Safety and working conditions
Cameco places a high priority on the safety and health of our workers and the public. Our strong safety culture, environmental leadership, operational excellence and commitment to safety make it possible to keep risks at levels as low as reasonably achievable.
We achieved the best overall safety performance in our history in 2010 and exceeded our targets for lost-time injury frequency in 2011.
This was due to Cameco's comprehensive safety programs and management attention to safety, including a robust corrective action process that, combined with daily job hazard meetings at the start of each shift, delivers strong safety performance across our operations.
All of the employees at our operations in Canada and the US are covered by occupational health and safety committees that are responsible for implementing our corporate health and safety management system.
Radiation safety
The high ore grades at Cameco's Saskatchewan operations pose special challenges. To control radiation exposures, Cameco has pioneered remote mining methods and technology as well as underground processing circuits to grind and prepare ore for transportation to milling facilities.
We have also developed sophisticated radiation protection programs and instrumentation to ensure the safety of our workers.
The average radiation dose to workers at our operations remains consistently well below the maximum dosage limits of 50 mSv per person per year and 100 mSv over five years mandated by federal regulations in Canada.
Looking ahead
Cameco is committed to sustaining safe and healthy workplaces. We will continue to strive for zero injuries and maintain a long-term downward trend in the lost-time injury rate and radiation doses.
GRI Indicators
LA6 – Health and safety committees
^Safe, Healthy and Rewarding Workplace
This indicator shows the number and percentage of Cameco's workers who are represented by formal management-worker occupational health and safety (OHS) committees. These committees help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs.
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Workers | 3,150 | 3,302 | 3,474 |
| Workers Represented by Joint Committee's | 3,150 | 3,302 | 3,474 |
| % of Workers Represented in Joint Committee's | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Includes all of Cameco except JV Inkai (Kazakhstan). Figures as of December 31 each year.
What it means
All of Cameco's employees in Canada, the US, and Australia are represented by OHS committees.
LA7 – Injury frequency, missed work
^Safe, Healthy and Rewarding Workplace
This indicator provides information about Cameco's rates of absenteeism, lost-time injuries and work related fatalities. For lost-time injuries and fatalities, we include both employees and contractors in our numbers.
We do not track absentee rates in Australia or Kazakhstan.
Cameco has had no fatalities at its sites from 2009-2011.
What it means
Absentee rates across the company have remained consistently low for the past three years.
Cameco is also maintaining a long-term downward trend in lost-time injury frequency across our operations. Our 2011 lost-time injury rate was slightly higher than 2010, but still below the long-term average. There are slight year over year variations in our lost-time injury rates, but these are within the normal range of variability expected for this metric.
Looking ahead
Cameco is committed to sustain safe and healthy workplaces. We will continue to strive for zero injuries and maintain a long-term downward trend in the lost-time injury rate.
Note
Cameco's US and Canadian sites use different criteria to determine absentee rates.
CA2 – Average radiation dose to workers
^Safe, Healthy and Rewarding Workplace
This indicator provides information about the average radiation dose to workers at our mining and milling and fuel services divisions in Saskatchewan, the U.S., Kazakhstan, and Ontario.
What it means
Our average radiation dose to workers remains consistently low at under 1 mSv (by comparison, typical background radiation doses to members of the public are 2-3 mSv per year). Cameco exposure rates are far below the maximum annual dosage limit of 50 mSv and 100 mSv over a five-year dosimtery block (note that the US sites do not have this long-term limit in their regulations).
A modest drop in the average dose was noted for all divisions as well as the corporate wide average in 2011. This drop was primarily driven by a significant increase in the workforce at Cigar Lake who receive low doses and decreases in average doses at Blind River, Smith Ranch – Highland and McArthur River. It is possible that the average dose may increase somewhat as the workforce at Cigar Lake transitions from construction and development activities to production over the next several years.
Looking ahead
We will continue to take appropriate measures to limit and monitor radiation exposures at our operations. The average dose to workers may increase slightly as the workforce at Cigar Lake transitions to production activity over the next few years.
Note
The values in the table represent the arithmetic average dose of all employees and contractors at our operations. Another metric used in our annual report is the full-time equivalent average, which normalizes the doses to a standard work year of 2000 hours. Both are valid metrics.