STATEMENT OF CLAIM Q.B. No. 1082 of 1994

Q.B. No 1082 of A.D. 1994
C A N A D A
PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN

IN THE COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH FOR SASKATCHEWAN
JUDICIAL CENTRE OF SASKATOON

B E T W E E N:

JAMES GARRY HUNTER,

PLAINTIFF


- and -

THE GOVERNMENT OF SASKATCHEWAN
SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY
MINES POLLUTION CONTROL BRANCH OF SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY

DEFENDANTS

STATEMENT OF CLAIM

JAMES G. HUNTER
P.O. BOX 7645
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN
S7K 4R4
Q.B. No. 1082 of 1994

CLAIM

1#. The Plaintiff, JAMES GARRY HUNTER resides at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

2. The Defendants, SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY, MINES POLLUTION CONTROL BRANCH OF SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY, are Government Agencies carrying on business in the Province of Saskatchewan, and with registered offices in the City of Saskatoon, in the Province of Saskatchewan.

3. The Defendant, SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY, MINES POLLUTION CONTROL BRANCH OF SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY have conspired in collusion with Cameco and Siemens Transport and Service Ltd. to withhold and suppress details of uranium oxide and fuel spills at the Cameco, Rabbit Lake Mine.

4. The Defendant, SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY HAS failed in its mandate to protect the environment and public safety with respect to the following spills at the Cameco Rabbit Lake Mine.

a. Between November 1985 and May 1986 Cameco had a yellowcake spill at the Rabbit Lake Mine that contaminated the mill leach, CCD tanks, mill circuits, organic solvent in the solvent extraction building, Rabbit Lake tailings pit and surface tailings. Cameco took their full inventory of contaminated kerosine from the solvent extraction building to the surface tailings area and burned it. Cameco drained their contaminated mill leach and CCD tanks into the Rabbit Lake pit. Between May 1986 and September 1986 Cameco ordered over eight times the normal mill requirements of lime, sodium chlorate, barium chlorate, ferric sulphate and soda ash. These reagents were used to make a lime mortar in the mill. This mortar was then mixed with tons of sand in the Rabbit Lake Pit to encapsulate the uranium oxide in a type of cement mortar at a cost of three million dollars.

b. On or about August 1986 Cameco was responsible for a fuel spill of over 2000 litres at the B-Zone shop unloading site at the Wollaston Lake Mine. The spill was a result of a sealed vent on a storage tank.

c. On or about October 1986 Cameco was responsible for a fuel spill at the Main Storage unloading site at the Wollaston Lake Mine. The spill was a result of poor maintenance of the unloading equipment.

d. On or about October 1986 Cameco was responsible for a fuel spill of over 100,000 litres at the Generator and B-Zone shop unloading sites at the Wollaston Lake mine. The spill was the result of improperly installed fuel lines.

e. On or about December 4th, 1986 Cameco was responsible for a fuel spill of over 5000 litres at the B-Zone generator unloading site at the Wollaston Lake Mine. The spill was caused by an open unloading valve.

f. Cameco was responsible for a yellowcake spill from a transport truck between the Rabbit Lake Mine and Saskatoon. The spill was caused by improper packaging of yellowcake in barrels. This caused the barrels to explode in the trailer. The spill was discovered at the Cameco warehouse on 11th Street West in the City of Saskatoon. The trailer was returned to the mine immediately without any attempt to contain the yellowcake within the trailer.

5. On or about August 1986 the Defendant SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY issued a permit to Cameco to burn thousands of litres of organic solvent contaminated by uranium oxide at the Wollaston Lake Mine.

6. The Defendant SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY has conspired with Cameco to show that the mine was having production problems in 1986 with unrecovered ore and that the unrecovered ore, not the yellowcake spill, was the cause of high uranium levels in the Rabbit Lake pit during 1986. Investigations have shown that, "during 1986, the mill recovery of U3O8 at the Rabbit Lake Mine was considerably below the design objective due to process difficulties in handling the B-Zone ore". That "the production summary for the combined B-Zone and Rabbit Lake ore indicates mill U3O8 recovery problems throughout 1986". That "better management of the mill start-up by Cameco could have reduced the total discharge of U3O8 to the Waste Management Area". That "the additional U3O8 in the Waste Management Area should have no significant incremental impact on the environment". "Should have" - is not good enough.

7. The Defendant SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY has conspired with Cameco and Siemens Transport and Service Ltd. to show that there was no increase in the 1986 monthly consumption of mill and effluent treatment reagents and to show that the quantities used in November 1986 were within the normal range of process reagents requirements.

8. The Defendant SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY has conspired with Cameco to show that mill recovery problems in 1986 were caused mainly by a slow degradation of the organic solvent used in the solvent extraction portion of the mill circuit and that this was the reason, not the yellowcake spill, that the organic solvent was burned.

9. On or about July 1991 the Defendant SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY, with fraudulent intent to cover-up details of the spills, had supplied false information to Environment Canada and the Atomic Energy Control Board. Because of this information, the Atomic Energy Control Board Investigation Report dated, May 1992 is a fabricated fact. Information and documents in support of this were supplied to the Atomic Energy Control Board by the Plaintiff. The response from Mr. T. Viglasky, Director, Uranium Facilities Division of the Atomic Energy Control Board was that he did not "believe that further investigations would be a fruitful way of spending taxpayer dollars".

10. This action is being commenced on the advice of Rita Merwald, Director of Cameco Corporation’s Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations.

11. The Plaintiff believes that Cameco Corporation has to be held accountable for the protection of the environment. It is not the responsibility of future tax payers of Saskatchewan to pay to clean up Cameco Corporation's time capsule of uranium oxide or the fuel spills. The Defendant THE GOVERNMENT OF SASKATCHEWAN has to be held accountable for the actions of SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY.

THE PLAINTIFF THEREFORE CLAIMS:

a. A full independent investigation of the mining practices of Cameco Corporation's Rabbit Lake operation without interference from the Defendant share holder the Government of Saskatchewan,

b. A full independent investigation into the actions of SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY with respect to its dealings with Cameco Corporation,

c. Such and other relief as the nature of the case may require and this Honourable Court may deem just,

d. The costs of this action.

Dated at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, this 6th day of April 1994.

JAMES HUNTER
On his own behalf
This Statement of Claim was delivered by:
JAMES HUNTER
P.O. Box 7645
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 4R4
and the address for service is the same as the above.