McNamara: Port Hope Conspiracy to Hide Radioactive Waste

[Oscar]

Part One: Port Hope Conspiracy to Hide Radioactive Waste

by Pat McNamara November 3, 2009

I do not make the following statements lightly as I’m well aware of the legal and economic ramifications if I’m proven wrong. However, I cannot stay silent because I accepted a responsibility almost six years ago to improve the conditions at the elementary school my children attended.

In the course of my duties, I found out the gymnasium and kindergarten rooms were built on radioactive waste. The Atomic Energy Control Board (now the CNSC) tested the school in 1978 and found radon levels under these rooms 125 times higher than the allowable level. They covered up the test results and never spoke of it again until I saw the radiological file on the school in April 2004.

Research over the following three years revealed that this was part of a conspiracy to hide the presence and dangers of radioactive waste throughout Port Hope. I’ve been able to trace the conspiracy back to 1966 when it originated between the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) and the Town of Port Hope.

Forty-three years later, the conspiracy is still active and has grown to include the following participants:

Canadian Government
Natural Resources Canada
Health Canada
Atomic Energy Control Board
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Province of Ontario
Ontario Ministry of the Environment
Ontario Ministry of Labour
Ontario Ministry of Health
Ontario Ministry of Education
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
Town of Port Hope
Hardy Stevenson (Port Hope Peer Review)
Dr. Lesbia Smith (Consultant)
Glen Case AECL
Current & Previous Port Hope Councils

All three levels of government, the nuclear regulators and several consultants are guilty of knowingly and maliciously endangering the health and lives of our children by hiding the presence and dangers of radioactive waste in locations throughout Port Hope. The RCMP may be added to this list depending on the content of the report they received from Dr. Andrews in 1966.

The Conspiracy Begins

In 1966, the RCMP brought Dr. D.G. Andrews, Professor Emeritus, Nuclear Engineering, at the University of Toronto to Port Hope to determine if there was enough uranium around to make bombs. Dr. Andrews tested a large number of sites in and around Port Hope. The following are his comments from a 1996 paper titled: “Port Hope Radioactivity Problems” on some of the locations he tested in 1966.

West drainage ditch from Welcome (dump) down to Shoreline: “Clearly there was a steady flow of radioactive effluent leeching out and draining into the Harbour. I commented that none should ever build a dump on a hill above a Town! It was suicidal! Actually builders came and built a row of houses down to the lower level! In the 1976 crisis, the house basements were found to be high-radon and expensive remedial work had to be undertaken”.

East drainage ditch from Welcome down to Shoreline: “The first thing I noted going down the hill was a cottage which had, at its door, a reading of 10 milliroentgen per hour exposure (about 80 rems per year or 80 times the allowable level). Here the later situation was even worse. Builders built a school. In 1975, its basement was found to have high radon too, starting a stampede. The town had known about the contamination, but had cleared the construction of the school regardless”.

Port Granby Dump: “What was annoying was that trucks had carried wastes up to the dump and had left clots of radioactive material on the road measuring up to 30 milliroentgen per hour exposure (about 240 rem years or 240 times the allowable level). I recommended a change to cut and cover”.

The Refinery: “I informed the AECB that Eldorado should have a “buffer zone”. There were houses less than 50 yards from the plant showing one milliroentgen per hour exposure (about 8 rems per year or 8 times the allowable level)”.

Other Contamination: “The lower town streets, the loading bay, the local bathing beach, the water in the harbour and samples from the harbour mud showed radioactivity. Samples from farms on the hilltop also showed radioactivity”.

Dr. Andrews advised the Federal Government that it should begin cleanup of the radioactive waste as soon as possible. According to Dr. Andrews: “The AECB and the town had been interviewed in 1966-67 by myself as to the real radiation levels and their potentially damaging effects. However, urged on by potential developers and others, the town had gone ahead and permitted building right on top of the radioactivity. If the public caught on, then someone would have to pay”.

In section 2.1 of his 1996 paper, Dr Andrews states: “Detailed data were also taken in the period 1966-76 by Dr. Geoffrey Knight of the Atomic Energy Control Board. Unfortunately, his data (Dr. Knight’s) was kept out of sight”.

The AECB and the Town of Port Hope kept this deadly secret to themselves until 1975 when radon levels in St. Mary’s School were found to be 21 times higher than allowable levels.

Port Hope Council Today

The most recent episode in this cover-up took place in the past week when Port Hope Council bought and sold Dr. Power’s School without any due diligence or independent testing as they were morally and legally obligated to do.

It’s been five-and-a-half years since I saw the Dr. Powers School radiological file at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited showing the addition was build on radioactive waste. We’ve waited for the opportunity to conduct independent testing to end the debate. Once again, Port Hope Council dropped the ball.

Despite numerous presentations on our concerns about radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School, Port Hope Council always had the same reply: We can’t do anything because the school board owns the property and they won’t allow anyone to test it.

Mark Stephenson from the Town’s Peer Review team agreed with us that the soil under the addition should be tested to allay the fears of the parents. Mr. Stevenson stated: ”If parents are still concerned about the source of the radon, Council may wish to consider requesting the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board to have soils under the addition of the school tested for soil contamination in the near future”. (Mark Stevenson Aug.5, 2004)

Port Hope Council subsequently passed a resolution to ask the school board to allow independent testing of the school. The school board refused. Dr. Powers Parent Council made the same request and was turned down.

We kept insisting that the town take a firmer stance as they had a responsibility to protect our children. Port Hope CAO Carl Cannon solicited a legal opinion on the Town’s responsibility for ensuring the safety of our children. Mr. Cannon refused to release the legal opinion and the councilors refused to answer any questions on Dr. Powers after Mr. Cannon received it.

Port Hope Council always put the blame on the school board for not allowing testing. That excuse evaporated recently when the Town bought the school from the school board for one dollar. Instead of ordering testing as recommended by the Peer Review and as requested by Council in their earlier resolution and by the Dr. Power’s Parents Council, they sold the property one second after buying it.

Less than a month after the radioactive waste cleanup was given a five-year license, the promise of transparency disappeared like federal subsidies to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Why does Port Hope have a Peer Review team to protect the community if their recommendations are ignored? Why doesn’t Port Hope Council fulfill their obligations as outlined in the legal opinion they received?

Council had a chance to put an end to the Dr. Powers debate once and for all by ordering independent testing when they assumed ownership of the property. Port Hope Council had a chance to put our fears to rest and chose not to do so. They’ve avoided fulfilling their moral and legal obligations to our children and to us.

I’ve had to take this step because there is no mechanism in Canada to hold the nuclear industry, its regulators and its sycophants accountable, nor do I have the resources to commence a legal action against them. I know how powerful these organizations are, but we can’t let that deter us from doing what’s right. The only way we can protect our children and their future is to stand up and speak out, regardless of the consequences.

The following is the radiological history of Dr. Powers School in Port Hope. All of the information comes directly from the files I viewed in AECL’s office and from the files obtained from the School Board through a Freedom of Information request. The paper is quite long but it is thorough. I sincerely hope that the people responsible for this atrocity rot in hell.

Dr. Powers School 1975-79

Dr. Powers’ Elementary School was built in 1925. The gymnasium and kindergarten area were added in 1950. Unfortunately, the excavated hole for the foundation of the addition was filled back in with radioactive waste from Eldorado Nuclear.

Discovery of Radon

All schools in Port Hope were tested after radon levels 21 times higher than the regulatory level were found at St. Mary’s School. The students from St. Mary’s were moved to other schools for two years while the Canadian Government removed the radioactive waste.

The first radon testing at Dr. Powers School occurred on December 19, 1975. Follow-up testing was done on Dec. 23, 1975, Jan. 7, 12, 13, 20 and 22, 1976. Every round of testing had radon readings above the allowable level of 3pCi/L in effect in Ontario at that time.

This allowable level was set by the Ontario Ministry of Labour to protect workers in a workplace setting. It did not take into account radon’s increased risk to children because of their undeveloped immune systems and higher organ activity levels.

Ontario Ministry of Labour

The initial radon test results from Dr. Powers are contained in a February 20, 1976 letter from Dr. Aitken of the Ontario Ministry of Labour to Director of Education Mr. W.F. Thom. Dr. Aitken assures Mr. Thom that the school is safe despite radon levels over six times higher than the allowable level.

Dr. Aitken’s letter also shows the results from limited testing at George Hamilton School in Port Hope and Burnham School in Cobourg. Dr. Aitken states: “these schools were tested because there were reports that contaminated fill may have been used at these two schools as well”. There will be more on these schools later.

The next entry in the file was the July 26th, 1976 report of testing of the school and the playground for gamma radiation. The report showed elevated gamma levels along the inside of the west wall. The area along the west wall of the school was subsequently covered in asphalt which encapsulates gamma radiation.

In a December 1, 1977 letter Mr. Spence (AECB) stated that Dr. Aitken from the Ontario Ministry of Labour requested that no further action be taken at Dr. Powers School. There is no explanation given for Dr. Aitken’s termination of further testing. Dr. Aitken was still hiding the presence of the danger to our children two years after the radioactive waste was discovered.

Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity

The Federal and Provincial Governments realized they had a large problem on their hands when so many buildings in Port Hope were found to be contaminated with radioactive material after testing was conducted in 1975 and 1976. They formed the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity (FPTFR): “to coordinate a national program of radioactive contamination assessment and remedial measures” (Atomic Energy Control Board, Info Bulletin 77-2)

The FPTFR states: “The primary clean-up criteria for radon daughter products, is 20 Milli Working Levels (4pCi/L). In addition, if contamination is found that was introduced by human activities, it should where practical, be removed to an approved site”. (Atomic Energy Control Board, Info Bulletin 77-2)

The new cleanup criteria the FPTFR established raised the allowable radon level from 3 to 4pCi/L or a jump of 33%. At a time when the rest of nuclear countries in the world were lowering their allowable levels, the Canadian Government went the other way.

The FPTFR continues: “In addition to the primary criteria for radon daughters, a lower investigation level is specified. The investigation level is needed because the concentration of radon and its daughter products varies widely from time to time and place to place, and therefore a measurement that is close to the clean-up criterion is insufficient by itself to indicate whether remedial action is needed. The investigation involves repeating the measurements and looking for sources of contamination”. (Atomic Energy Control Board, Info Bulletin 77-2)

The FPTFR instituted an “investigation level” of 2pCi/L which would trigger a search for the source of the elevated levels of radon. The FPTFR reasoned that 2pCi/L was indicative of man-made contamination as background levels of radon in and around Port Hope had never tested higher than 1pCi/L.

The FPTFR states: “Remedial measures start with a detailed survey of the building and its surroundings in order to locate and identify the source of the radon or gamma radiation. Any radioactive material found will be removed to an appropriate waste management site, or if this is not practical, other measures may be taken such as improving the ventilation or sealing the walls and the floor of the basement. Once remedial measures have been started, they should be continued until the radiation and radon levels have been reduced to the normal range of the background in that region, or below the criterion, whichever is lower”. (Atomic Energy Control Board, Info Bulletin 77-2)

With the exception of raising the allowable level of radon in buildings by 33%, the criteria established in this document are responsible and pragmatic. They were meant to protect people. Unfortunately, the Canadian Government seldom adhered to them.

Atomic Energy Control Board

Two-and-a-half years after the elevated radon levels were discovered, the Canadian Government finally agreed to do a detailed investigation at Dr. Powers School. The first mention of this round of testing in the file I viewed was a June 6, 1978, letter from Mr. Little, the Principal at Dr. Powers School which stated: “Dr. Aitken from the Ontario Ministry of Labour ordered a detailed survey for abnormal source of radon and to take remedial action to remove it”.

There is no reason given for Dr. Aitken’s change-of-mind about further testing and possible remediation. It is obvious that Dr. Aitken still had jurisdiction at Dr. Powers. What is not obvious is why he waited 2.5 years before he ordered testing.

The investigation was to be carried out by the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB). Rod Hendrickson, AECB Project Co-coordinator wrote to W.F. Thom, the Director of Education for the Northumberland, Newcastle Board of Education June 8, 1978, to start the program: “The clean-up program (of Port Hope) is now well underway and Dr. Aitken has asked me to have our Program Manager conduct a detailed survey of the School Property to establish whether there is an abnormal source of radon, and if so, to take remedial action to remove it. Prior to any detailed investigation and subsequent remedial work, if required, you are requested to enter into an agreement with the Atomic Energy Control Board.”

Mr. Hendrikson is very clear in stating that the AECB would clean up the source of the radon if it was found. The letter also informed Mr. Thom that James MacLaren was contracted as program manager and that the “investigation” would be done during summer holidays.

The AECB and The School Board signed an agreement on June 22, 1978, empowering the AECB to conduct an investigation and remediation on Dr. Powers School. The Agreement begins:

“And Whereas an initial survey of the said premises indicated the presence thereon of radioactivity”.

“And Whereas the Board (AECB) and the owner (school board) consider it necessary that the Board enter upon the said premises (Dr. Powers School) and take such measures as the Board deems essential to remove or reduce the level of radioactivity present thereon”

“And Whereas the Board without acknowledging any liability to the owner is prepared to proceed with this remedial work and assume full responsibility for the costs and expenses involved”

The AECB should be producing such a very clear document today instead of trying to confuse us. This agreement clearly states that they have already determined that there is radioactive material present, though the testing they are basing this on is not identified. The AECB also assumes full responsibilities for the cost of remediation.

On July 7, 1978, Director of Education Thom wrote to Rod Hendrickson at AECB telling him that two copies of the Agreement had been signed and sent to the AECB with the understanding that one copy would be returned to the School Board.

1978 Test Results

The AECB testing at Dr. Powers School took place on July 25, 26 and August 8, 1978. The following chart shows the radon test results in Pico curies per litre (pCi/L).

Location July 25/78 July 26/78 Aug 8/78 Aug 8/78 Aug 8/78

10:30 13:30 Heater On 14:30 Fan On

Storage 2 3.3 2.4 0.5 2.0 3.0

Storage 3 1.1 - 3.0 1.4 5.0

Gymnasium 2.6 1.4 2.2 1.7 1.0

Cloak Room 3.8 1.4 3.1 3.8 1.6

Kindergarten 3.7 2.0 1.5 1.8 0.3

S-2 Sump 10.4

S-4 Sub-slab 14.3 198 276 506.9 2.0

The radon test results were included in an August 9, 1978 report from R. Beal to E.J. Chart of James MacLaren and copied to Rod Hendrickson at AECB. In his conclusion, Mr. Beal states: “Samples at S-4 (sub-slab) and in store rooms (A-1 & A-2) would appear to indicate the presence of source material beneath the slab”.

This letter leaves no doubt that the AECB knew of the presence of radioactive material under the slab supporting the gymnasium and the kindergarten room and that the levels were 126 times higher than mandated remediation levels set by the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity.

If you look at the sub-slab results in the table above, you will see that radon levels were 14.3pCi/L or 3.5 times higher than the allowable level when the hole through the slab was opened and tested on July 25. The test result the next day was 198pCi/L or 49.5 times the allowable level.

The first test done on August 8, at 10:30 registered 276pCi/L or 69 times the allowable level. The second test on August 8, was at 13:30 after the heating system was turned on. The radon level was 506pCi/L or 126 times the allowable level. Of further concern is that the radon levels were still rising when testing was stopped. r than the must be undertaken to remoThey plugged the hole in the slab and never spoke of this lethal level of radioactivity under our children again until I saw the file in April, 2004.

I have underlined 13 test results that were above the 3pCi/L regulatory level that was in place when the first radon testing was done in 1975-76. These results explain why the FPTFR raised the allowable level of radon 33% from 3pCi/L to 4pCi/L the previous year. All interior parts of the addition to the school tested between 3 and 4pCi/L. It was easier and cheaper for them to raise the allowable levels than it was for them to clean the radioactive waste from the schools and other buildings in Port Hope.

The radon level doubled in a three-hour period when the heating system was turned on and was presumably still rising. We have never found out what the actual radiation levels are beneath the school because the material beneath the slab was never tested again.

The slab under the addition could have cracked at any time during the 29 years since the Canadian Government hid the presence of the radioactive waste. The children sitting on the floor of the two rooms near the cracks would be inhaling 126 times the allowable level of radon. This level is lethal.

Despite their knowledge of this ticking time bomb, the Canadian Government ordered no monitoring, testing or inspections of Dr. Powers School for the next 29 years. This is simply not responsible behaviour for the people charged with our protection. The Canadian Government sacrificed our children to avoid their responsibility for the cleanup of the radioactive waste under the school.

These are the results of follow-up testing in December, 1978 and May, 1979.

Location December 6/78 Dec 7/78 Dec 8/78 May 4/79

Supply Room 2 2.4 0.9 1.6 0.9

Supply Room 3 0.65 0.6 0.9 1.0

Gymnasium 2.1 1.8 3.4 1.4

Kindergarten 1.9 1.9 1.6 2.8

This round of testing once again indicates the presence of abnormal sources of radon by the number of readings above the investigation level of 2 pCi/L.

The Cover-up

Glen Case of James MacLaren (Consultants), wrote a letter to the AECB File in Port Hope and Toronto on February 6, 1979 stating: “The latest set of data for 64 Ward St. is attached. Based on this winter set of samples, it would appear there is not a radon problem. Unless otherwise instructed, we will not be taking any more samples in this structure”. There is a note attached to this letter from Ted Chart (Glen Case’s associate) that he wants a couple of more samples from Dr. Powers.

Ted Chart’s February 14th 1979 letter to Glen Case states: “I’ve reviewed your preliminary report on this location. It appears the gym does not satisfy the “RASMO Criteria” (RAdiation Survey MOnitoring). I think it would be worthwhile to further sample that location if Rod (Hendrickson) hasn’t sent them (School Board) a letter”.

This was the earliest I came across Glen Case’s name in a radioactive waste file. Mr. Case is now in charge of the radioactive waste cleanup of Port Hope. Glen Case has been hiding the presence of radioactive waste at the expense of the health of Port Hope residents for 29 years.

A final round of testing took place on May 4, 1979. As can be seen from the results in the chart above, the radon level in the gymnasium had dropped to allowable levels. However, the radon level in the kindergarten now exceeded the RASMO criteria.

Rod Hendrickson (AECB) wrote a note to file on November 8, 1979 saying the final letter had been sent to the property owner and that the file was now closed. There was no copy in the file of the letter that was sent to the property owner (School Board) or to the Ontario Ministry of Labour which had ordered the survey and remediation.

On January 29, 1980, Rod Hendrickson wrote to Mr. Little, the Dr. Powers Principal. Mr. Hendrikson stated: “All readings are within the criteria established by the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity”.

There is no truth to Mr. Hendrikson’s statement. The criteria established by the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity were disregarded throughout the testing process. They found the source material under the gymnasium and kindergarten. They were mandated to remove the material and did not do so.

Freedom of Information Request

On October 13, 2005, I submitted a formal request for information to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPR) under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for:

- all the radiological files for the seven public schools in Port Hope and

- all correspondence between the nuclear regulators and the school board

The only files the School Board provided prior to 1992 was the 1976 letter from Dr. Aitken and the June 22, 1978 Legal Agreement between the School Board and the Atomic Energy Control Board. They provided no other documents for this 16 year period.

Are we to believe that the Atomic Energy Control Board kept the School Board in the dark for 14 years about the elevated levels of radon at Dr. Powers School? Or is the School Board simply not releasing the files because they are trying to hide the fact that they knowingly endangered our children?

I contacted the Privacy Commissioner on December 12, 2005, to file a complaint against the School Board for the missing documents. To date, the only additional documents they have provided were the aforementioned ones from June 8, 1978, July 7, 1978 and January 29, 1979.

It would be most enlightening to get a copy of the letter Rod Hendrikson from the Atomic Energy Control Board sent to the property owner (School Board). It is the only way we will learn whether the nuclear regulators told the School Board the truth about the radiological conditions at Dr. Powers.

I found it odd that there was no correspondence in the file we viewed to or from Dr. Aitken’s with the exception of his February, 1976, letter. Considering Dr. Aitken ordered the testing and remediation, you would think that the Atomic Energy Control Board would have sent him the results.

There was no documentation giving Dr. Powers School a clean bill of health in the file we viewed at Atomic Energy Canada Limited or in the files sent by the School Board. These and many other documents were missing from the files.

Conclusions

On the evidence presented in the files I have viewed:

The Canadian Government and the Ontario Ministry of Labour did not tell the school board about the radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School after the AECB testing in 1978.

Dr. Aitken of the Ontario Ministry of Labour and Rod Hendrickson from the Atomic Energy Control Board conspired to hide the presence of radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School from the School Board and the parents of Port Hope.

“Source material” (radioactive waste) was found under the kindergarten and gymnasium slab during the 1978 testing that exceeded the remediation levels of the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity. No cleanup was undertaken by the Canadian Government as mandated in the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity.

Dr. Aitken and Rod Hendrickson did not tell the truth to the school board and the Principal about the presence and dangers of radioactive waste at Dr. Powers School.

Dr. Aitken and Rod Hendrickson conspired to hide the radioactive waste to avoid the cost and bad publicity of having to clean up another school in Port Hope.

The Atomic Energy Control Board did not act in a responsible, legal and prudent manner after it was determined that radioactive waste was present under Dr. Powers School. They were clearly mandated by the criteria established in the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radiation to remove the radioactive material from Dr. Powers School.

Once the Atomic Energy Control Board decided they would not clean up the radioactive waste, the following steps should have been taken to ensure the safety of our children.

The Atomic Energy Control Board should have ordered further sub-slab testing in 1978 when the hole through the slab tested at 506pCi/L to determine the type of material.

Remediation work should have been ordered on the 2 store rooms that consistently have tested several times higher than the action level since 1976.

Ongoing monitoring should have been ordered since 1978 when the readings above the action level were confirmed in the store rooms and the 506pCi/L sub-slab reading were obtained.

Full disclosure should have been made to the parents and the school board about the potential severity and consequences of the problem.

None of these steps were taken. No waste cleanup, no radon monitoring, no classroom testing and no warning to the parents or school board in 29 years.

I sent the radon test results from 1978 and the four steps above to Norman Rubin, one of the foremost independent nuclear analysts in Canada. Mr. Rubin replied: “I agree completely with all four of your points, and I am happy to have you repeat that as you wish. I believe that reasonable people can disagree on whether or not it makes sense to excavate a collection of radon-emanating wastes that are (still, I assume) successfully encapsulated under the sub-floor of a school gymnasium. On the other hand, I don’t think any reasonable people would suggest that these wastes should be left there without any meaningful, ongoing monitoring program to ensure that the concrete slab encapsulating the wastes remained intact. The excessive radon levels in the school store rooms also undoubtedly deserve more attention than they are getting at present”.

Dr. Powers School 1992-96

No testing, monitoring or remediation work was performed at Dr. Powers Public School for 13 years from 1979 to 1992. There were no entries in the file we viewed at Atomic Energy Canada Limited nor did the School Board provide any correspondence for this time period.

Most of the following information came from the files the School Board provided in response to my Freedom of Information request. I also spoke to former members of the Environmental Advisory Committee in addition to researching the closure of St. John Bosco School in 1981.

The School Board gets Suspicious

In 1992, the School Board commissioned the Canadian Institute for Radiation Safety (CAIRS) to screen all of the schools within their jurisdiction for radon gas. This is the first instance of independent radiological testing at the schools.

There was no reason given for the School Board’s decision to test for radon after 13 years. It is odd that the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office (LLRWMO) was not asked to be involved, especially in the Port Hope schools, as they provide the service free-of-charge.

The radon measurements in 76 schools were carried out March 12-19, 1993. The Report on the radon screening project was released on May 31, 1993. CAIRS recommended that Dr. Powers School and Hastings Public School be tested more thoroughly as a follow up to the radon screening project because of elevated radon levels.

The report on the “retesting” of Dr. Powers School was released on November 2, 1993, and states: “Follow up testing at Dr. Powers Public School shows a number of readings at the intermediate level. It also shows one reading at 25 mWL, which is above the approved action level of 20 mWL. Except for one location, these readings are significantly higher than those obtained in the original screening program”. CAIRS recommended a second stage of follow up testing at Dr. Powers School.

CAIRS January 27, 1994, report on the second retesting of Dr. Powers School states: “As can be seen from the table, the second follow up testing at Dr. L.B. Powers Public School shows only one location, the Gymnasium, with a reading of 17 mWL in the intermediate range, but still close to the action level”. CAIRS recommended that remedial work be carried out at Dr. Powers to reduce the radon level.

In a letter to the School Board on February 15, 1994, CAIRS’ recommendation was that: “All cracks in the solid floor and in walls in contact with soil, openings around utility penetrations and construction joints should be identified and sealed off. For this purpose, Ener Foam, which is a polyurethane insulation material, can be used”.

The school board carried out the suggested remediation in the gymnasium only. In a letter from Jeff Berry (School Board) to Reza Moridi (CAIRS) Mr. Berry states: “The remedial work involved at Dr. L.B. Powers involved removing a 2”x 2” part of the wood baseboard and foaming in the void around the perimeter of the room (6 hours labour)”.

CAIRS’ May 29, 1994, report on the remediation work the School Board performed at Dr. Powers’ state: “As can be seen from the table, the results of all radon testing in the gymnasium are essentially the same. This suggests that the remedial work carried out in the gymnasium did not reduce the radon level in the gymnasium. CAIRS recommends that further remedial work be carried out to reduce radon levels and that once the remedial work is done, the rooms be retested”.

The School Board refused to do any further remediation work. They clearly contravened the criteria of the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity which states: Once remedial measures have been started, they should be continued until the radiation and radon levels have been reduced to the normal range of the background in that region, or below the criterion, whichever is lower”. (Atomic Energy Control Board, Info Bulletin 77-2)

End of Part One

[Oscar]

Part Two: Port Hope Conspiracy to Hide Radioactive Waste

by Pat McNamara November 3, 2009

A New Conspiracy

Instead of complying with their legal obligation to continue remediation work, the School Board contacted the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office (LLRWMO). On November 30, 1995, Jeff Berry (School Board) wrote to Brad Franklin (LLRWMO) asking “We would appreciate copies of any records your office may have with respect to testing and or remedial work done at any of our Port Hope schools and especially Dr. Powers PS”. The letter also contains the floor plans, monitor locations and CAIRS test results.

R.W. Pollock (LLRWMO) responded to Jeff Berry (School Board) on January 30, 1996. Mr. Pollock states: “As requested in your letter, we will compile and forward to you a summary of test results and remedial work for all Northumberland-Clarington Board of Education Schools in Port Hope. We are pleased to do this, since we agree this type of information should be in your files, however it will likely be several weeks before we have completed this review”.

The School Board did not provide this summary in response to my Freedom of Information request or the subsequent request by the Information Commissioner. This document will show whether the Atomic Energy Control Board informed the School Board of the true extent of the contamination beneath Dr. Powers School. If the School Board was provided with the same files I saw at the AECL office, the School Board knew about the presence of the radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School.

LLRWMO took over the testing at Dr. Powers School. On February 29, 1996, Mr. Franklin (LLRWMO) writes Jeff Berry (School Board) stating: “Enclosed please find a detailed proposal of the measurements, of radon concentrations at Dr. Powers School”.

The results of the testing by LLRWMO were included in a May 23, 1997, letter from R.W. Pollock (LLRWMO) to Jeff Berry (school board). Mr. Pollock states: “The report concludes that radon and radon progeny concentrations measured at Dr. Powers School during conditions of normal occupancy and operation of the ventilation system are well within the criterion established for remedial action. Other findings are detailed in the report”.

The Canadian Government and the School Board conspired to hide the presence and danger of radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School.

Independent Testing

The radon testing conducted by CAIRS in 1993 was the first and only independent study ever carried out on Dr. Powers School. CAIRS recommended remediation work.

Every other test over the past 30 years has been performed by one of the Canadian nuclear regulators. They have never recommended remediation work at Dr. Powers School. Who do we believe; an independent company or the regulator responsible for the deposition of the radioactive material throughout our community in the first place?

Parents in Port Hope have never been able to have the schools or any other building tested by an independent third party. The parents have never been able to get answers. In the past, the School Board faced many of the same frustrations as the parents.

In 1980 at a meeting between the Separate School Board and parents trying to keep St. John Bosco School open, Director of Education Peter Roach stated: “We have found it extremely frustrating to find someone who could give us an honest independent study who isn’t tied to the nuclear industry. I could not come across anyone who could do an independent study”. (Evening Guide Nov. 26/80)

The School Board was criticized by the parents because there was only one set of (radon) readings done on the schools, which they didn’t consider a study. Board Chairman Corkery admitted that there wasn’t an independent study done, because the board could find no independent agency able to do it.

Chairman Corkery conceded that the Board was not coming to the meeting with complete information. He recalled that at the April special meeting of the Board in Campbellford, “there was a commitment to have an independent study done and to leave the school open for one year”. (Evening Guide Nov. 26/80)

St. Mary’s, St. Anthony and St. John Bosco schools were tested in May of 1980. The Atomic Energy Control Board never released these test results to the School Board. They simply told the School Board that the schools were safe and that the levels at St. John Bosco School were higher than at St. Mary’s.

It is apparent that there was a great deal of mistrust. The parents obviously did not trust the test results put forward by the Atomic Energy Control Board. The School Board was unable to reassure the parents because there was no way to have anyone but the Atomic Energy Control Board conduct the testing at the school.

It’s now 26 years later and we still cannot get independent testing in our schools to re-assure ourselves. But now, it’s the School Board who is preventing the testing to hide their conspiracy with the Canadian Government. We must have independent testing as the Canadian Government regarding nuclear issues. We must be allowed to find out what our children have been exposed to. We must have the peace of mind of knowing they have been safe.

Environmental Advisory Committee

Port Hope’s Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) put forward a motion to the LLRWMO to conduct radon testing at Dr. Powers School in February 1996. This was in response to concerns that had been raised by Dr. Powers’ parents over the safety of the school. The School Board had done nothing for almost two years at Dr. Powers after CAIRS recommended further remediation.

The LLRWMO responded to the EAC by letter on February 16/96. Director R.W. Pollock stated: “The most recent readings taken in the school and analyzed by the Canadian Institute for Radiation Safety (CAIRS) last year showed readings unchanged from earlier results obtained in 1994. Of those results, CAIRS noted a reading in the gymnasium which was in the intermediate range, but still close to the action level, and noted that except for this location, the remaining readings were significantly below the action level”.

CAIRS did say that radon levels were unchanged from earlier results, but they were referring to the fact that the remediation work had not lowered radon levels. CAIRS’ stated: “As can be seen from the table, the results of all radon testing in the gymnasium are essentially the same. This suggests that the remedial work carried out in the gymnasium did not reduce the radon level in the gymnasium. (CAIRS May 29/94)

Mr. Pollock’s comment on the elevated radon level in the gymnasium leaves little doubt that radioactive material was present underneath. The gymnasium tested above the action level while the remaining readings were significantly below. Background radiation does not behave this way.

The Environmental Advisory Committee was given previous test results at Dr. Powers School and assured that there was no problem. However, the LLRWMO did not give the EAC the results of the sub-slab testing which showed radon levels 126 times higher than the remediation level. Needless to say, the EAC was outraged when they found out about the sub-slab testing in 2004.

The EAC was disbanded by Port Hope Council shortly after this as they continued to ask nuclear related questions the regulators could not or would not answer. Port Hope Council previously dismantled the Nuclear Monitoring Committee in the 1980s because their questions were reflecting badly on Port Hope.

Conclusions

The only independent radiological test ever undertaken in Port Hope recommended remedial action be taken to lower radon levels in Dr. Powers School

Cursory remediation by the School Board did not lower radon levels and further remediation was recommended.

The School Board refused and instead called in the Canadian Government’s LLRWMO.

The LLRWMO tested Dr. Powers School and gave it a clean bill of health.

The School Board was now aware of the radioactive waste under the school from CAIRS and from the files they received from the LLRWMO.

The School Board conspired with the Canadian Government (LLRWMO) to hide the presence and danger of radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School.

Despite their knowledge of the presence of radioactive waste under Dr. Powers, the School Board and the LLRWMO took no precautions to ensure the safety of our children.

There was no testing, no monitoring and no remediation work performed at Dr. Powers Public School for the next 8 years from 1996 to 2004. There were no entries in the file we viewed at Atomic Energy Canada Limited nor did the School Board provide any correspondence for this time period.

Dr. Powers School 2004-2006

The playground at Dr. Powers Elementary School had been neglected by the School Board for several years because of lack of funding. The School Board solved that problem by making the Parents Council responsible for the costs of playground upgrades.

In February, 2004, the Parents Council at Dr. Powers voted to change and upgrade the playground at the school. I volunteered to Chair the Playground Upgrade Committee as my thirty years experience in construction would be an asset in completing the project. We finished the plan for the upgrade in two months and were ready to start moving dirt.

By law in Port Hope, the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office (LLRWMO) must be contacted to inspect all soil that will be disturbed in any way. During the April Parent Council meeting, the Principal, the Parent Council and our Trustee Erin Brown agreed that it would be my responsibility as Chair of the Playground Upgrade Committee to contact LLRWMO.

I knew the technician who came to survey the playground since we were kids. We started walking a grid pattern around the playground with the Geiger counter dangling to detect radiation. Within minutes of arriving, the technician found an area of elevated gamma radiation along the west side of the playground. The technician had no answer for me when I asked him why previous surveys of the property had failed to detect these elevated levels of gamma radiation.

I contacted Joe Flanagan at the School Board for permission to see the radiological file on Dr. Powers School at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited in Port Hope. Joe said it was fine by him and that I should contact LLRWMO to set up a time to look at it. LLRWMO scheduled me early the following week on April 26, 2004.

Meeting Glen Case

The LLRWMO had an information booth set up at the Port Hope Home Show two days before I was scheduled to see the Dr. Powers School radiation file. When I got to the booth, Director Glen Case (LLRWMO) was speaking with Faye More, Chair of the Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee. Glenn Case has been involved in “radioactive waste management” in Port Hope since 1978.

I asked Glenn Case about radon issues at Dr. Powers School. He told me that there had been some elevated levels in the past but that remedial work had solved the problem and that there were no further concerns. I asked Faye More if she would like to view the Dr. Powers file with me on April 26, 2004, and she said yes.

Viewing the File

Ms. More and I arrived at LLRWMO and told the receptionist we were there to see the Dr. Powers file. The receptionist, a friend through school, said it would take us a while because the file was four inches thick. By the time we got the file from Glenn Case, it was a little less than an inch thick.

Within minutes of starting to read the file, it was obvious that Glenn Case had not told us the truth at the Home Show. Glenn Case was aware of elevated radon levels at Dr. Powers School dating back to December 19, 1975. Glen Case was also aware of the ”failed attempt” at remediation in the gymnasium in 1994, though he told Ms. More and I otherwise. (”The results of all radon testing in the gymnasium are essentially the same. This suggests that the remedial work carried out in the gymnasium did not reduce the radon level in the gymnasium”. CAIRS May 29/95)

The files clearly showed that the Canadian Government has known about the presence of elevated radon levels and radioactive material at Dr. Powers for 30 years.

I realized why the School Board tried so hard to close the school the year before. They wanted Dr. Powers closed before we found out about the radioactive waste under the kindergarten and gymnasium.

There was no correspondence in the Dr. Powers file:

From the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the Responsible Authority in this matter

Between the Ontario Ministry of Labour and AECB who were testing and remediating the sites contaminated by the Canadian Government.

Between the AECB and the School Board giving the school a clean bill of health.

With the Town of Port Hope.

There were at least eight documents referenced that were not in the file.

Pictures of the Storerooms

I went to Dr. Powers School with a camera when I left LLRWMO. I went into both storerooms that were adjacent to the material under the kindergarten and gymnasium. The only sign of remediation was the duct tape hanging from the ends of the pipes and one drain pipe plugged with foam.

There were two “abandoned” pipes going through foot square openings in the concrete wall. There was bare earth surrounding these pipes. They were the “feed” and “return” lines from the hydronic (pipes in slab) heating which had been replaced in the 1990s. The heating system was changed because the testing done in 1978 showed that the radon levels almost doubled when the hydronic heating system was turned on. The School Board knew about the results of 1978, otherwise, this change would not have been made.

The doors to the storerooms originally had glass panels in them. They were replaced with louvered panels in the 1990s to allow the radon gas to escape into the hallways. The 26 pictures clearly show that no remediation had been done unless you consider duct tape to be adequate to protect our children from radon gas.

Failure of the Peer Review

My next stop was at Port Hope Town Hall. It was my moral and legal responsibility as part of the playground committee to report what I had found. As the Mayor wasn’t in, I spoke to Linda Thompson, Port Hope’s Deputy Mayor about my concerns. Ms. Thompson told me to contact Mark Stephenson (Hardy Stephenson) who had been hired by the Town of Port Hope to Peer Review the actions of the LLRWMO’s initiatives in Port Hope.

I met with Mark Stevenson mere minutes later and went through the notes I had taken on the Dr. Powers file. Mr. Stephenson sent Dr. Roa to review the Dr. Powers School file. Dr. Roa determined that, based on the last testing done in 1996, the radon levels in Dr. Powers had been safe for the children from 1996-2004. How could he make that determination if no testing had occurred in 8 years, especially considering previous testing by CAIRS had shown the radon levels to be above the remediation level?

Dr. Roa said the sub-slab reading 126 times higher than the allowable level was of no consequence. He couldn’t understand why it was even included in the files. Further, Dr. Roa found no fault with going 8 years without testing or monitoring. This is absurd considering the changes than occur in foundations and the soils under them.

The school board’s first response was to send their maintenance staff into Dr. Powers School to remediate the storage rooms which had consistent radon readings several times higher than the remediation level at every series of tests since 1975. The School Board then asked LLRWMO to test the school. The testing “after remediation” determined that radon levels had been safe for the previous 8 years.

It is impossible for them to know if the levels were safe if they didn’t test prior to remediation. This would be the same as the police pulling over a drunk driver and sending him home to sleep for 12 hours before administering a sobriety test.

Dr. Roa is either incompetent or corrupt considering his lack of prudence and the sheer idiocy of his comments on radon at Dr. Powers. The Peer Review was supposed to be watching out for us but instead was protecting the School Board and the LLRWMO.

Presentations to Port Hope Council

I called Town Hall and asked one of the clerks to put me on the Agenda to speak at the following Council Meeting. I told her I would be speaking about radioactive waste at Dr. Powers. She told me to be there by seven on Tuesday night.

I started my presentation and noticed people in the audience taking notes. There were seven or eight “experts” from LLRWMO, the CNSC and the School Board trying to catch the slightest mistake.

Councillor Ted Watts asked the first question at the end of my presentation. “Are you an expert? You’ve made some very strong statements in your presentation. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about”?

I slowly explained to Ted Watts that a test result 126 times higher than the allowable level of radon would indicate the presence of radioactive waste. The test report sent to the Atomic Energy Control Board agreed and stated it very clearly: “Samples at S-4 (sub-slab) and in store rooms (A-1 & A-2) would appear to indicate the presence of source material beneath the slab. I told Ted Watts I didn’t have to be an expert. I just had to understand the English language.

Deputy Mayor Thompson came next. “Is your daughter still in Dr. Powers”? I said: “Yes”.

“Aren’t you worried about her health if the school is contaminated”? she responded. “Yes I am worried about her health. But if I take her out of Dr. Powers, which school should I put her into? The files we saw show that other schools could be contaminated as well and they won’t let us see the files on the other schools. If I moved her out of Dr. Powers, I could be putting her in a worse situation” I replied.

Mayor Austin followed: “Are you an expert”? I looked at Councillor Watts and reminded Mayor Austin that I had just answered that question. Mayor Austin got red in the face.

I was ridiculed and dismissed by the Mayor and Council for having the audacity to speak on radon contamination in my daughter’s school. They accused me of trying to stir up trouble. They were treating me like I was an activist. I wasn’t an activist. I was a parent who was concerned about the health of his children.

It became obvious I couldn’t trust or rely on the people charged with ensuring our safety.

LLRWMO’s Glen Case lied to me about the past testing and remediation.
The Peer Review’s analysis was either corrupt or incompetent.
The response from Mayor and Council was to “shoot the messenger”.

Dr. Powers Parent Council

The School Parents Council at Dr. Powers was justifiably concerned about the safety of their children in the school. They had been assured by the School Board and the LLRWMO that the school was safe but there were still too many unanswered questions and the parents wanted to ensure that their children were protected.

School Parent Council Chair Sarah Clayton voiced their concerns in June 22, 2004, letter to the School Board and the LLRWMO. Ms. Clayton writes: “We understand that testing will continue, and that an annual physical inspection of the school foundation has been proposed. However, we would like to request that the Federal Government’s LLRWMO conduct, at its expense, the ongoing 24 hour, seven days per week (24/7) electronic monitoring of our school, with quarterly visual inspections, rather than one annual physical inspection as is currently proposed”.

“After discussions with parties involved, it remains unclear to us whether we are dealing with normal background radiation at Dr. L.B. Powers, or the presence of the contaminated waste from the Federal Government’s former Eldorado Nuclear facilities. Until determined otherwise, we believe the LLRWMO should take full responsibility for disclosure, testing and monitoring activities, with the continued cooperation of our School Board. If there is contaminated fill under a school or school addition, even if deemed safe, the Federal Government as the responsible party, should provide full disclosure, and implement an ongoing monitoring program and retrieval plan, for any facility where this is the case. Sue Stickley (LLRWMO) has confirmed that the Federal Government will take full responsibility for any contaminated fill determined to be from the former Eldorado facilities. This should be confirmed or denied, with responsibilities exercised as soon as possible”.

“We would encourage the School Board to open all of Port Hope’s school files to the Municipality’s Peer Review team. In this way residents can be assured that our community facilities are protected into the future, based upon the principles contained within the long term agreement signed by the Federal Government and the Municipality of Port Hope”. (June22/04)

None of the School Parent Council’s requests in the June 22, letter were granted. They were simply told the school was safe and no further information was divulged to them. For the next 10 months, the School Parent Council continued to ask the School Board for the radon test data. The School Parent Council finally had to issue a formal request to the School Board for the data and threaten subsequent action if they did not.

In her April 5, 2005 letter to the School Board, Chair Sarah Clayton writes: “Thank you for the Report you provided us through Karen (Principal) at the March 2005 School Council meeting, with regard to Dr. Noseworthy’s assessment of radon testing at Dr. L.B. Powers this school year. Unfortunately, this report contained no real information on the actual test results, specifically radon concentrations and locations tested, as per our requests. We also note some inaccuracy in the information and would be happy to go over this with you, should you wish to request a meeting with us”.

“As you know, we have been entrusted by our School Council to remain abreast of this situation. We believe we have a right to continue to see the actual Dr. Powers radon testing results, rather than a third party assessment of such results. We were previously provided results from over 20 years of testing at Dr. Powers and the May 2004 testing results were posted on the School Board’s website”.

“Although we began to request subsequent testing information in November of 2004, specifically results from October 2004 tests, we have received nothing of substance. Apparently, tests were also conducted in February of 2005, although still we receive no specifics.”

“Please consider this a formal request, on behalf of our School Council, to promptly receive all radon testing results related to Dr. Powers Public School in Port Hope, including locations of testing, and radon concentrations received at each location, for any testing completed since May 2004. Only then can we be assured of the continued safety of our children, and other students and staff of Dr. Powers Public School”.

“Please feel free to contact either of us (Brad Mills or Sarah) to discuss this issue further. If we have not received the information by April 15, 2005, we will initiate a formal Freedom of Information request to attain it”.

The School Board provided the radon test data on Dr. Powers to the School Parent Council in April, 2005. All four rounds of testing in the previous year showed radon levels above the investigation level in Room 209, the Computer Room. This is the room closest to the store rooms which have always tested above the remediation level.

Despite exceeding the investigation level on every test in the previous year, no investigation of the source of the radon was attempted as required by the Federal Provincial Task Force which states: “The investigation involves repeating the measurements and looking for sources of contamination”.

Mark Stephenson from the Peer Review agreed that the soil under the addition should be tested to allay the fears of the public. Mr. Stevenson stated: “However, given the history of soil remediation in the vicinity of the school and the concern expressed by some parents with respect to the source of the radon below the school addition, Council may wish to consider requesting LLRWMO to meet with the School Parent Council to more fully explain the radon test results, the basis of the radon criteria, rationale for test locations and to address any other concerns. If parents are still concerned about the source of the radon, Council may wish to consider requesting the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board to have soils under the addition of the school tested for soil contamination in the near future”. (Mark Stevenson Aug.5, 2004)

It would be a simple matter to end the debate on this issue. All the School Board had to do was allow us to do independent soil testing beneath the school. I am not the only person who has made this request.

The Parent Council at Dr. Powers requested independent soil testing and full time monitoring for two years without success.

Mark Stephenson from the Municipal Peer Review team said the sub-slab testing should occur because of the amount of concern in the community.
Port Hope Council passed a resolution asking the School Board to allow independent testing.

This is a sad and disturbing commentary on the situation we faced in Port Hope. The Parents Council, the Peer Review, Port Hope Council and concerned parents all want Dr. Powers School tested but have been stymied by a School Board based in Peterborough and the Canadian Government based in Ottawa.

The students who have been most affected have been the kindergarten children. Their immune systems are the least developed and they spend most of their time on, or close to the floor. Radon is a heavy gas that accumulates close to the floor.

Those small children would be exposed to radon gas more than 125 times the allowable level if a crack developed in the concrete slab, as they often do. There was NO testing from 1979 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2004.

It is very disturbing that our Canadian Government has covered up the radioactive contamination of an elementary school to avoid their responsibility for the waste being deposited there in the first place. It makes me wonder how many other contaminated sites they have covered up. We can’t find out as they won’t let us see the files anymore.

The Port Hope Nuclear Conspiracy

It was disturbing to realize that, as parents, we had no right to independent testing to ensure the safety of our children. In their roles as regulator and owner, the Canadian Government and the Province of Ontario were conspiring to prevent us from finding out the true nature of the soil beneath the kindergarten room and the gymnasium.

Let’s go back to the start to see how the conspiracy began.

The Canadian Government allowed radioactive waste to be dispersed throughout Port Hope and the surrounding communities with the full knowledge of its dangers to the public from 1945 to 1965.

The School Board built the addition to Dr. Powers School on radioactive waste in 1950. It was available free of charge from Eldorado Nuclear which was owned by the Canadian Government.

In 1966, the RCMP sent Dr. Andrews to Port Hope to see if there was enough uranium lying around to make a bomb. Dr. Andrews informed Port Hope Officials and the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) about the dangers of the radioactive waste he found in many locations.

Despite the warning, the Town of Port Hope allowed houses and a school to be built on top of the radioactive material from 1966-1976.

Dr. Geoffrey Knight of the Atomic Energy Control Board conducted detailed testing from 1966-1976 but the results were never made public.

The Canadian Government, the Town of Port Hope and the AECB knew about the presence and dangers of radioactive waste in Port Hope for 10 years before the public became aware of it.

A doctor from Peterborough came forward and stated that far too many of his patients from Port Hope were developing cancers. The Town and his medical body harassed him until he committed suicide.

The warnings from Dr. D.G. Andrews were dismissed as fear-mongering by the AECB and the Town of Port Hope. They attacked anyone who raised concerns about our safety.

There were four Ministries of the Ontario Government which had jurisdiction over some part of the Dr. Powers affair.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment had jurisdiction over the allowable levels of radon in buildings in Ontario. They would have to be contacted for any breach of the regulatory levels. There is no mention of this Ministry in any file I saw. Why not?

The Ontario Ministry of Labour was responsible for the safety of the teachers and custodial staff. This Ministry assumed Responsible Authority status at Dr. Powers.

The Ontario Ministry of Health is mandated to protect the health of Ontario residents. Once again, there is no mention of their involvement in any file. To this day, the Ministry of Health refuses to become involved in radiation induced health concerns in Port Hope despite having responsibility for it.

The Ontario Ministry of Education is entrusted with the health and safety of our children in the schools they attend. This Ministry, through the School Board, is still actively participating in the conspiracy with the other two levels of government.

The Dr. Powers radiological file went dormant from 1979 until 1992 when the School Board hired an independent consultant (CAIRS) to test all their schools for radon.

CAIRS recommended remediation at Dr. Powers to lower radon levels.
When the first remediation failed to lower radon levels, CAIRS recommended further work. The School Board refused to do any more work.

Instead, the School Board asked Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) to test the school. Dr. Powers School was given a clean bill of health by AECL

The School Board knew about the presence of radioactive waste under the school in 1996. The Dr. Powers file went dormant until I made it public in April, 2004. This initiated a great flurry of activity on the part of the School Board.

They began remediation work on the store rooms in Dr. Powers School the next day. They finished the work before testing was ordered.

Within days, the School Board laid asphalt around the perimeter and over part of the playground of Burnham School to encapsulate gamma radiation from the radioactive waste the school is built on.

They mobilized the “spin doctors” from the Canadian and Ontario Governments to assure everyone that there was no danger.

They began their campaign to discredit me.

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited tested Dr. Powers School for radon the day after the School Board finished the remediation work in the store rooms. They issued a press release stating the school tested within allowable levels and as such, had been perfectly safe in the eight years since the last round of testing in 1996. The question remains the same. How can you know what the levels have been for the previous eight years if you remediated the problem areas before you tested?

The Parents Council received the results from the School Board at their April 2005 meeting. All four rounds of testing from the previous year showed test results in the computer room above the 2 pCi/L investigation criteria established in the FPTFR.

The School Board and AECL broke the laws protecting the health of our children by not investigating the source of elevated radon levels when the results of every round of testing mandated that they must.

The parents also received a report commissioned by Port Hope’s Medical Officer of Health Ontario, Dr. Lynn Noseworthy titled: “The Radon History at Dr. Powers School” by Dr. Lesbia Smith at that meeting.

Dr. Lesbia Smith’s report on Dr. Powers School was a farce. It was nothing but an “official” attempt by the Province of Ontario to cover up the problems at Dr. Powers School. With my limited knowledge, I found 11 major mistakes in her report. How many would an expert find?

Among many inaccuracies, the most galling is her statement that: “No indication was made in the documents that the elevated soil radon measured under the floor slab could be the result of radioactive fill”. The 1978 report on Dr. Powers states: “Samples at S-4 (sub-slab) and in store rooms (A-1 & A-2) would appear to indicate the presence of source material beneath the slab”. Dr. Smith cannot plead ignorance as she was Chair of the task force that set the radiation criteria for clean-up in 1977.

The actions and inactions of those listed above have endangered the lives of the 1500-2000 students who attended Dr. Powers since the waste was discovered. Further, there is evidence of radioactive contamination at other public schools in Port Hope and Cobourg which may have affected as many as 5,000 more students.

Burnham School in Cobourg was named in several reports I viewed in the Dr. Powers file. The 1976 letter from Dr. Aitken to the School Board gave the radon test results for Burnham Public School in Cobourg and George Hamilton School in Port Hope.

Both schools had readings above the investigation level as defined by the Federal Provincial Task Force on Radioactivity (FPTFR). Despite the elevated readings at George Hamilton and Burnham Schools, no investigation was ever conducted.

Burnham School is built on radioactive waste. Every school or addition to a school built in Port Hope, Cobourg and the surrounding area between 1945 and 1965 should be tested for the presence of radioactive waste, not just radon testing inside the schools.

The Low Level Radioactive Waste Management office said the radon levels inside Burnham and Dr. Powers Schools were safe but they never disputed the presence of radioactive waste under and around the schools. This is a concern to more than the children. This material migrates through the soil. The contaminants under Burnham School could easily have reached Factory Creek and all properties in between in the 50 years it has been there. It will keep spreading out until it is cleaned up.

A radon measurement inside the school does not define the level of contamination under the school. The radon test only tells you how much is leaking into the school through the foundation. Actual soil tests of the material under the school must be conducted to determine its composition.

Health Canada’s Dr. Jack Cornett tried to dismiss the elevated radon levels because some of them were in unoccupied areas of the school in his August 24, 2004 letter. I responded in a letter the next day: “Your reference to occupied areas at the school is deceitful. The children in the basement classroom adjacent to the storerooms with the elevated levels would sit against the doors of the storerooms to put their shoes on and some of them spent prolonged periods in this area for disciplinary reasons. The gaps around the doors to these rooms provide ample transit points for the migration of radon gas and its progeny into the common air of the school. You may contact the EGH program at Natural Resources Canada to verify the characteristics of air movement in a building.

Dr. Cornett said there was little to worry about as the 4pCi/L allowable level of radon was very stringent. I replied: “Calling the 4pCi/L criterion “stringent” is inaccurate and contradicts the views of the World Health Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency and even Health Canada’s, which state that there are no safe levels of radon exposure. Considering that no pre-nuclear background radon levels in Port Hope measured above 1 pCi/L, how can a level 4 times higher be considered stringent?

Ken Periera, vice-president of the CNSC tried to dismiss the consequences of elevated radon by saying that the average radon level of all the classrooms was below the allowable level. He was saying that it was alright for the children to be in the contaminated classroom in the basement because the radon levels in the other classrooms were low. This was the most idiotic and unethical response I got from anyone in authority. It’s ironic and telling that it came from our nuclear regulator.

Conclusion

Round and round it goes. The Canadian government is responsible for the contamination of Port Hope over the past 65 years. They’ve used their power and money to silence dissent and prevent us from holding them accountable.

The current radioactive waste cleanup in Port Hope is a prime example. This is the largest radioactive waste cleanup in Canadian history and they’ve used the lowest level of environmental assessment (EA) possible to determine its feasibility. A screening level EA provides no intervenor funding to allow any oversight by the community or outside experts.

We’ve seen the proposed size of the cleanup shrink since the current Port Hope Council took office. We were informed at the first open house after the agreement was signed that Port Hope would be returned to a “pristine condition”. At a subsequent information session, we were told that there was 3.5 million cubic metres of contaminated material in Port Hope. They told us the final amount would be larger as they had not finished testing the whole town.

Once Linda Thompson was elected mayor, the size of the cleanup started getting smaller. It went to two million, then one and a half million and today it stands at 1.2 million cubic metres, barely one third of the originally stated incomplete volume. Where did all the rest of it go? Will the authorities tell Port Hopers where the remainder will be left?

The radioactive waste under Dr. Powers School represents only a small percentage of the total volume of waste that must be cleaned up in Port Hope. However, Dr. Powers School is indicative of the corruption and systematic cover-up perpetrated by those named in the conspiracy.

I was able to see the radiological file on the school through sheer happenstance. No member of the public has seen a file on any property since then. How many other properties are they hiding that are just as contaminated or even worse?

Port Hope has had a longer exposure to radioactive contamination than any community on Earth. After 77 years of being in bed with uranium, it is time we had a full public inquiry. Anything less will be a continuation of the corrupt behavior Port Hopers have endured at the hands of our three levels of government and the nuclear regulators.

Pat McNamara
Grande Prairie, AB

Former resident of Port Hope, ON