Port Hope is a charming, vibrant community renowned for its historic, award-winning downtown and its friendly small-town feel. However, much misinformation has been circulated about the low-level radioactive waste removal.

Soil mixed with small amounts of historic refinery waste, left over from uranium and radium refining operations in the town during the 1930s to 1970s, is being removed by the Government of Canada. This low-level waste does not come from nuclear power reactors.

This operation, called the Port Hope Project, must meet stringent requirements for environmental and public safety and will make Port Hope "one of the cleanest towns in the country."

All Canadians are exposed to natural radiation from the air, ground and food we eat. Port Hope has a lower background radiation level than places like Banff, Alberta where a higher altitude results in increased cosmic radiation.

The radiation exposure of a Port Hope resident is not measurably different than the exposure of a person living in most Southern Ontario communities, including Toronto.

The Facts:

• The proposed long-waste management facility will be located west of Baulch Rd. and south of Highway 401 at the existing Welcome Waste Management Facility.
• Accepted and approved studies of the soil at the Port Hope Golf and Country club site, a former farm, have proven there is no contamination present and it has never been the site of any radioactive waste.
• In addition, every basement dug at Port Hope Golf & Country Club is tested prior to the beginning of construction by PHAI for further reassurance that no contamination exists.
• The Port Hope Project will return remediated sites elsewhere in the municipality to their pre-construction state - or better - and soil will be usable for any purpose, from growing vegetables to recreation.
• The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission report has stated "the estimated intake of uranium in Port Hope are comparable to the Ontario average and are only about 1/10 of the tolerable daily intake value recommended by the World Health Organization and that the region's soil poses no risk to Port Hope residents' health."
• The Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI), which brings together the expertise and resources of Natural Resources Canada, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. And Public Works and Government Services Canada, offers in-depth information and studies regarding the project.

More information can be found at www.phai.ca or by visiting the PHAI at 115 Toronto Rd in Port Hope.

Town of Port Hope: www.porthope.ca

Source: Port Hope Area Initiative