Dredging Up The Past – Removal Of Historic Low-level Radioactive Sediment From The Port Hope Harbour

Abstract

Port Hope is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario at the confluence of the Ganaraska River and has existed as a Port of Entry since at least 1819. Once operated as a major Lake Ontario port, through periods of vibrant industrial growth, it is now a recreational anchorage for the local yacht club.

The history of the Port Hope harbour from the early 1800s to today is typical of other small-town ports along Lake Ontario that have experienced growth and decline in direct relation to Great Lake shipping volumes and the shift in industry and commerce to larger urban areas. However, in the case of the Port Hope harbour, the presence of low-level radioactive sediment, resulting from a former radium and uranium refinery that operated alongside the harbour, currently limits redevelopment and revitalization opportunities.

The presence of low-level radioactive waste is not limited to only harbour sediments. Several other on-land locations within the community are also affected by the low-level radioactive waste management practices of the past. To address these situations, the Port Hope Area Initiative project is currently underway to implement a local, safe, long-term waste management solution. The Port Hope Area Initiative is a community initiated undertaking that will result in the consolidation of an estimated 1.2 million cubic metres of the low-level radioactive waste from the various sites in Port Hope into a new engineered above ground long-term waste management facility. The remedial cleanup of the estimated 120,000 cubic metres of contaminated sediments from the Port Hope harbour is one of the more challenging components of the Initiative.

This paper demonstrates how the historical development of the harbour over the past 200 years, the nature and extent of the contaminated sediments, and Municipality of Port Hope's desires for future redevelopment of the waterfront area have all played a role in the design of the remedial cleanup plan for the Port Hope harbour.