New public opinion research finds that a large majority of Port Hope residents support Cameco's presence in their community and believe they live in a safe and healthy place.
In a random telephone survey that Fast Consulting conducted on behalf of Cameco in May and June 2008, 79% of local residents expressed support for continuation of the uranium conversion facility in Port Hope, down from 84% in the 2007 survey.
Discovery of uranium and production-related chemicals under the UF6 plant in July 2007 has been identified as the main reason support dropped slightly. Even so, support levels continue to be higher than they were when Cameco began annual opinion polling in 2004.
Eighty-four percent of survey respondents agreed that Port Hope is a safe and healthy place to live with 61% strongly in support of that view.
For the second year in a row, questions designed to measure awareness and support for Zircatec were included in the research.
Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed indicated that they support the continuation of Zircatec's operation in Port Hope. The large majority of residents (86%) indicated that they do not have any specific concerns with Zircatec's operations.
The majority of residents (79%) believe that Cameco makes information about its operations in Port Hope readily available and 91% of Port Hope residents are aware of the community forum process that Cameco has established.
"Cameco is pleased that Port Hope residents continue to show strong support for our local operations," said Andy Oliver, vice-president of Cameco's fuel services division. "The past year has been a challenging time for the company, our employees and the community. The opinions expressed by residents will continue to reinforce our commitment to work hard to remain worthy of their trust and support."
May 2008 public opinion research (PDF 594 KB)
