uranium and other "production-associated" chemicals in the soil.

"We have found uranium and potassium hydroxide," said Lyle Krahn, a spokesperson for Saskatchewan-based Cameco.

Further tests are still being done, with third-party experts on the scene.

Krahn said the discovery was made when workers were excavating to replace an existing tank. He said the company, which is the world's biggest uranium producer, is drilling holes within the plant to investigate the affected area.

No layoffs are planned for the plant's 420 employees and the company said it is assessing the impact of the situation on its production forecasts.

The company said public health and worker safety wouldn't be affected because the chemicals are in a contained area.

"The affected area appears to be within, and near, the perimeter walls of the UF6 plant based on the preliminary information available at this time," the company said in a statement.

But that assurance has not dampened the concerns of John Miller, president of the Families Against Radiation Exposure.

"This is worrisome," Miller said. "I am concerned because the plant is a few feet away from Lake Ontario.

"This is the first indication there is some stuff leaking from the plant."

Meanwhile, Sunni Locatelli, a spokesperson for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which regulates and licenses uranium mines in Canada, said investigators have already visited Cameco's site and have been fully briefed by Cameco officials.

"We are aware of the issue and we're monitoring it," she said. "We've requested that an action plan be submitted by Cameco."

The company also noted uranium dioxide conversion and other activities at the site are not affected. Meanwhile, the company's shares fell by 43 cents to finish at $49.32 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They were halted briefly after the close.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/238333