OTTAWA – Workers and residents of Port Hope, Ontario are being put at risk due to chronic, long-term uranium contamination from two refineries in the heart of that community according a recent study by the Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC). Faye More of the Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee and Tedd Weyman of the UMRC traveled to Ottawa today to appeal to Parliamentarians to question why Health Canada has consistently ignored the evidence that is available and allowed the on-going contamination of the town.

NDP Environment Critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley) promised to take up their cause.

“Once again, the needs of ordinary Canadians are being ignored in favour of corporate profits,” said Cullen. “We need to show leadership as the elected representatives of this country to ensure that the health of working people and of communities comes first. Health Canada should not be ignoring peer reviewed studies, nor give a false sense of security when real questions of safety exist.”

More and Weyman produced a study conducted by the UMRC of nine workers and ordinary citizens of Port Hope along with two “controls”, or people who do not live or work in Port Hope. The study showed that in 100% of the samples from people from Port Hope showed that nuclear contamination existed as long as 23 years after workers had retired from the reactor.

“What shocked me even more,” continued Cullen, “was the irresponsible response to this study by their local MP, Conservative Rick Norlock. Rather than raising concern about the health of his constituents, he chastised them for somehow ruining the reputation of the town. As leaders, we have the responsibilities to recognize the issues that we have in our ridings and do whatever we can to overcome them for the sake of the people we represent.”

Cullen pledged to do what he can to ensure that a comprehensive multidisciplinary health study be conducted in the community of Port Hope and called for an investigation into Health Canada’s denials of the health risks that are there.

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