Cameco Plant Closed Until At Least November

Cameco Plant Closed Until At Least November

by Joyce Cassin

http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=688870&auth=By+Joyce+Cassin

Since reporting the discovery of uranium and evidence of other production-associated chemicals in the soil and groundwater beneath its Port Hope uranium hexafluoride (UF6) plant in July, Cameco Corporation has now extended the facility's closure until at least the early part of November.

And it can't say how employees may be affected.

"We had to provide some kind of time table when we made the announcement on July 20, and that's why we said a minimum of two months (for shutdown)," said Cameco Communications Specialist Doug Prendergast. "We still don't know exactly how long it will take."

It's now known that UF6 production will be suspended for a period beyond the initial two months while Cameco continues its investigation and develops its plan. There is not enough information at this time to estimate when UF6 production will restart, but sufficient data to support an estimate is anticipated by early November.

While Cameco stated it will make every effort to find alternative assignments for employees affected by the UF6 shutdown, it may not be possible to avoid some layoffs at the Port Hope conversion facility.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that there's not enough information to say with any certainty what the future holds," said Mr. Prendergast. "We're going to continue to make every effort to provide alternative work (within the plant), but we don't know when or how many employees could be affected."

Cameco and independent experts have been investigating to determine the source of the chemicals, and test holes are being drilled around the area to assist with testing the soil and groundwater in order to determine the precise area affected.

According to a press release issued by Cameco, it still appears the contamination is largely confined to soil and groundwater under the UF6 plant based on a number of tests done on the eight monitoring wells surrounding the site. Information gathered so far also indicates the materials are in an area contained within the Cameco property and do not affect employees' or the public's health and safety.

Groundwater testing to date indicates the presence of uranium, potassium, fluorides and traces of arsenic in some of the soil. Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder) has been hired by Cameco to provide the lead on independent environmental management expertise and their work is being reviewed by other independent experts. Golder is taking ongoing sets of samples from wells and submitting them to an external lab for full analysis of metals, radium and major ions. This includes the monitoring wells located outside the UF6 plant, as well as new test wells that have been installed inside and outside the plant over the past several weeks. Golder will also advise Cameco on preferred options for long-term environmental management of the contamination and on recommended building and equipment upgrades to prevent future incidents. Cameco stated it expects to receive and begin evaluating additional information from Golder in the near future.

It's now known that UF6 production will be suspended for a period beyond the initial two months while Cameco continues its investigation and develops its plan. There is not enough information at this time to estimate when UF6 production will restart, but sufficient data to support an estimate is anticipated by early November.

While Cameco stated it will make every effort to find alternative assignments for employees affected by the UF6 shutdown, it may not be possible to avoid some layoffs at the Port Hope conversion facility.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that there's not enough information to say with any certainty what the future holds," said Mr. Prendergast. "We're going to continue to make every effort to provide alternative work (within the plant), but we don't know when or how many employees could be affected."

Cameco plans to meet scheduled deliveries for the remainder of the year based on existing inventory and production from the Springfield facility.

The company stated it is able to do this even if there is no Port Hope UF6 production for this period. Cameco has sufficient UF6 inventory on hand to meet deliveries until the end of the first quarter of 2008. This assumes customers do not accelerate deliveries and other UF6 production and purchases proceed as planned, stated the release.

Cameco will be going before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) this Thursday; Mr. Prendergast said.