The Saskatchewan Research Council is hoping to move on to the next stage of cleanup at the Gunnar Mine Site.
The company says all of the buildings that once stood at the uranium mine have now been removed.
However they still have to analyze the ground water and soil to see what contaminants may have leaked in.
Ian Wilson is a manager with the SRC who is working on the project.
He explains they first want to get a better understanding of what they’re dealing with :
“One, we have to evaluate the source of contamination, where it’s coming from, the vector that it’s being moved into the environment and I guess the scope or the footprint of the problem.”
He adds it will be a multiple year process, but once they get the clearance from the regulatory agency they can start down that road.
Meantime the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is offering funding to assist members of the public that want to take part in the SRC’s license application for the Gunnar project.
The SRC has requested a 10-year license term.
The hearing is tentatively set for May, however the deadline to submit an application for the funding is January 31st.
More information is available on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s website.
It can be found at http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/.