I have concerns about uranium mines on many levels.  I do not think the proper epidemical studies have been done to ensure the health of northern residents has been impacted. Environmental monitoring has to be done properly and must use a predictive process to determine the effectiveness of measures taken.  I think they should have been measuring total loading into the environment, and not using surface water objectives which measure concentrations.  Concentrations depend on volume of water, and in the case of radioactive elements, may not be a good measure of impact on the environment – dilution only spreads the radiation effects over a wider area, making many sick instead of a few very sick.   Radiation is a little like Russian roulette.  If you are lucky, it won't hit a vital spot.  If the monitoring of emissions into the air and water are accurate, we will know the load onto the environment and should be able to predict impacts.  If the impacts are other than those expected, their model needs correcting.  We needed to look at pathways for radionuclides and heavy metals – air, surface water, ground water, vegetation, effects due to ingestion by humans, wildlife, and fish, public health, epidemiological studies of all miners, past, present and future.  We should be looking at all the physical and chemical linkages to help determine aerial extent, frequency, duration and certainty in predictions.

The ore pads could be loaded with ore to be processed for indefinite periods of time, exposed to the wind.  I am assuming they monitored the runoff from waste and ore piles and leachate from the tailings.  I could tell you about some of the known spills and accidents that occurred at the mine sites but suffice, they were the result of very poor management and stupidity and if they weren't such liars they couldn't have justified any of them.   The embarrassing spills, particularly the ones at Rabbit Lake, where an effluent line froze and burst and the drainage culverts had been left open between the tailings pond and the river, and the overflowing tailings pond at Cluff Lake - where did all that stuff end up?! 

Culture of safety, my, ah, behind!   Although the information contained in Cameco’s preliminary decommissioning plan and cost estimate for Rabbit Lake is confidential, Cameco had posted a non-confidential summary of this information on its website.  It was to be reviewed in November 2020.