[IPSM] Radiation nation

[shelly]

            This Magazine, Nov-Dec 2003 v37 i3 p9(1) (English) 
              Radiation nation.(reopening of Niocan mine has residents nearby worried). David, Dan. 

            EVER SINCE THE "OKA CRISIS" OF 1990, THE Mohawks of Kanehsatake and Quebecois from surrounding towns and farms wanted little to do with each other. Both sides nursed grudges over rock throwing crowds and wrecked homes, lost jobs and ruined lives. Until recently, that is. "We're working together now," says Pearl Bonspille, a band councillor. "The farmers' associations, local environmental groups, people from the area, we're working to stop this mine." 


            The mine in question has been closed since 1976, but Montreal-based Niocan has obtained a provincial permit to re-open it. That has residents worried. For the 15 years it was in operation, locals endured constant explosions, rattling windows and endless lines of heavy machinery clogging the roads. On once fertile farmland, a small mountain of mine tailings grew; rock and silt piled near the main highway between Oka and Montreal. When the wind blew, it carried dust from the tailings over miles of apple orchards, cornfields and cabbage gardens. 


            That would be bad enough, but the tailings--which local construction companies had been using for landfill and the foundations of hundreds of new homes--were radioactive. "There isn't a home or well on the reserve that isn't contaminated," says Bonspille. 


            That's because the niobium that the miners had been extracting was embedded in an ore body that contained radioactive materials. When exposed to the air, it released radon gas--which has been known to cause lung cancer since 1931. Today, the area registers the highest levels of radon emissions in Canada, and digging into the ore body again will release more radioactive material. 


            Niobium is used to harden metal alloys for use in everything from spaceships to artificial hips. It's still a rare and profitable commodity. The only other large-scale niobium mine is in Brazil. Niocan says it hopes to extract $1 billion worth of the mineral over 15 years, spend $1 million training people for hundreds of jobs, infuse millions more into local business, even increase land and housing values. The company says it has satisfied environmental concerns and has the approval of--and financial backing from--the Quebec government. Although all provinces offer subsidies to mining companies, only Quebec makes equity investments in these projects. The government holds a $427,000 stake in the $6 million project. 


            Richard Faucher, Niocan's president, told one newspaper that opposition to the mine is "politically motivated." Mohawks have a claim on the land. He dismisses concerns about safe drinking water, saying Niocan will install a new water system. Worries of additional radioactive contamination? Faucher says the slag "will be no more, no less radioactive" when treated and sealed in old, unused mine shafts. 


            Health Canada sent a letter to the Mohawk band council. "It said everything is fine, the mine won't affect the flora, fauna or the health of the people here," says Chief Steven Bonspille. "What's really disgusting is the role of the federal government," says Joan Kuyek of MiningWatch. "We're talking about uranium, which should come under the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and fisheries, which is supposed to automatically trigger the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, but they're just washing their hands of the whole thing." 


            Pearl Bonspille says the federal government is avoiding an independent environmental review, claiming "it's a provincial matter," while the Quebec government refuses to consider one, "because they're shareholders in the mine." Running out of options, she predicts only demonstrations and roadblocks by a wide coalition of people--Mohawk and non natives--will get governments to act. 
           
     
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