6 research outputs found
Controlling factors in the production of extracellular polysaccharides in phytoplankton : final report
Report examines the use Dictyosphaerium pulchellum in a flooded pit as a means to adsorb metal
Decommissioning of the B-zone waste rock pile : 1996 final report / for CAMECO Corporation
Report examines the options for decommissioning, focusing on the waste rock pile and its impact on the environment
CAMECO Corporation
Report discusses the ability to use self-sustaining decommissioning in the B-zone waste rock pile and the reports on the work which was carried out in 1997
Ecosystem restoration in the Rabbit Lake drainage basin : retaining 226Ra and uranium within the waste management area
This final report is the culmination of a 12-year study into the ecology of the Rabbit Lake
Drainage Basin, and the behavior of the contaminants in it, primarily U and 226Ra. It
incorporates data compiled from 20 years of monitoring water quality in the basin.
The natural processes documented in this report effectively remove uranium, 226Ra and
other contaminants from the water column, and sequester them in the lake sediments;
with time, the sediments will be further isolated by the gradual terrestrialization of the
lakes brought about by semiaquatic and submerged vegetation including the
Characeae that are naturally present in the lakes and enhanced in Upper Link Lake.
The ecological characteristics (semi-aquatic and aquatic vegetation identification,
limnological and topographical features) of the drainage basin are analogous to those
documented in geological studies on the genesis of fluviatile surficial uranium deposits.
The existence of these mineral forming (minerotrophic) conditions in the Rabbit Lake
drainage basin guarantees the effectiveness of the natural uranium removal process there.
Knowledge gained from this study could provide the basis for an ecologically based
decommissioning strategy integrated into institutional control. The natural processes
identified in this report, could be further enhanced to increase the natural retention of
contaminants and reduce the release of 226Ra. The promotion of terrestrialization and the
creation of new Characeaen habitat could be implemented gradually during the life of the
Rabbit Lake Operation. Such modifications would not only complete the restoration of an
ecologically disturbed drainage basin, but transform it into a dynamic component of an
environmentally sound, economical decommissioning strategy