Uranium soil concentrations at some public properties in Port Hope exceed the levels considered safe by the Canadian Council Ministers of the Environment. Are these soil concentrations hazardous?
A27. Risk assessments conducted in Port Hope indicate that elevated uranium concentrations in some of the region’s soils pose no risk to Port Hope residents’ health. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has monitored soil and vegetation near Cameco’s facility since 1968. In 1991, a human health risk assessment conducted by the MOE concluded that exposures to reported levels of uranium in Port Hope soils (135mg/kg) were not expected to result in adverse health consequences. In 2008, the maximum uranium concentration in Port Hope soil was lower than in 1991 and measured only 93.6 mg/kg. The limited contamination of parklands in Port Hope therefore cannot be expected to result in any adverse health consequences. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) recently published the following Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines for uranium, for the protection of human health and the environment: • 23 mg/kg of uranium for agricultural land use • 23 mg/kg for residential or
