4 families in Elliot Lake, Ontario are demanding that radioactive mining waste be removed from their properties

Jennifer Carling worries about the potential consequences of living in a decades-old subdivision of Elliot Lake, Ontario, now under the microscope.

Carling is one of four homeowners in the former uranium mining town in northern Ontario who want the federal Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and mining company BHP to address the high levels of radiation on their properties.

According to the families and their legal representatives, their homes are on a site that used to contain mining waste that has never been properly cleaned up.

Uranium mining operations at Elliot Lake ended in 1996, and work to decommission and remediate those mines was completed in 2002. BHP acquired the historic mining sites from Rio Algom Limited in 2000.

“I want the mine tailings removed from the site and new fill put in,” Carling told CBC News.

“And I’m not doing this for myself, I’m already 74.”

In addition to her concerns about possible mining debris outside her home, Carling said she is concerned about radon in her home.

What is Radon?

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally when uranium breaks down in rock. According to Health Canada, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada after cigarettes. It is also invisible and odorless and can only be detected with testing.

Although Carling has taken measures, including having a special radon exhaust fan system that helps vent gases from her home, she is concerned about it failing and resulting in higher-than-acceptable levels of the gas.

Health Canada says radon levels of 200 becquerels per cubic meter or more are considered unsafe.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CLEA), which represents the four families, hired experts to conduct an assessment. They found that the properties around their homes have unsafe levels of gamma rays, according to the CLEA.

“What our experts found is that the hot spots are the places where they had gamma radiation that was higher than the guideline, where there is historical documentation that the mine tailings were placed,” said Jacqueline Wilson, one of the homeowners’ attorneys.

Carling said she is also concerned about radon’s possible “carcinogenic” properties.

“I couldn’t, you know, in conscience sell this house to a family with small children and let them play outside with the gamma rays.”

A History of Uranium Mining

BHP said in a statement that three of the four houses with high levels of radiation were used as company housing when the mines were still operating.

The homes were part of a remediation program and Rio Algom sold them to the miners in the 1970s.

“After receiving the letter from CELA, we have begun a detailed investigation to better understand the complex history of these properties,” BHP spokesperson Megan Hjulfors said in the company’s statement.

“This review is currently underway. We are committed to understanding the history of these properties, what happened, and restoring them if necessary.”

Carol Hughes, NDP MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing representing Elliot Lake, raised the issue in the House of Commons on June 15.

“This waste from closed uranium mines was widely used as construction fill in the 1960s,” she said.

“Unknowingly, these families have been exposed to radiation above the permissible limits, caused by mining waste buried in their gardens and driveways.”

The CELA said the federal government has so far declined to respond in any meaningful way.

In an email to CBC News, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the nation’s nuclear regulatory agency, said it does not regulate historic mining tailings in unlicensed sites or radon in homes.

The commission said questions about historic waste should be directed to Natural Resources Canada.

Waste rock was used on some properties in the Elliot Lake area prior to 1976, when uranium mining was regulated solely by the county government.– Natural Resources Canada

In an email, Natural Resources Canada told CBC News that tailings and waste produced by uranium mines in Elliot Lake were all safely stored in tailings management facilities in the area.

But the email went on to say “the government is aware that waste rock was used on some properties in the Elliot Lake area prior to 1976, when uranium mining was regulated solely by the county government.”

Natural Resources Canada added that mining companies are responsible for managing their waste and that the government of Canada will only take over if the producer no longer exists or if it was a Crown corporation.

For Elliot Lake, BHP, which now owns Rio Algom, would be responsible if cleaning is required.

As for radon in the four homes, Natural Resources Canada said previous testing by the Federal-Provincial Radioactivity Working Group determined that the gas occurs naturally and could not be removed by excavating and clean-filling nearby soil.

“There is no permanent solution for these properties other than maintaining radon reduction systems,” the email said.