Port Hope's Penryn Village developer says he may take legal action against the two community activist groups he believes may have put his $25-million investment in jeopardy.

"We're going to review the situation in great detail," says AON Inc. president Ross Smith, who is currently building 1,200 homes in Port Hope's west end along Lakeshore Road.

Last month, with some financial help from Families Against Radiation Exposure (FARE), Port Hope's Community Health Concerns Committee released results of a health study that suggested members of the community were at risk due to long-term uranium contamination from two local nuclear industries.

Conducted by the Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC), the study found uranium in the urine of four out of nine Port Hope residents tested. A summary of the study was released November 13 at a press conference in Toronto, making national headlines.

"I just find it pathetic," Mr. Smith said, adding he's shocked the two groups would "put out misinformation to damage their own community."

Port Hope council was subsequently informed by Health Canada that the measurements of all nine people tested - specifically selected because of their proximity to the nuclear industry - were very low and fell well below regulatory limits.

The impact of the study on Port Hope has yet to be seen, according to Cobourg-Port Hope Real Estate Board president Ene Milner.

"Some people who had Port Hope in mind maybe scratched it off their list," she said. However, the agent for Royal LePage said she is not too concerned.

"It's always been an issue," Ms. Milner said of Port Hope's history with Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW). But, she said, it's an issue the municipality has been able to deal with successfully.

In 2001, the federal government launched its Property Value Protection program in Port Hope to compensate property owners who realize financial loss on the sale of their property, loss of rental income or mortgage renewal difficulties as a result of its LLRW clean-up project.

Realtors are also required to disclose all information regarding properties and any environmental issues surrounding them.

"It's really nothing new to us," said Ms. Milner. All properties in Port Hope, including those being developed along Lakeshore Road, are also tested for radon gas.

"I certainly don't have any big concerns that people are going to stop buying in Port Hope," she said.

But Mr. Smith said he will not be taking the recent information so lightly.

While he declined to go into detail about the action he may take, Mr. Smith did say he's looking at the situation very closely and will act accordingly.

"We've been doing very well," he said of the housing development. "But things like this don't help."