BACKGROUNDER
ON THE DELORO MINE SITE

The Deloro mine site is situated on the Moira River in Hastings County about eight kilometres east of Marmora and about 45 kilometres north of the City of Belleville where the Moira River flows into Lake Ontario's Bay of Quinte. The site covers approximately 900 acres.

Radioactive Contamination at Deloro: Dr. Sharma's Report

The Environmental Bureau of Investigation (EBI) and Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF) have consulted Dr. Hari Sharma, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at University of Waterloo and a Radiation Safety Advisor at the University.

Dr. Sharma visited the Deloro mine site with radiation measurement devices and produced a report. In this report he states:

"Our radiation dose measurements were confined to publicly accessible areas outside the fenced site perimeter between a dwelling [...] (immediately west of the main site gate) and the gate. The radiation dose level was 10 microrem/h (0.01 mrem/h) at 50 feet away from the perimeter fence toward the Lynch dwelling. In the area west of the site gate along the fence, the radiation dose levels ranged from 0.25 to 0.75 mrem/h. The average radiation dose over an area of approximately 200 feet in length and 20 feet in width can be estimated to be 0.5 mrem/h at 1 meter above the ground level. At the ground level, the dose rate was monitored with a Victoreen Model 493 and a 489-110 pancake probe and was found to be about 1-3 mrem/h."

Dr. Sharma continues:

"Any member of the general public who spends 200 hours by the side of the fence south of the main gate will receive radiation dose equal to or in excess of 1 mSv, the proposed maximum annual exposure limit."

Further he adds:

"it is also important to understand that legal exposure limits for radiation do not constitute a "magic line" that separates absolute safety from absolute hazard. Rather, these legal limits represent a level of risk to health that is unacceptable for the relevant population under virtually any circumstance. In the radiation-regulation field, this fact is recognized by the frequent invocation of the so-called "ALARA" principle: "All exposures should be kept As Low As Reasonably Achievable ('ALARA'), social and economic factors taken into account." That principle is often used to force remedial activities that reduce exposures well below legal exposure limits -- typically down to one one-hundredth of those limits. I believe that few of the radiation exposures from areas I have surveyed are being kept as low as reasonably achievable."

And :

"It is my considered opinion that radioactive material that is outside the fenced area, where I measured the radiation field, presents a risk to the general public of deleterious health effects and an impairment to the safety of the general public. Furthermore, ongoing leaching of radium and other radionuclides from the Plant site poses serious environmental problems that have not been addressed. These leachates probably drain into the Moira River basin."

Radioactive Contamination at Deloro:
Additional Measurements

On a separate occasion, EBI investigators detected high radiation levels on the eastern edge of the site, in Young's Creek valley. The measured gamma radiation field was at or above 1 mrem/hour. The Ontario government has been aware of the presence of radioactive uranium in the tailings pile for at least two decades but only last year did a consulting firm conduct a study in this area. The Young's Creek valley is freely accessible to the public and is frequented by deer as well as hunters. A small radiation sign was posted recently but to recognize it, one has to walk through a highly contaminated waste zone.

A 1987 Report to the Siting Process Task force on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal produced by the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office indicates that the site contains 100,000 cubic meters of radioactive material which has contaminated another 300,000 cubic meters of soil.

The MOE had to be ordered more than 18 times by government health and safety inspectors to compel the MOE to protect the workers at the Deloro site from radiation and toxic health hazards.

It is widely recognized that there is no such thing as a safe dose of radiation. That we are constantly exposed to naturally-occurring radiation should be an incentive to reduce exposure to other sources of radiation. Radiation, unlike contaminants can not be diluted, any dose however small has the potential of causing damage to cells, human, animal or plant cells, from which cancer may develop. In an interview with Synapse, Dr. John W. Gofman, a respected researcher and physician, said "any permitted radiation is a permit to commit murder".

Update on the eight water pollution charges brought in 1997

On November 17, 1997, Janet Fletcher on behalf of EBI and represented by Sierra Legal Defence Fund laid eight charges last year against the Ontario government under the federal Fisheries Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act for allowing toxic substances, including arsenic and other heavy metals, to pour out of the Deloro Mine site into the Moira River and Young's Creek.

Adjournments were granted by the court to allow the MOE to investigate and report on the validity of the charges. A 2-volume investigation report was produced more than two months ago and presented to the Attorney General who allowed the legal proceedings to continue. This investigation report which undoubtedly contains important information has yet to be released to the prosecution. The date for the pre-trial hearing has been set for January 26, 1999.

The MOE and the Prince Edward and Hastings County Health Units are withholding information on the health impacts of the contamination from the Deloro requested by EBI through Freedom of Information requests.

EBI with the legal assistance of SLDF is continuing to investigate this site, focusing on the radioactive and heavy metal contamination entering both the Moira River and Young's Creek.

The EBI investigation which led to the eight charges showed high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, cyanide, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc in water. In sediments, concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, cyanide, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel and zinc were elevated. One of the discharges that prompted EBI to lay the original charges contained 16% pure arsenic. This same discharge is still flowing freely into the Moira River. It appears that no remedial measures have been taken in the year since those charges were laid.

The total arsenic present on site has been evaluated to be 100 000 tonnes.7500 tonnes of calcium arsenite are buried at one location and only partially covered with crushed radioactive slag. A 1992 technical report for the Bay of Quinte RAP program states that in regard to arsenic, "The Moira River is the source of 70% of loadings to the Bay, Of this, 40% is attributable to upstream contamination originating from the abandoned mine site at Deloro…" In 1996 alone, over 3270 kilograms of arsenic were discharged into the Moira River from the site. Substantial loadings of the heavy metals, cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc were also discharged into both the Moira River and Young's Creek Off-site sampling conducted this year by MOE showed contamination with arsenic, cobalt, nickel, silver and other heavy metals.

In November 1980, a report was prepared for MOE by Reid, Crowther & Partners entitled, A remedial Clean-up Program For The Deloro Site which suggested that a staged remedial program for the Deloro site could be implemented over a five-year period. The site continues to this day to be the source of uncontrolled discharges of toxic metals into the Moira River and Young's Creek, both fish bearing streams. The Ontario government has yet to obtain and set aside the necessary funds to clean up the site.

Some historical facts on the Deloro mine site

From about the 1860s until 1961, the Deloro site was used for mining and refining. Gold was discovered in 1868 and Deloro was originally the site of extensive gold mining operations which involved the extraction of gold from ore that had a high arsenic content. The Deloro smelter also processed arsenic-bearing silver and cobalt ores from various locations in northern Ontario.

From 1907 to 1961, the Deloro mine and smelter were operated as a subsidiary of M.J. O'Brien Limited and produced silver, cobalt, arsenic and other metals in small quantities. The metal manufacturing department produced alloys particularly stellite, a cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy.

Arsenic based pesticides were also produced from the arsenic by-products of the smelting operations, and continued as an important activity at the site until the market gave way to organic pesticides in the late 1950s.

In 1938, Deloro obtained contracts to supply stellite for the British aircraft industry. Through World War II and the Korean War, the Deloro smelter processed concentrates from African mines as part of the strategic material programs of the Canadian and American governments. After World War II, Deloro metals department continued to be a supplier of jet engine components, most notably as a sub-contractor for the Avro Arrow plane.

As early as 1958, arsenic contamination of the river was reported by the Ontario Water Resources Commission (predecessor of MOE). In late July and early August of that year, a dozen cows died and others became sick of arsenic poisoning after being watered at the river.

In 1961, the smelter closed and Deloro Smelting and Refining Company moved the metals manufacturing division's sale to Belleville. Deloro Stellite was sold to British Oxygen in 1970. However, the Deloro property, its arsenic treatment plant and other remaining buildings were transferred to Erickson Construction Company Limited, a subsidiary of M.J. O'Brien Ltd., which was allegedly set up as a "phantom" or "dummy" company to avoid having to clean up the site.

In regard to the Deloro site, on June 15, 1970, George Kerr, then Minister of Energy and Resources, stated in the legislature that, "The government is taking action against the refinery this year…We are getting the necessary evidence with the idea of placing the company under a ministerial order. It is also quite possible that we will prosecute the company." In 1978, eight years later, the Ontario government finally issued a Control Order against Erickson Construction Company Ltd. requiring the company to take steps to control the discharges of arsenic to the River. Shortly thereafter the company became insolvent and the Ontario government took over the management and control of the site. Erickson Construction existed until 1987 when it was dissolved for failure to pay its corporate taxes.

Even though the Ontario government publicly threatened to prosecute the polluting company in 1970, such a prosecution could not have been successful because the Ontario government had already relieved from all liability, those who had polluted the site after they had reaped vast profits from it. A 1965 Ontario government document reveals that in that year several officials of the Ontario provincial government met with the site's manager and allowed the company to abandon the site and to escape all liability for its cleanup.

In April 1979, the Ontario government took over control of the Deloro site. The then Minister of the Environment, Mr. Norton, exempted the Ministry's activities at the site from an environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act because of the injury or damage caused by the delays that an environmental assessment would bring about.

To this day the heavy metals contamination is still damaging two fish streams. The radioactive emissions, both on and off the site, pose significant health and safety risks to humans and the environment.

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