Glossary

ALPHA RADIATION
Alpha radiation is one of three types of radiation that comes from uranium. It can be stopped by a layer of paper or our skin. It can also be inhaled or ingested. In the past, this type of radiation caused some uranium miners to get lung cancer. (1)
AQUIFER
Aquifer is a body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater.
BACKGROUND RADIATION
Background radiation is the omnipresent radiation that all living organisms are exposed to on Earth, including natural and artificial sources. It varies depending on region.
BETA RADIATION
Beta radiation is one of three types of radiation that comes from uranium. It can be stopped by work clothes, gloves and glasses. It can also be inhaled or ingested. (2)
CUMULATIVE EFFECT
Cumulative effect refers to the accumulation of effects from different factors on one organism or environment.
DECAY
Decay is the transformation of a radioactive substance into a different substance by the spontaneous emission of radiation such as alpha, beta, or gamma rays. Each decay process has a defined half-life (2)
DECOMMISSIONING
Decommissioning refers to the dismantling and removal of mine and mill structures and equipment, and the decontamination of the site and surrounding area in an attempt to make is safe for human, fish and animal use. (2)
DISCHARGE
Discharge refers to the rate of water flow through an aquifer.
DOSIMETER
Dosimeter is a device worn on the body that measures exposure to radiation.
EFFLUENT
Effluent is water that is released from the mine or mill and that requires treatment before being released to the environment. (2)
ENRICHMENT
Enrichment refers to the process of concentrating the desired isotopes of uranium in a given amount of refined ore (i.e. yellowcake).
EXPLORATION
Exploration refers to surveying, drilling and digging to find an ore body, its size and its quality. (1)
EXTERNAL EXPOSURE
External exposure is exposure to radiation through the skin.
GALLERY
Gallery refers to an underground conduit or passage in a mine.
GAMMA RADIATION
Gamma radiation is one of the three types of radiation derived from uranium. It can be stopped only by concrete, lead walls and steel tanks. It can also be inhaled or ingested. (2)
GREENHOUSE GASES
Greenhouse gases absorb and emit infrared radiation emitted from the earth surface when it is heated by the sun, and stop it from being lost into space, which causes an increase in the atmosphere’s temperature.
HALF-LIFE
Half-life is the time required for a radioactive material to decrease by half through radioactive decay. A shorter half-life means a more radioactive substance. (2)
INTERNAL EXPOSURE
Internal exposure refers to exposure to radiation through internal tissues and organs when radiation is inhaled, ingested or absorbed.
ISOTOPE
Isotope refers to one of the various forms of atoms of the same chemical element, which are distinguished by the number of neutrons in the nucleus. The number of protons remains the same, but the number of neutrons differs. For example, uranium, known by its symbol “U”, has 16 different isotopes, including U-238 and U-235 (2)
LEACHING
Leaching refers to the extraction of uranium from the ore by placing it in a sulphuric acid solution.
LICENSE TO ABANDON
License to abandon is a federal license granted by the Canadian Nuclear safety Commission (CNSC) to owners or operators of nuclear activities allowing them to cease active site management activities. The CNSC has yet to issue a license to abandon to a Canadian uranium mine.
LICENSE TO DECOMMISSION
Licence to decommission is a federal license granted by the Canadian Nuclear safety Commission (CNSC) to owners or operators of nuclear facilities allowing them to initiate decommissioning activities, which involve the progressive shutting down and attempted decontamination of the facility.
LIFE CYCLE
Life cycle refers to the entire process that uranium undergoes from extraction to waste management.
MILLING
Milling is the process by which the uranium is separated from the ore. It includes grinding, leaching and chemical precipitation.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear energy is energy produced by a nuclear reactor, which is powered by enriched uranium fuel.
ORE
Ore is the naturally occurring rock from which a mineral of economic value is extracted.
RADIATION
Radiation is energy travelling through space in the form of waves or particles. Ionizing radiation (e.g. alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays) has the ability to remove electrons from the matter it encounters, which may cause changes in living cells of plants, animals, fish and people (2)
RADON
Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is a health hazard. (2)
REAGENT
Reagent is a substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs.
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation is the process of returning the land as closely as possible to its original state, before the mine existed.
RESIDUAL RISK
Residual risk refers to the level of risk to the environment, habitats or communities that remains once remedial measures have been implemented to reduce it.
SHAFT
Shaft refers to the vertical excavations used from hoisting and lowering workers into an underground mine; also refers to the piping used to ventilate the mine.
SIEVERT
Sievert is a unit of ionizing radiation dose equal to the biological effect of the deposit of a joule of radiation energy in a kilogram of human or other living tissue.
SILICA
Silica, also known as silicon dioxide, is a chemical compound that is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula SiO2. Silica is most commonly found in nature as quartz, as well as in various living organisms.
SPECIAL WASTE
Special waste is rock that has a small amount of uranium in it but not enough to make it worthwhile to separate it from the rock. (1)
SULFIDE
Sulfide is an isotope of the element sulfur, which can be corrosive.
SURFACE RUN-OFF
Surface run-off is the flow of water that occurs when excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the earth's surface. This might occur because soil is saturated to full capacity, or because precipitation arrives more quickly than soil can absorb.
SURFACE WATER
Surface water is water on the surface of the planet such as in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean.
TAILINGS
Tailings is ground up rock (like sand) that has had most of the uranium removed from it. It is still radioactive because it contains radium and other uranium decay products. It also contains heavy metals and other toxic materials. (1)
TOXICITY
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
URANIUM
Uranium is a silver coloured metal that emits energy (radiation). Once refined, it can be used to make electricity.
WASTE ROCK
Waste rock is rock that is discarded in the mining process that does not contain uranium, or contains uranium in very limited quantities. (1)
YELLOWCAKE
Yellowcake is the uranium concentrate powder obtained as the final product of the milling process.
Footnotes

(1) Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s Glossary of Uranium and Mining Terms. Prepared for Cree Regional Authority.

(2) CNSC Nuclear and Radiation Glossary, 2014.