PORT HOPE - Uranium levels in the bodies of Port Hope residents are typical of levels found in people in every Canadian community, a senior federal government health official told Port Hope council Tuesday night.

Health Canada’s Radiation Protection Bureau Director Dr. Jack Cornett said all uranium concentrations reported in the study conducted on behalf of the Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee (PHCHCC) by the Toronto-based Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC) fall well below regulatory levels and will not cause any adverse health effects.

For over a week, Health Canada has been requesting the study, which purportedly shows Port Hope residents are being exposed to unhealthy levels of radiation and to date, has received no new information, said Dr. Cornett. Scientists with the federal agency carefully reviewed data in a Nov. 13 press release plus a posted item on the UMRC website to come up with its findings, he noted.

Dr. Cornett explained it is important to note radioactivity is naturally present in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. He added it is a “good news story” that the PHCHCC study results are also consistent with Health Canada findings over the past 20 years, he said. He noted Health Canada findings are also supported by many independent studies including those done by Queen’s University, Senes Consultants and the Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Office.

Health Canada continues to monitor uranium in the environment and in workers who live in Port Hope, he added.

“We are always willing to look at new information with regard to the health and safety of Canadians and will continue to do so,” said the Radiation Protection Bureau director. “And if new information came forward and if action were necessary, we’d act.”