The Port Hope Area Initative (PHAI) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to the cleanup and safe long-term management of historic low-level radioactive waste within the neighbouring Ontario municipalities of Port Hope and Clarington.
The historic waste resulted from radium and uranium processing in Port Hope between 1933 and 1988 by the former Crown Corporation Eldorado Nuclear Limited and its private sector predecessors.
The PHAI is based on a 2001 legal agreement between the Government of Canada and the local municipalities of Port Hope and Clarington to carry out the cleanup. In January 2012, the Minister of Natural Resources announced a Government of Canada investment of $1.28 billion over 10 years for the implementation phase of the PHAI.
The Port Hope Project involves the construction of a new long-term waste management facility and enabling infrastructure at the site of the existing Welcome Waste Management Facility, the cleanup of historic waste throughout the community, and the transport of that waste to the new facility, where it will be safely managed.
The Port Granby Project involves the construction of a new waste management facility and enabling infrastructure in southeast Clarington and the transfer of low-level radioactive waste from the existing Port Granby waste management facility to the new facility for safe long-term management. Construction will begin in the fall of 2015 and will take about five years. As Canada’s independent nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is responsible for licensing, regulating and monitoring the activities carried out under the Port Hope Area Initiative.
Media may contact:
Alexandra Lemieux
Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-996-2007
Or:
Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-992-4447
NRCan’s news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media
