 Uranium mining in the Okanagan Valley
We will be updating our site on this issue as time permits. In the meantime, we encourage you to write letters to the government requesting that Uranium mining not be allowed in British Columbia and that a moritorium be enacted.
Some health environmental risks associated with Uranium mining are:
Environmental:
Uranium mining contaminates the air, water and earth with radioactive chemicals and heavy metals which can never be properly cleaned up. In addition to the radiation hazard, mining is also associated with poisonous process chemicals, heavy metals and the use of huge quantities of water. In the short term, uranium mine sites wreck the ecology of the local region; in the long term, they pose a risk to a much broader area.
Health risks
The health risks of uranium mining are by now quite well known, although still aggressively disputed by the mining industry. Collectively, uranium miners suffer the highest radiation doses of all workers in the nuclear fuel chain (apart from accident cleanup crews). The main problems are inhalation of dust and radon gas, which leave alpha radiation emitters lodged in the body where they can do most harm. As the contamination from the mines spread away from the minesite, local people are also exposed to contamination. While uranium mining is most commonly associated with cancer, low level radiation is also implicated in birth defects, high infant mortality and chronic lung, eye, skin and reproductive illnesses.
The following article is courtesy of the Kelowna Daily Courier:
Uranium battle brewing
By PAUL WILLCOCKS Special to The Daily Courier
June 14, 2005
A new uranium mining project in the Okanagan is set to revive a fierce environmental battle in B.C. Sparton Resources and Santoy Resources have bought the Blizzard uranium claims near Beaverdell, about 50 kilometres southeast of Kelowna, and plan to extract some 4,500 tonnes of the fuel, a spokesman said Tuesday
Uranium mining in B.C. has been dead since 1980, when Bill Bennett's Socred government imposed a seven-year moratorium, citing health risks. Although the moratorium lapsed more almost 20 years ago, no companies have attempted to go ahead
But rising prices, fuelled in part by demand in China, have sparked new interest in B.C. deposits
Nick Sayce, a spokesman for Sparton, said he doesn't know how quickly the project could go ahead. Sayce said the mining process would actually reduce uranium contamination at the site
"The parties concerned are very hopeful that it can get a fair hearing," Sayce said from Toronto
The Blizzard deposit is by far the largest in the province. A consortium including Norcen Energy and Ontario Hydro had announced plans for a mine when the moratorium was imposed. Sparton and Santoy plan to employ "low environmental impact, in-situ solution mining," the companies said in a release. The method is the most widely used system in uranium mines today. A liquid is pumped through the deposits, leaching out uranium, which is then extracted
The companies are paying $450,000 in cash, plus shares, to acquire the claim. They are also committing to a $1.5-million development program
But they face some tough hurdles. Karen Wristen of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation says a ban on uranium mining should be reinstated
Mining carries risks for people who do the work and to the environment, she said. "It's not speculative," Wristen said. "It's a very real danger." Green party Leader Adriane Carr also supports a ban. "British Columbians, justifiably worried about the deadly effects of uranium on their health and the health of their environment, fought hard in the past to stop uranium mining," she said. "They'll mobilize to fight again." Government officials weren't available to comment. Uranium mining is booming around the world, fuelled by prices that have almost tripled in the last three years
Australia and Canada are the leading producers, with Saskatchewan home to the world's largest mine.
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