The effects of uranium mines on aquatic environments

We are working with the Clearwater River Dënë Nation and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to better understand the potential risks of uranium mines in Canada

This project creates a research partnership between the Clearwater River Dënë Nation (CRDN), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, and two Canadian universities (the University of Ottawa and Queen’s University). It is designed to create a decolonized and culturally diverse environment, providing treaty partners with an improved model to manage the environmental impacts and risks associated with uranium mines. This project aims to develop an evidence-based framework of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners to improve risk assessment and risk mitigation in the vicinity of north Saskatchewan’s uranium mines.  Our overall goals are to conduct research on the historical and current impacts of uranium mines on lakes near decommissioned, active, and projected uranium mines, and set the foundations for a Risk Management Committee consisting of community representatives, university researchers, and industry experts to determine and communicate risk to the public.   

Our Project, supported by an NSERC Alliance Advantage grant entitled: “Assessing impacts from uranium mines in northern Saskatchewan” will consist of three parts: 

(1) We will assess historical impacts from past uranium mine activities using dated lake sediment cores to determine how uranium mines have affected aquatic ecosystems in the past during periods (especially in the 1950s and 60s) when environmental monitoring was not required. Our team has pioneered the concept of paleoecotoxicology as a way to estimate changes in contaminants to waterways in previous decades, and linking them to biological responses, providing a historical context to the issue of contaminants from uranium mines. 

(2) We will examine the distribution of contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) in aquatic food webs adjacent to uranium mines and determine if animal feeding behaviours (pelagic vs benthic) and trophic position affect the distribution of contaminants in food webs. 

(3) We will form a Risk Management Committee comprised of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners to review risks associated with existing and projected uranium mines with a focus on our Clearwater River Dënë Nation partner community.