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Province cancels plans to haul radioactive waste to a small northern Ontario community
Province cancels plans to haul radioactive waste to a small northern Ontario community

CBC

time6 hours ago

  • General
  • CBC

Province cancels plans to haul radioactive waste to a small northern Ontario community

Niobium tailings transported to a hazardous waste facility near Sarnia instead Ontario's Ministry of Transportation says it has cancelled plans to haul radioactive waste along Highway 17 from Nipissing First Nation to the small northern Ontario Township of Nairn and Hyman. Instead, niobium mine tailings from a former mill in Nipissing First Nation has been transported to the Clean Harbors hazardous waste facility in Sarnia, Ont. The tailings have low-level radiation from small amounts of uranium contained in the ore. Nipissing First Nation Chief Cathy Stevens said work to remove the tailings started in July and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. "We want our community to finally feel safe in their environment and living in their backyards," Stevens said. The 18,600 cubic metres of tailings were from the Nova Beaucage Mine near Lake Nipissing and sat at a mill in the community, located near a residential area, for 70 years. The original plan was for the radioactive material to be transported to the abandoned Agnew Lake uranium mine near Nairn and Hyman, a township of around 400 people west of Sudbury. That plan sparked several public meetings in the community and some pushback from residents. "People were very concerned that the site had been left in such disrepair, that there was possible leaching of really toxic minerals or heavy metals into the groundwater," said Belinda Ketchabaw, the township's chief administrative officer. Stevens said she didn't understand the opposition to the plan from Nairn and Hyman since the township was already home to an abandoned uranium mine. Ketchabaw said Nairn and Hyman garnered support from local politicians, which she believes contributed to the Ministry of Transportation's change of plans. Stevens credited Nipissing First Nation's lands department for pushing the province to move the tailings. "This decision was made in coordination with Nipissing First Nation and the Ministry of Energy and Mines," Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Tanya Blazina said in an email to CBC News. Ketchabaw said the municipality also had assurances the province would remediate the abandoned Agnew Lake uranium mine – near Nairn and Hyman – and the former mill in Nipissing First Nation. "To be honest, we're just happy that we're moving forward in a safe way for everyone," she said. "Like it, It did need to leave the area of where it was. It was in a residential area of Nipissing First Nation and absolutely had to leave there. But we didn't want it here when there were too many question marks." Corrections:

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