Canada Tightens Uranium Mining Oversight In Wake of Major Tailings Pond Breach

摘要

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has acted to tighten oversight of uranium tailings facilities following a major tailings pond spill at a gold and copper mine in British Columbia. The Aug. 4 breach at Imperial Metals' Mount Polley mine near Quesnel, B.C., released more than 10 million cubic meters (2.6 billion gallons) of contaminated water and 4.5 million cubic meters (1.2 billion gallons) of fine sand into nearby waterways, leading to a drinking water ban for much of the sparsely populated Cariboo Regional District (37 INER 1129, 8/13/14). "This is a reminder that vigilance must be maintained by ensuring that tailings dams continue to be properly designed, constructed, operated, maintained and monitored to prevent such occurrences," CNSC executive vice president and chief regulatory operations officer Ramzi Jammal said in an Aug. 14 letter to the industry made public Aug. 18.