Independent Environmental Monitoring Program: Elliot Lake historical mine sites

Publication date: August 30, 2019

Rio Algom Limited and Denison Mines Limited are licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to operate historical mine sites in Elliot Lake, Ontario. Uranium mining was conducted in the area for approximately 40 years, from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, and again from the early 1970s until the early 1990s, when most of the mines ceased operations.

The results of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Program (IEMP) for 2015 and 2018 confirm that the public and the environment around the Elliot Lake historical mine sites are protected and that there are no expected health or environmental impacts.

• Interactive map
• Data table Elliot Lake historical mine sites CSV (107 kb)
• Overview of the sampling campaign
• Results: (2015) (2018)

Background

Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, licensees of nuclear facilities are required to implement an environmental monitoring program (EMP) to demonstrate that the public and the environment are protected from emissions related to the facility's nuclear activities. The results of these monitoring programs are submitted to the CNSC to ensure compliance with the  applicable guidelines and limits, as set out in the regulations that govern Canada's nuclear industry.

The CNSC has implemented its IEMP to verify that the public and the environment around licensed nuclear facilities are protected. The IEMP is separate from, but complementary to, the CNSC's ongoing compliance verification program. The IEMP involves taking samples from public areas around the facilities, and measuring and analyzing the level of radioactive and hazardous substances in those samples. CNSC staff collect the samples and send them to the CNSC's state-of-the-art laboratory for testing and analysis. Since the IEMP was implemented, areas outside the perimeter of the Elliot Lake historical sites were sampled in 2015 and 2018.

2015 and 2018 results

The 2015 and 2018 IEMP sampling plans for the Elliot Lake historical mine sites focused on both radioactive and hazardous substances. A site-specific sampling plan was developed based on the licensee’s approved environmental monitoring program, CSA Group standards and the CNSC’s regulatory experience with the sites. In 2015 and 2018, samples were collected in publicly accessible areas outside the perimeter of the Elliot Lake historical mine sites, including samples of water and sediment. View detailed sampling data.

The concentrations of radioactive and hazardous contaminants in the water samples were all below guidelines. At two sediment sampling locations, heavy metal concentrations exceeded the sediment quality guideline issued by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), but remained below the CCME’s probable effect level and below the severe effect level established in Ontario’s Provincial Sediment Quality Guidelines. Although finding elevated heavy metal concentrations in sediment is common near sites of historical industrial activities, CNSC staff will continue to ensure these locations are monitored.  The levels of heavy metals in the water samples taken at these locations were below those set out in the water quality guidelines, indicating that the public and the environment remain protected.

CNSC staff collecting water samples near an Elliot Lake historical mine site in 2018.

Conclusions

The IEMP results from 2015 and 2018 indicate that the public and the environment in the vicinity of the Elliot Lake historical mine sites are protected and that there are no expected health impacts. These results are consistent with the results submitted by Rio Algom Limited, demonstrating that the licensee's EMP protects the health and safety of people and the environment.

To obtain the full technical IEMP report, contact us at cnsc.info.ccsn@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca or call 613-995-5894 or 1-800-668-5284 (in Canada). Please provide the name of the facility and the report year.