Judge hearing case on whether federal agency should order removal of mining waste from Elliot Lake properties

Three ElliotLake homeowners are being represented in federal court today and tomorrow by the Canadian Environmental Law Association. They'reasking a judge to order the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to compel the clean-up of mining waste from their properties.

The three all own properties where waste rock from Rio Algom uranium mines was used as fill under and around their homes when they were built in the 1970s.

The homes all have higher than acceptable levels of radon gas and require special mitigation to keep them safe.

Radon gas is produced during the decay of elements such as uranium and radium, and is often naturally occurring, but the homeowners feel the mining waste is responsible for their problems.

It's a leading cause of lung cancer.

Jennifer Carling is almost 75 years-old.

She says the radon came as a surprise to her years after she and her late husband purchased the home, and they've had to install equipment to eliminate it.

Carling says an expert also found higher than acceptable gamma radiation in spots outside her home.

As time passes, Carling yearns to sell her home and move on, but says she can't in clear conscience sell the home to somebody else.

"I keep thinking about future generations of children playing on that property and being exposed to radioactivity up to about 15 millisieverts a year, which is 15 times the government norm," said Carling.

Another homeowner, Lisa Speck bought her property for her retirement.

It's a legacy issue, and you know if companies can come into town and leave waste behind and not be held accountable for the clean-up of waste and environmental pollution, we're in big trouble as a country- Lisa Speck, Elliott Lake homeowner

She says the home is built on a swampy area and the only source of radon could be the mining waste brought in as fill beneath her foundation.

To bolster her case, she says she has a signed agreement from the previous owner and Atomic Energy Canada committing to lifting the house and removing the waste, however she says her follow-up with the federal government has been met with silence for years.

Speck says she shouldn't have to be responsible for radon mitigation and neither should any other property owner where mining waste was used as fill.

"It's a legacy issue, and you know if companies can come into town and leave waste behind and not be held accountable for the clean-up of waste and environmental pollution, we're in big trouble as a country," she says.

The third resident, Kathleen Panton, is 85 years-old and lives near Carling.

She's frustrated at the inaction of mining companies or government to fix the problem.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association wrote on their behalf to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) last year asking it to order the current owner of the mines, BHP, to clean up the properties and remove the waste to its tailings facilities in Elliott Lake.

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission responds

The CNSC says it does not have jurisdiction over the issue.

In a public meeting in June, 2023, Kavita Murthy, the director general of the Directorate of Nuclear Cycle and Facilities Regulation, said the material found on the properties contains "naturally-occurring nuclear substances" and therefore isn't the commission's responsibility.

"It was not subjected to any of the chemical or physical processes of the nuclear fuel cycle. It is not considered part of the nuclear fuel cycle."

For Speck, that's not an adequate answer.

"They keep moving the goal post, by first saying they're unaware, then they're saying it's naturally occurring, then saying they don't have powers over removing it," she says.

A judge will hear arguments July 3 and 4 but is not expected to immediately deliver a decision.