Residents of a small town east of Toronto are demanding the federal government investigate new data that shows radioactive chemicals are making their way into humans.

According to the Port Hope Community Health Concerns Committee, urine samples collected from a small number of participants in the Ontario town were found to contain radioactive substances.

Some of the residents who were tested -- former workers at nuclear facilities and average citizens -- had high levels of radioactive isotopes in their bodies, scientists said.

"People of Port Hope have been continuously and chronically subjected to inhalation of radioactive dust, including depleted uranium and different levels of enrichment of uranium isotopes," Dr. Asaf Durakovic told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

Fearing increased rates of cancer and other ailments, the health committee hired an independent clinical research group, the Uranium Medical Research Centre, to look into the matter.

Health committee spokesman John Miller said frustrated residents were forced to take matters into their own hands after the federal government refused to conduct its own comprehensive health study.

"Port Hope has been exposed to radioactivity for about 70 years -- longer than almost anyone in the world -- from man-made ceramized, insoluble uranium and for there never to have been health tests in all that time is ludicrous," said Miller, who has lived in the community for 12 years.

The group, which could only afford to test nine residents, said their picturesque town is being plagued by an invisible killer -- uranium contamination.

"(Port Hope) is a beautiful, lovely community with a wonderful community spirit but it has a harsh environment," said Faye More, the group's chairwoman.

"It is the home to two nuclear industries that have been there for decades operating without a buffer zone from the people, emitting uranium to air and to water every day."

One of the workers tested was Dan Rudka, who has lived in Port Hope for 15 years. He has developed a string of illnesses, including lung disease and problems with his respiratory system, bones, blood and skin.

"Nobody's been paying any attention and in fact I think the most depressing thing about Port Hope is you dare not get sick (because) you're basically left alone," Rudka said.

"I know I'm not the only one that's sick and I know others have been sick, so based on that I feel obligated to speak out."

Contaminated soil

Port Hope, a town of about 16,000 people, is located about 100 kilometres east of Toronto.

Uranium refinery operations are believed to be responsible for contaminating some 3.5 million cubic metres of soil, which now lies under homes, schools, farm fields and the local harbour. The dirt was buried around the town between the 1930s and 1950s, when radiation was not seen as severe a threat to human and animal health.

Toxic elements that have been found in the area include above-average levels of the radioactive metals radium and uranium, as well as arsenic, radon and lead.

The town is now the site of the largest cleanup of radioactive soil in North American history. In 2001, the federal government committed to remove more than 2 million cubic metres of the contaminated soil.

Port Hope is home to the Cameco uranium refinery, which processes uranium hexafluoride for U.S. nuclear reactors. The town used to be the site of a Crown corporation called Eldorado Nuclear Ltd., which developed material used in the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.

A spokesman for Cameco said the company will not comment on the report until it has a chance to read it thoroughly, but added that it's confident its operations are safe.

"We would not even consider practices that would risk the health and safety of the people of Port Hope," spokesman Lyle Krahn told The Canadian Press.

"This group is coming out with some new information, we really don't know much about it and we need to figure out what it is and make sure it is using good science."

Federal government officials say a 1994 study, that looked at the potential for ground and surface water contamination and the likelihood of exposure to humans, found no need to conduct human testing.

The study showed no "short-term health risks," said Glenn Case, of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office, which is handling the cleanup for Natural Resources Canada.

The study also concluded that radiation levels were well within acceptable standards.

Case refused to comment on the community group's medical study until he had a chance to review it.

Health Canada issued a statement on Tuesday in response to the study.

"(Health) Minister (Tony) Clement has directed officials at Health Canada to assess the new Port Hope report and provide advice on how to proceed. If action is required, we will act," read the statement. 

After hearing about the study's findings on Tuesday, elderly resident Rodney Parrot said the news was "terrible."

"This is known to be one of the worst places in the whole of Canada," Parrot said. "They've got to clean this up."

But Dawn Knudsen said many residents feel Port Hope is a safe place to live.

"Traditionally there has been a split in the community between people who feel that this is a very safe place to be and the radioactivity isn't any greater than it is in a large city like Toronto, but there are others who feel that there is," she said.

With reports from CTV's Paul Bliss and John Musselman