Clean Environment
Approach
Cameco operates its business with respect and care for the local and global environment.
We adopt best practices, comply with regulatory requirements, and move beyond them where possible. We integrate environmental leadership into everything we do.
We track our progress by monitoring our impacts on air, water and land near our operations, and by measuring the amount of energy we use and the amount of waste we generate. We use this information to help identify opportunities to improve.
2013 Highlights
Energy
- Modest energy increases despite production increases
Water
- Slight decrease in water intake
- Continued decrease in amount of molybdenum and uranium in treated water discharged to the environment
Emissions
- Declining GHG emissions
- Decreases in SO2 and NO2 emissions
Waste
- Decrease in the overall amount of waste generated at our operations
- Over 8 million tonnes of waste rock reclaimed
Incidents
- No significant environmental incidents
- No significant environmental fines
Land
- Added 415 hectares to operational footprint
Water Withdrawal (m3)
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Withdrawal | 21135822 | 21673994 | 20667091 |
Total Non-Mine Waste Generated
(tonnes)
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Waste Generated | 15471 | 17408 | 14307 |
GHG Emission (tonnes CO2e)
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHG Emission | 512790 | 532497 | 519589 |
Water
We are committed to withdrawing, using and discharging water responsibly in the areas we operate to ensure that risks to the receiving environment comply with and move beyond legal and other requirements, and are as low as reasonably achievable.
Waste
Our primary goal is to reduce the amount of waste we generate and to divert as much as we can by reusing, recycling or recovering material that would otherwise go to a landfill or other permanent waste storage.