Special Report (September 12, 1978)

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UNION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA INDIAN CHIEFS

SPECIAL REPORT

440 West Hastings, Vancouver, B.C.

September 12, 1978



URANIUM MINING

In the last year the Central Interior has been the focus of the largest mineral exploration program in

the whole province.

The mineral everyone is looking for, and in some cases have found, is uranium.

There are two main reasons for this upsurge. The first is the jump in the price of Uranium from 7—10
dollars a pound in the early 70’s to 40 dollars or more this year. The basic reason for this jump and thus
the new exploration in B.C. was the formation of a cartel or a form of monopoly by the major compan-
ies and countries selling uranium. By secret agreement they forced the price and their profits up to the

present level.

The second reason for the increased activity in Central and Southeastern B.C. is a program jointly
funded by the Federal and Provincial Governments to map out where all the uranium is in the area.
This program was finished recently and now the maps have been released.

In British Columbia there are three major sites
where mines are being proposed. Birch Island on
the North Thompson River is being proposed by
Consolidated Rexpar. According to a recent
report they are moving ahead with their applica-
tion and hope to open up in the early 1980’s. In
the Kelowna-Beaverdell area, there are two major
sites, Hydraulic Lake and Lassie Lake.

However, the whole central and southeastern
interior is under active exploration and other
fields may be potential mines. Companies in-
volved include Placer Developments, Norcen Er.-
ergy Resources, Dupont Explorations, Union
Carbide, E & B Explorations, and others.

For a number of years the mining and milling
of uranium has been a controversial issue. Re-
cently in China Creek, however, residents barri-
caded an exploration road because they felt the
exploration and drilling for uranium on their
watershed might cause health problems for
them.

Two highly carcinogenic (cancer causing)
substances are released when uranium is mined.
One is radium which comes off the uranium in
the form of dust. When swallowed either directly
or indirectly, it is absorbed by the intestines and
carried to the bone. In the bone it can cause
leukemia, cancer of the white blood cells, or
cancer of the bone. The other substance is
Radon gas and if inhaled in large enough doses
it can cause lung cancer. Before all the dangers
of it were known, 20% of uranium miners in the

United States died of lung cancer. Here in
Canada, at Elliot Lake Ontario, a recent gov-
ernment report showed that 80 miners had died
of lung cancer.

When uranium is milled (separated from other
materials and dirt), there is a great deal of waste
material. This material still contains radioactive
material and it is stored in tailing ponds. The
material remains radioactive for over 1000 years
and this can cause serious problems to surround-
ing communities.

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URANIUM REPORT 1

FISH AND WATER THREATENED

The proposed mine at Birch Island near Clear-
water B.C. poses an immediate and long-term
threat to Indian fishing, a threat that the compan-
ies and the government do not acknowledge at
this point. In their proposals and studies to date
they have not considered our traditional rela-
tionship with the fisheries and what effect the
mine might have on that.

The mine itself will be located right beside the
North Thompson River. The tailings pond where
Rexpar plans to dump its waste material will be
only 800 feet from the river. The waste going
into the pond will contain radioactive material
and sulphuric acid. The pond will be 47 acres in
size. The mill will use 500 U.S. gallons of water
a minute or 720,000 gallons of water in one day.

The Risks

The risks are two-fold. One — that the pond
will leach or release too much water into the river
and two, that the river, being young, also floods
and changes course. If it floods high enough it
could carry large amounts of the waste into the
river from the pond.

Once in the river the waste in the form of
Radium 226 and sulphuric acid will gather in the
fish. According to a report done by the Environ-
mental Protection Service of the Federal Gov-
ernment, past experience has shown that

“Fish also tended to concentrate the rad-

jum, mainly in bone tissue, but also to

some extent in the flesh.“

The pond as proposed by the company woulda
be lined with plastic to prevent the waste from
seeping through and into the river. But the
tailings pond will remain radio-active for 1,600
years. Does the company believe the plastic will
protect the river and the fish for that long?

Even the Environmental Protection Service
report raises questions about the possibility of
keeping the waste from the river. They are also
clear about what will happen to the fish if waste
does get in the river.

“These are extremely critical factors for
any seepage emanating (coming) from the
base of the pond will enter the ground
water and the North Thompson River,
thus contaminating fish and public water
supplies. “”

Government Protection Standards Too Low

The company does plan to release some of
the waste back into the river after it has been
treated. They say the waste will meet all the
standards that have been set up by the govern-
ments. However the provincial government does
not have specific control standards relating to
URANIUM REPORT 2

uranium mining in British Columbia.

Federal Standards in this regard have also
been criticized for being too weak. Peter Jensen
a lawyer for a local environmental group met with
officials of the Fisheries Department and he asked
them: if the company followed the regulations
would they*drink the water? All three replied
they would not.



A History of Pollution

Rexpar is a subsidiary of the giant Denison
Mines which operates a big mine at Elliot Lake
Ontario. There people cannot find fish in the ri-
vers because they are so polluted. The waste has
raised the acid and pollution levels of the whole
river basin around the mines.

A report by the Ontario Ministry of the En-
vironment done in 1976 on the Serpent River
found that in most places the situation was not
improving. Although radiation levels were down
some, acid levels still remained above acceptable
levels. The companies still claim that the situa-
tion is improving. If the companies are so sin-
cere in their undertakings to protect the environ-
ment why don’t they spend the time and the
money at Elliot Lake cleaning up the mess they
have already created.

The Fraser River and many of its tributaries
are already polluted to some extent. Fish runs
have decreased because salmon spawning grounds
have been destroyed. This mine and mill, if
built, is One more major threat to the fish and
the river, a needless and unnecessary threat that
will leave the companies with a quick buck and
our people and future generations to suffer the
consequences.



GOVERNMENT
POSITION

The Provincial Government has taken the posi-
tion that mining will go ahead and there will be no
public inquiry at all. They have set up a special
government committee made up of only govern-
ment people.

This position is in direct opposition to the
position taken by our Chiefs at the Central Interior
Conference held in July of this year. It is in direct
opposition to the position of over 40 other organi-
zations in the province of British Columbia.

Instead, Chabot, the mines minister has sug-
gested that he will send government people into
the area of potential uranium mines to calm the
fears of the people about pollution and radiation.

We feel that we have good reasons to be suspi-
cious of this approach. The track record of gov-
ernments protecting our interests in this province
bears this out. Our waters, land and air are already
polluted from other industries, industries which
the government was supposed to control so that
this would not happen. The nature of the Uran-
ium Industry and the possible damage it can cause
should be evidence enough for the Provincial Gov-

ernment to call a halt immediately to any further
plans for the development of mines in British
Columbia.



JOBS?

The proposed mine at Birch Island will provide
only ten jobs for local people in the operation of
the mine. The mine will operate for 4 years. The
other mines being considered at Hydraulic Lake
and near Lassis Lake in the Kettle Valley area
could produce more jobs. But the majority of
them will be the highly skilled kind.

The jobs created will not go to Indian people in
all probability. But the larger question is: Do we
want them. At the present time the two major
trade unions representing miners don’t want them
because of health reasons.

It is a proven fact that miners get cancer from
working in uranium mines. At Elliot Lake, Ontario,
over 80 miners have died from lung cancer accord-
ing to an official government report. The report
Says the situation could get worse with more
people dying in the next few years. Is this the kind
of situation we want our people working in?

SERPENT RIVER BAND REPORTS

FROM: NATIONAL INDIAN BROTHERHOOD

RE: URANIUM MINE INFORMATION RE-
QUESTED

DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 1978

Uranium miningexplodedinto production near
Elliot Lake in the fifties. By the late sixties the
demand for uranium significantly curtailed. Only
two of the original ten mines are currently in oper-
ation.

The issue has surfaced in Serpent River when a
report published by the Ministry of the Environ-
ment, stated that the pollution at the mouth of the
Serpent River was twice the provincial standard.

The river runs for a 58 mile section through a
system of 6 lakes.

The upper section of the river is void of fish
life. The main sources of pollution are waste
water discharges from both active and abandoned
mine tailings. Mine tailings are the residue of
waste products of mining and milling operations.
The tailings have caused an increase in the acidity,
along with high levels of suspended solids and
dissolved sulfates and nitrates. In short, the water
quality will not support fish life. The lakes act asa
settling basin and thus further downstream the
lakes eventually support more and more fish life.

Some fish, as a result of the pollution, are over

the Health Welfare guideline of 1/2 parts per mil-
lion. The river water which is being used by Indian
families is consistently above the Ontario standard
but below the federal standard. So there are argu-
ments as to which standard should apply. The
water quality has not improved much since the
early sixties, and if it has it is because a few smal-
ler mines stopped production. Radiation will most
likely accumulate in the bones of fish so very little
is likely to enter the human path via this route.

Herewith are the concluding remarks of Chief
Loreen Lewis’ statement to the Environmental
Assessment Board of August 1977.

“In closing, Mr. Chairman, may I emphasize
once again that we feel it is tremendously unfair
that certain costs of the uranium mining enter-
prise have been imposed on the Serpent River In-
dian Band. We urge you therefore to recommend
that the companies be required to shoulder their
total costs of doing business, both past and pre-
sent. The Indians of Serpent River after all, have
been carrying many of the Elliot Lake companies
for too long a period. It is about time that this
situation was rectified.”

The new Federal regulations are less likely to
allow the recurrence of Serpent River provided
that they are properly enforced.

URANIUM REPORT 3

LOOK OUT
NORTHWEST

The study that set off the flurry of activity by
mining companies in the South and Central Inter-
ior this year is being extended to the Northwest.

Stokes Exploration Management Co. Ltd.
(SEMCO) has been awarded a 3 month contract to
survey 12,000 square miles of Northwest B.C.

The area covers Stewart, Alice Arm, Terrace,
Prince Rupert and it reaches to the south of Kiti-
mat.

A Semco team of 9 is going around now taking
samples from sediment and water which will then
be analysed for 12 metals including Uranium.

It is anticipated that the company will take
samples from approximately 4,600 sites.

When the testing is completed the results will
be drawn up and released to the public. If uran-
ium is found and it has already been discovered
near Atlin, the people of the North could see
a drastic increase in the search for uranium in the
North West. This would probably begin next
spring.



JE. Ses = - il Pee _ ; =

URANIUM MINES OPPOSED

The major trade unions and churches have all come out against mining uranium in B.C. at this time.
At the very least they want a full scale public Inquiry into the issue and a moratorium for now.

The NDP has come out against it and are suggesting it could be 10 years before all the health prob-
lems could be solved if they can be solved at all.

In Birch Island, Kelowna, Nelson, China Creek, Grande Forks, Rock Creek, and Clearwater local
residents have organized groups to fight against mining uranium.

In 1973, the UBCIC and Fisheries Service of the Pacific Region Department of the Environment
published ‘Indian Fishing and its cultural importance in the Fraser River System,” by Marilyn Bennett.
In the evaluation of impacts of the various projects upon Indian lifestyle in the river systems, the author
concluded that:

THE WATER ITSELF IS PART OF THE TRADITIONAL INDIAN WAY OF LIFE. Most reserves are
located on or within one-half mile of the system’s waterways. Changes in the river environment would
disrupt the established link between the people and the river: a significant aspect of Indian existence.

THE FISHERY RESOURCE PROVIDES PART OF THE FOOD SUPPLY FOR A VERY HIGH PRO-
PORTION OF INDIAN FAMILIES. If the fishery were adversely affected, a large number of Indians
would be without sufficient food. It is doubtful whether alternative forms of sustenance would be
acceptable. Because of the fact that fishing is a fundamental part of our lives, the loss of the fishery
would detach the Indian people from the culture which we have developed throughout the centuries.
In 1978, the situation remains unchanged. At the Central Interior Regional Conference at Vernon, July
1978, therefore the following resolution was proposed and carried.

WHEREAS large mining companies are actively moving to build uranium mines in South Central and
Eastern British Columbia, and

WHEREAS RADIATION POLLUTION from the mining and milling of uranium poses serious health
hazards to our lives and our fish, and

WHEREAS the development of uranium mines will not benefit Indian people in our struggle for survival,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs actively oppose the development
of uranium mines and mills in British Columbia. (George Coutlee, Morris Kruger)

URANIUM REPORT 4