Far North Residents Weigh In On Old Mines

Far North Residents Weigh In On Old Mines

Wednesday, June 09, 2010 at 15:23

Some key issues have been identified about a pending cleanup of two abandoned uranium mines in the province’s far north.

Jesse Merilees, a project manager with the Saskatchewan Research Council, recently began a series of consultations with communities located near the Gunnar and Lorado mine sites.

Although the mines shut down decades ago, the buildings where the work took place are still standing.

Merilees says a number of residents have told him the buildings are not safe and they have concerns about gamma radiation.

He says he will be tabulating those concerns in an environmental assessment due to be filed later this year.

Meriless says the actual cleanup is slated to begin three years from now — and for that reason, they want the environmental assessment to be accepted sometime within the next two years.