Uranium Mining and Saskatchewan's Cancer Rates

Saskatchewan is home to at least one third of the world's uranium production. The volume of nuclear waste at these mines is phenomenal. Every day carcinogenic radioactive elements seep into the water, the air and the land.

Not surprisingly, Saskatchewan’s cancer statistics are apparently some of the worse in the country. According to the Canadian Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute of Canada:

· Every day, 13 Saskatchewanians will be diagnosed with cancer and 6 will die from cancer.

· An estimated 4,700 new cases of cancer and 2,300 deaths from cancer were expected to occur in Saskatchewan in 2004.

· While cancer incidence in Saskatchewan has fluctuated moderately over the past twenty years, the number of new cases (male and female) has increased dramatically. This increase in numbers poses a grave and growing threat to the vitality of our health care system.

· Incidence rates for major cancer sites among men are higher in Saskatchewan than the Canadian average for all provinces.

· To put these data into local perspective, in the Premier’s riding of Saskatoon Riversdale an estimated 78 people will die of cancer in 2004 and 38 will get cancer. Looking ahead, of the 16,601 people currently residing in Saskatoon Riversdale an estimated 6,719 will get some form of cancer during their lifetime and 4,229 will die from cancer. [1] (emphasis retained)

While it may be impossible to say exactly who or what is responsible for this epidemic, surely one of the largest producers of carcinogenic/radioactive compounds should be a likely suspect.

And would it not be wise to keep the uranium mining industry from producing more of these cancer-causing wastes?

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[1] “Saskatchewan Cancer Statistics” (Information prepared by CCS / NCIC) as found at http://www.controlcancer.ca/frameset_campaign.htm