Uranium giant Cameco is accusing an environmental group of releasing false information in the hopes of generating cheap headlines and discrediting the industry.

Gord Struthers is the director of external communications for Cameco.  He was responding to allegations from the Sierra Club that claim Cameco is polluting Saskatchewan’s north, exceeding environmental standards and is responsible for large scale contamination.

Struthers questions the findings and the motivation:

“It’s a cheap attempt to grab headlines, it’s a complete distortion of our performance with respect to the environment.  You know, the Sierra Club has a loud voice, and we just felt the need to correct the record.”

Cameco and the Sierra Club will be squaring off in La Ronge this week during licence renewal hearings before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

The company is confident its licences for the McArthur River, Key Lake and Rabbit Lake operations will be renewed, while the Sierra Club will try to derail that process.

The hearings begin tomorrow and wrap up on Thursday.