Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Following the publication of the CDUT report, the Canadian federal government im-
plemented a remediation plan for the site that included sealing open entrances and placing
soil caps on the tailings piles. It was finally concluded that the abandoned mine did not
pose a concern under several occasional visit exposure scenarios for campers and fisher-
men. The Port Radium story is a sad lesson on the anxiety and concerns that can be caused
when industrial activities provide little or no environmental and health information to local
residents and when such sites are abandoned with inadequate or no remediation. In many
respects, the Rayrock Mine was a carbon copy of this experience.
Rayrock operated for only a short period of time - from 1957 until 1959. During this
period, 70,000 tonnes of ore were processed to provide 207 tonnes of uranium concentrate.
Radioactive tailings deposited on land partly invaded three small lakes. Abandonment fol-
lowed the all-too-common practice of the day in the Northwest Territories. It was not until
several site assessments had been undertaken in the 1990s that the Canadian federal gov-
ernment stepped in to clean up and remediate the abandoned property in 1996-1997. This
involved sealing mine entrances and ventilation shafts, moving tailings piles and covering
them with soil and vegetation. The site is periodically monitored, and in 2010, Environ-
ment Canada reported that further maintenance of the tailings piles is required.
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