Environment & Safety

Safety

We manage the safety of our workers through programs, systems, and standards, with our Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) Policy providing overarching guidance. There are many aspects of the management system that contribute to a safe work environment, a few examples include:

  • Risk assessments help identify issues and determine the appropriate controls; the corrective action process verifies that incidents and near misses are reported, tracked, investigated and shared with colleagues; and emergency preparedness and planning prepare us to respond to serious incidents.
  • We have developed 12 corporate safety standards to help protect our workers from our most common hazards. Some standards guide our general safety practices, such as our job hazard analysis and our job task observation, and other standards deal with specific hazardous situations (similar to other companies’ life saving rules): such as fall protection, confined space entry, rigging and hoisting, and control of hazardous energy (also referred to as lockout/tagout).
  • Routine audits are conducted to monitor compliance with regulations and our own requirements. These and other aspects of the management system are routinely examined to verify that they continue to be effective at keeping our workers safe.

Radiation Protection

Radiation risks are effectively managed at Rabbit Lake through a formal radiation protection program and dedicated personnel who ensure that doses to workers are as low as reasonably achievable. The program ensures that radiation protection is considered in the physical design of all facilities and operating procedures. It also provides for systematic monitoring of radiation in work areas and tracking the exposures of individual workers using a combination of monitoring devices and health testing. Radiation exposures at Rabbit Lake are far below the regulated limits.

Environmental Protection

At Cameco, protection of the environment is one of our highest corporate priorities during all stages of our activities, from exploration through development, operations, decommissioning, and reclamation.

We monitor our performance by tracking corporate and site-specific key performance indicators, conducting environmental monitoring programs, and regularly auditing our adherence to the requirements of these programs We use the information from all of our programs to help us to identify opportunities to improve.

Environmental management system

We have a ISO 14001-certified environmental management system used across our operating sites, which is supported by a corporate Environmental Management Program that outlines the operating requirements sites must meet. Our environmental management system encourages and promotes continuous adaptation of our practices based on new information and technologies.

Environmental risk assessments

We complete environmental risk assessments to systematically identify, quantify, and to characterize the potential risks to the environment, workers, and the public. We use our environmental risk assessments to inform our decisions and actions. Additionally, we complete an iterative process, where required, to verify that our proposed measures to protect the environment and the public are effective. We review or update the assessments every five years, incorporating results from our environmental monitoring programs and other scientific advances.

Environmental performance reports

For our Saskatchewan operations, every five years we also compare monitoring data collected during the reporting period against predictions contained in approved environmental risk assessments or environmental assessments. By reviewing the data from the performance reports and conducting risks assessments, we are able to demonstrate that human health and the environment in the vicinity of our Saskatchewan operations remains protected. Results from these analyses are also used to inform changes to the environmental monitoring programs conducted at each operation.

Corrective action process

We have a corrective action process in place to systematically investigate and address the causes of non-conformance to regulatory requirements or internal standards. The process includes classifying the non-conformance, assigning the appropriate level of investigation (dependent on incident significance), and tracking the recommended corrective actions to prevent and mitigate similar occurrences.

Audits

To support our culture of continuous improvement, our processes and operations undergo regular audits, including:

  • Our environmental management system is audited by a third-party every three years as a requirement to maintain our ISO 14001 certification.
  • Our SHEQ team conducts an internal audit of our SHEQ programs on a three-year cycle. The total audit scope is split in half and executed on a rotating basis. This means that all our sites undergo at least two audits to cover all aspects of our SHEQ programs within every three-year period. The audit follows the ISO 19001 process and encompasses our environmental and safety programs.
  • We also maintain and implement an internal audit program at our corporate office. Results and recommendations from this systematic and documented process are presented to senior management, who are responsible for implementing them and correcting any deficiencies. The internal audit group reports to the audit and finance committee of the board.

Environmental Monitoring

Comprehensive monitoring programs are in place at the Rabbit Lake operation to help protect the surrounding environment. Samples of water, air, soil, plants and fish are collected from numerous locations around the site and tested to confirm that environmental protection systems are effective. Monitoring results are submitted to federal and provincial regulatory authorities for review. Cameco also supports independent regional monitoring downstream of its Saskatchewan operations to ensure there are no cumulative effects on the regional watershed. The extensive monitoring undertaken at Rabbit Lake has identified no significant impact on the surrounding environment.

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Arsenic

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0009 0.0008 0.0007 0.0007 0.0006 0.0007 0.0012 0.0011 0.0010 0.0012 0.0011 0.0009 0.0010 0.0008 0.0008 0.0006 0.0005 0.0006 0.0007 0.0011 0.0014 0.0012 0.0011 0.0012

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Copper

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0002 0.0003 0.0003 0.0004 0.0004 0.0003 0.0002 0.0002

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Lead

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0001 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Nickel

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0010 0.0010 0.0011 0.0010 0.0010 0.0010 0.0015 0.0018 0.0014 0.0001 0.0011 0.0008 0.0010 0.0010 0.0010 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0012 0.0017 0.0014 0.0013 0.0008 0.0009

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Zinc

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0007 0.0004 0.0003 0.0002 0.0003 0.0004 0.0002 0.0009 0.0005 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0002 0.0003 0.0009 0.0009 0.0007 0.0010 0.0014 0.0016 0.0009 0.0010 0.0011

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Suspended Solids

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L) 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Radium-226

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (Bq/L) 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37
Rabbit Lake Level (Bq/L) 0.006 0.003 0.004 0.006 0.006 0.003 0.003 0.005 0.008 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.005 0.003 0.005 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.004 0.003 0.005 0.003 0.003

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — pH

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Authorized Maximum pH 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5
Rabbit Lake Level pH 6.8 6.9 7.3 6.9 6.9 7.4 7.3 7.0 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.1 7.0 6.8 7.2 7.0 7.0 7.3 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.8 6.9 6.8
Authorized Minimum pH 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Selenium

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Limit (mg/L) 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0022 0.0024 0.0025 0.0027 0.0025 0.0025 0.0027 0.0022 0.0025 0.0025 0.0024 0.0019 0.0021 0.0025 0.0026 0.0025 0.0025 0.0025 0.0022 0.0023 0.0022 0.0019 0.0019 0.0018

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Uranium

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Limit (mg/L) 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.0137 0.0140 0.0225 0.0230 0.0270 0.0290 0.0293 0.0234 0.0163 0.0107 0.0132 0.0092 0.0097 0.0172 0.0193 0.0260 0.0230 0.0230 0.0225 0.0246 0.0178 0.0165 0.0071 0.0084

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Molybdenum

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.2030 0.2246 0.2225 0.2128 0.1650 0.1530 0.2540 0.1260 0.1297 0.1280 0.1258 0.1043 0.1458 0.2136 0.2008 0.1286 0.1253 0.1185 0.0835 0.1178 0.1030 0.1008 0.0978 0.0990

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Treated Water Quality — Un-ionized Ammonia as Nitrogen

  Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Feb-22 Mar-22 Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23
Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations (mg/L)  0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Rabbit Lake Level (mg/L) 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Ambient Air Quality – Annual Average Ambient Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂)  NOTE - Regulations replaced and standard revised on June 1, 2015; however for consistency, the old value is referenced for the 2015 reporting year. Reporting against the new value began in Q1 2016.

  2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Standard (ppb) 10 10 10 10 8
Annual Average (ppb) 3.2 0.5 0.9 3.1 0.0009

Rabbit Lake Monitoring Results

Ambient Air Quality –  Annual Average Ambient Total Suspended Particulate (TSP)   NOTE - Regulations replaced and standard revised on June 1, 2015; however for consistency, the old value is referenced for the 2015 reporting year. Reporting against the new value began in Q1 2016.

  2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Q3
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Standard - see note (µg/m³) 70 70 70 70 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60
Annual Average (µg/m³) 6.3 7.6 6.6 7.1 5.0 6.3 4.3 4.0 3.1 3.7 3.6 7.9

Rabbit Lake entered into a safe state of Care and Maintenance in early 2016.

Environmental Incidents and Other Events

Environmental incidents and other events are reported to regulatory agencies as required by federal and provincial regulations.

Latest incident or event:

Date October 27, 2023
Incident Event Requiring Reporting to the Duty Officer – Order Under the Nuclear Safety Control Act
Details

During an emergency preparedness and response focused inspection, CNSC inspectors identified personal protective equipment (PPE) for firefighting that was past the 10-year expiration date.

Corrective Action

CNSC issued an Order, which Cameco is working to address. Cameco has suspended activities that may pose increased fire hazard risk until an adequate number of PPE has been restored. Rabbit Lake reached out to other northern operations and obtained a sufficient amount of firefighting PPE and an active order of new PPE has been expedited. The CNSC Duty Officer was notified and an investigation is underway.

Environmental Effect

N/A

Past reporting

Date October 27, 2023
Incident Event Requiring Reporting to the Duty Officer – Order Under the Nuclear Safety Control Act
Details

During an emergency preparedness and response focused inspection, CNSC inspectors identified personal protective equipment (PPE) for firefighting that was past the 10-year expiration date.  

Corrective Action

CNSC issued an Order, which Cameco is working to address. Cameco has suspended activities that may pose increased fire hazard risk until an adequate number of PPE has been restored. Rabbit Lake reached out to other northern operations and obtained a sufficient amount of firefighting PPE and an active order of new PPE has been expedited. The CNSC Duty Officer was notified and an investigation is underway.

Environmental Effect

N/A

 

Date November 4, 2022
Incident Emergency transport to external medical facilities
Details

An employee in the mill dry suffered a non-occupational medical emergency.  

Corrective Action

Coworkers provided initial response and the Emergency Response Team was dispatched. The employee was moved to the health center and stabilized. Air ambulance transported the employee off-site for further medical care. The CNSC Duty Officer was notified.

Environmental Effect

N/A

 

 

Cameco Environmental Effect Rating

  • Level 1 - no measurable impact to the environment
  • Level 2 - negligible impact
  • Level 3 - short-term, seasonal impact
  • Level 4 - mortality of some species, but not affecting ecosystem function
  • Level 5 - impairment of ecosystem function
  • N/A - not applicable


Tailings Management

Tailings, or what remains of the ore after the uranium has been removed at the Rabbit Lake mill, is placed in the Rabbit Lake in-pit tailings management facility (RLITMF). The facility is built into the mined out Rabbit Lake pit and is designed to safely contain the tailings during continuing operations and after decommissioning. When operations cease, the tailings will become a dense mass and groundwater will flow through a previous envelope surrounding the tailings, rather than through them, to minimize environmental impact. Tailings from milling the original Rabbit Lake ore body are stored in an above-ground tailings management facility.

Decommissioning

Rabbit Lake has been in production since 1975. Five ore bodies have been mined on the site using open pit and underground methods. Inactive mining areas are reclaimed as part of continuing operations at Rabbit Lake under a site-wide reclamation plan. Detailed plans and financial guarantees are in place to provide for final decommissioning of the Rabbit Lake site when operations end. Decommissioning will include removal of all buildings and equipment and landscaping and re-vegetation of affected areas. All underground workings and other mine and mill facilities will be sealed off and secured. A monitoring program will be in place to ensure the sites remain in a secure and stable state for the long-term. For more information, see Preliminary Decommissioning Plan - Summary - Rabbit Lake Operation.

Environmental Risk Assessment

All new, or substantially changed, mining developments may be subject to environmental risk assessments (ERAs) to identify potential effects on the environment. ERAs follow guidance provided by CSA and various agencies, such as Health Canada (HC), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

In 2020, Cameco completed a detailed quantitative environmental risk assessment (ERA) for its Rabbit Lake Operation to align with the standardized requirements found in CSA N288.6-12 Environmental risk assessment at Class I nuclear facilities and uranium mines and mills (CSA 2012). For parts of the site where there have not been many changes, a review of the most recent ERA was completed, in compliance with N288.6-12.

Public Summary - Environmental Risk Assessment - Rabbit Lake Operation (PDF 3.3 MB)

Regulatory Oversight

The primary regulator for the Rabbit Lake operation is the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The mine is also subject to regulatory oversight from several other federal and provincial agencies including Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Federal and provincial regulators conduct regular site inspections and audits to verify that people and the environment are protected. Uranium mining and milling operations in Canada are licensed by the CNSC.

Sustainability at Cameco

When measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a company, environmental, social and governance (ESG) are key factors considered by the public and investors. Sustainability and ESG matters have been an important focus at Cameco for many years and we have a strong performance record.

Learn more