Health Canada verifies UMRC studies

The latest volley in the continuing battle of the Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee and Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC) versus Health Canada and the Municipality Port Hope has been revealed in a letter presented at Port Hope council Tuesday night.

In a letter dated March 1, 2008 to federal Health Minister Tony Clement, UMRC deputy director Tedd Weyman accused Health Canada of telling an "unambiguous falsehood to the people of Port Hope and Members of Parliament," but Health Canada representative Karen Lloyd states that's not so.

In her letter to Mr. Weyman dated April 17, Ms. Lloyd referenced each point of his letter, providing an explanation to each.

"The study conducted by your institute . . . consisted of nine subjects and two controls," she stated in the letter. "The concentrations of uranium in the urine that you reported ranged from 2.1 to 24.8 ng/l. These values all fall within the natural range reported from other areas."

Ms. Lloyd went to state that "the data you reported are very consistent with previous studies by Health Canada.

"In summary, all of your uranium concentration measurements from people living in Port Hope are consistent with the previous studies by Health Canada and by other groups," said Ms. Lloyd in her letter. "Your independent validation of these earlier studies is gratifying."

She went on to say thank Mr. Weyman for sharing his assessment with the scientific community and encouraged him to contact Dr. Jack Cornett to discuss the technical details behind the assessment of radiation doses using isotope ratios.

Mayor Linda Thompson says she has heard enough about the ill effects of industry in Port Hope.

"Port Hope is a wonderful, vibrant, healthy and safe community," said Ms. Thompson in a statement last week. "Nothing in my 21 years as a resident of Port Hope, and nothing in my seven years as an elected representative of the people of Port Hope has swayed my conviction on this point."

She added that Port Hope residents want to move forward and make heir community even better, and it's time to market Port Hope in a positive manner.

treated as a health danger?'" Ms. More asked.

At the Ottawa event, doctors and health organizations from across Canada spoke on uranium exposure, including a study on workers and nearby residents around uranium mines in India.

Two former uranium workers from Port Hope, who worked at Cameco and the former Eldorado operation at different times, spoke about their health conditions, attributing their ailments to their working conditions.

"It highlights the message about our concerns. What Health Canada says to Port Hope is wildly inconsistent with good science," Ms. More said.

Health Canada has released a report stating that the level of uranium in Port Hope is well below allowable limits, and safe for residents and workers.

Ms. More commented on Mayor Thompson's speech at Port Hope council's April 22 meeting, in which she asked that the uranium debates in Port Hope stop, and that residents accept that there is no health risk.

"This is the exact opposite of what should happen in Port Hope," Ms. More said, explaining that the anger of residents towards the health concerns committee is misdirected.

"The nice thing about going to Ottawa is talking to physicians who are not new to this, (uranium), workers who have been exposed to this, who are not afraid to say so," Ms. More said. "We will not simply lie down and give up. We are not the problem," she said.

Ms. More said "economic forces and intimidation on people to just shut up" is the reason why more people aren't speaking up about the problems in Port Hope.

Mayor Thompson could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but will be appearing on Municipal Matters Live on TVCOGECO tonight at 7. People are invited to call in with questions concerning the municipality.