The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is expected to hand down its ruling in a few weeks on phase two of a northern Saskatchewan uranium mine cleanup.
The Gunnar Mine near Uranium City shut down more than 50 years ago, but it will be another nine years before the clean-up is complete.
The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is in charge of the operation. It outlined its plans for the long-term storage of mine tailings at a recent hearing in Ottawa.
The tailings contain radioactive material and other contaminants which must be completely sealed from the environment, said SRC remediation manager Ian Wilson.
“It’s low, but it’s still something from our standpoint and from a legacy standpoint that there still may be some affect to the local environment,” he said.
There were two interventions filed at the hearing which was held September 30, which suggest modifications the SRC’s plan.
First, the Saskatchewan Environmental Society wants the covering over the mine tailings to be a metre thick instead of the proposed minimum of 0.6 meters.
The other intervention came from the Metis Society of Saskatchewan. It was impressed with the overall plan, but suggested two creeks in the area be diverted away from the mine tailing storage sites.
Wilson says the SRC has been working closely with the local community and is committed to satisfying all concerns.
“They have this legacy in their backyard and we are working hand in hand,” he said. “We are not just cleaning up but helping to mitigating the environmental and human health concerns associated with this mine.”
The clean-up cost will be about $225 million, with the province picking up more than $200 million of the tab.
For more information on the remediation project, click here.