A small community in northern Ontario, this self-described "Jewel in the Wilderness" is more noteworthy because of the uranium mines that were located there. The tailings from the mine, about 200 million tonnes, are highly radioactive and filled with heavy metals. The mining consortium's plan to deal with this? Their idea of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Flood the mines and tailings with a few feet of water, and walk away.
For every tonne of ore mined in Elliot Lake, about .1% uranium "yellowcake" was extracted, yielding about a tonne of tailings and two tonnes of a radioactive liquid called "leech". The combined results, called "slurry" were dumped wherever it was most convenient, in lakes, rivers and depressions.
Due to the long half-life of one of the most poisonous elements, thorium-230, which turns into the carcinogen radium-226, the site will be contaminted for about 760,000 years.
The Eliiot Lake sites dumping are for the most part totally accessible, being neither fenced nor guarded.