ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

It is interesting to review the development of uranium production in Saskatchewan. In Canada, the mineral rights belong to the provinces and each province has the authority to administer licensing as it sees fit. Uranium was discovered in Saskatchewan in 1935 and mined commercially beginning in the early 1950s without any public fuss or fury. Eldorado Mines Ltd operated its Beaverlodge mine and mill for 20 years. In 1975, Gulf Minerals Canada Limited began producing uranium from its Rabbit Lake deposit. The operation began much as any other mine with little fanfare and little public attention.

In November 1976, the Saskatchewan Department of the Environment received an Environmental Assessment and Safety Report from Amok Ltd on the proposed new uranium project near Cluff Lake. Although companies are required to provide certain information on the operation of a mine and its physical environment in obtaining mining permits and licences, there was no legal requirement for such a comprehensive study and report. However, after preliminary study by officials, the Minister of Environment for Saskatchewan decided to ask the Cabinet for a full public inquiry to review the report and study the broader implications of the uranium industry in Saskatchewan.

In February 1977, three commissioners were appointed to comprise the 'Cluff Lake Board of Inquiry'. The inquiry was to provide a comprehensive

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assessment of the probable environmental, health and safety, social and economic effects of the Guff Lake project and a review of the measures proposed by Amok 'to mitigate the harmful effects and to make the project acceptable in all material respects'. In fact, the inquiry became a forum for public debate of the uranium industry at large. The Chairman of the inquiry was E.D. Bayda, a highly respected judge, and the inquiry became popularly known as the 'Bayda Commission or

Bayda Inquiry' as it will be called throughout the text.

The Bayda inquiry filed its report [2] to the Saskatchewan Minister of the Environment on 3 May 1978, some 16 months after its appointment. The Commis-sion conducted formal hearings in Regina and Saskatoon and formal local hearings in about 20 smaller communities in northern Saskatchewan. Formal testimony alone exceeded 10 000 pages of transcript. There were 138 witnesses in 67 days of formal hearings and 32 written briefs. The Bayda Commission report exceeds 400 pages but provides an excellent overview in layman's language.

Participants in the Bayda inquiry fell into four groups:

Proponents Pre-eminent nuclear scientists Older

Established in their field Practical in their approach Work in the nuclear industry.

Opponents Pre-eminent scientists (non-nuclear) Church groups

Anti-nuclear groups Young, university trained

Articulate, intelligent, sincere and idealistic Political activist and committed.

Uncommitted Lack knowledge of nuclear industry Church groups

Northern people Welcome a moratorium.

Disinterested Consider decision a political one and responsibility of government.

The central question as to whether Saskatchewan should now permit uranium mines to be developed within the province led us to many other questions. Some related to the specifics of the Amok Cluff Lake project, but many involved the broadest aspects of the worldwide use of nuclear materials.

There were many contradictions and in some cases it remained a moral rather than scientific question.

Chapters of the final report are as shown in Table I [2]. The Commission dis-cussed seven issues as shown in Table II [2].

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TABLE I. CONTENTS OF CLUFF LAKE BOARD OF INQUIRY REPORT [2]

Chapter Title I Introduction

II The Amok proposal

III Radioactivity and the biological effects of radiation with reference to existing standards

IV Health and safety of the workers V Environmental considerations

VI National and provincial control arrangements VII Economic and social effects generally VIII The north

IX Nuclear power: Safety and the disposal of nuclear wastes X Proliferation and terrorism

XI Moral and ethical issues in the development and use of nuclear energy XII Conclusions and recommendations

TABLE II. ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THE BAYDA COMMISSION [2]

Do measures to protect health and safety meet legal requirements?

Are legal requirements adequate and are standards enforced?

Do measures to protect the physical environment meet the law?

Are such laws adequate and are they enforced?

What are the social and economic effects of the project?

Do such effects militate for or against proceeding with the mine?

Are the broader implications sufficient to warrant not proceeding?

The ultimate recommendation of the Commission was: "We recommend that the Cluff Lake mine/mill proceed subject to the conclusions we have reached and the recommendations we have made in this report". Those conclusions and recommendations related to health and safety, economic benefits to the northern people, and the need for additional baseline data. Interestingly, the Commission concluded that "Uranium can be mined and milled at Cluff Lake without serious deleterious effects on the environment but...". The condition was that Amok

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should have proper baseline data, monitoring procedures, and controls. The Bayda inquiry established a benchmark not only for Amok's Cluff Lake but for the industry in general. The report concluded: "We recommend that the expansion of the uranium mining and milling industry in northern Saskatchewan proceed beyond Cluff Lake mine/mill subject to the applicable conclusions we have made in this report".

Subsequent to the Bayda Commission report, Amok received its permits and licences. In 1982, Key Lake Mining Corporation received its clearances to proceed with mining and milling at this, the third, of the three projects discussed in this report. The Key Lake project required only the normal review of health and safety, and environmental criteria. Further expansion in the future in developments such as Midwest Lake and Cigar Lake following this normal review pattern can be foreseen.