Almost eight months after water rushed through a tunnel deep in Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine, the nightmares continue for one of the three miners caught directly in the torrent.

He copes with post-traumatic stress disorder as he supports his family with a part-time landscaping job, but the other two men are on paid stress leaves from the mining jobs they still hold.

Michael Paquette wants to know why his livelihood was washed away 480 metres below ground.

Within days of the Oct. 22, 2006, flood, Paquette was laid off along with about 100 workers who were under contract at the site with Mudjatik Thyssen Mining (MTM). Water shut down the workplace for most of the MTM employees at Cigar Lake. The two other men, both veteran miners who were with Paquette at the flood's frontline, were transferred to another MTM job site.

Following the incident, Paquette, who had worked for the company for 19 months, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. His application for workers' compensation was denied.

By spring, he was tired of living off employment insurance and family allowance while he fought for compensation. Paquette, whose five children range in age from three weeks to five years, took a part-time seasonal job with a landscaping company in Saskatoon.

LOWER-PAYING JOB

The pay is significantly lower, and his hours are based on the number of workers available, the number of contracts and the weather.

When it's wet, Paquette doesn't work.

"I went from $30 an hour to $9 an hour," he said. "I had to take what I could find.

"It's a lousy job, but I've got to feed my kids."

According to a report from Cameco, the flood at the multibillion-dollar mine followed underground drilling and blasting at Cigar Lake that took place on Oct. 11. A "significantly larger span opening than was specified in the engineered mine plan was created and unanticipated geological structures were encountered," the report states. A drill larger than recommended in the original engineering plan was brought in to finish the job.

While the mine plan called for appropriate ground support to be installed within 72 hours of blasting, the report says "the specified ground support . . . was not applied in a timely manner."

While a modified ground support system was prepared on Oct. 19, the report says MTM employees noticed "potential indicators of a problem" on Oct. 22. A supervisor, who saw "evidence of ground movement over a large area," limited access to the area and ordered the drift filled with concrete.

"Shortly thereafter, a fall of ground occurred, accompanied by a large inflow of water," the report says.

One of two bulkhead doors 480 m below the surface failed to close properly, so water poured past the unsealed door. While two attempts to seal the door failed, three MTM employees, including Paquette, were told to put on breathing masks and sent in for a third attempt.

The other two miners did not want to speak to the media about the incident.

When the three men arrived at the bulkhead door, Paquette said the water level came to the top of his rubber boots. He said the three men spent 30 minutes finding breathing equipment in the floodwater.

"There were air tanks floating around," he said. "Some of the tanks were only half full, so we had to use those."

As Paquette sat on a large, motorized boom he used to pry open the bulkhead doors, the other two men tried to reach behind the doors to repair the torn seal and free any possible debris.

With the door open between 20 and 15 centimetres, Paquette said the water rushed into the tunnel, along with debris and lumber that had been trapped on the other side.

"Within a matter of seconds, the water was up to my lap," he said.

"It's like there was a devil on the other side of the door, saying, 'I'm coming to get you.' "

One of the men was sent back to dry ground, but was swept under the rushing water, which quickly flowed beyond the miners' escape route.

"He managed to roll himself against the wall," Paquette said. "That's the only way he saved himself."

FAST-FLOWING WATER

The force of the water broke one of two chains that anchored the boom to the bulkhead doors. The breathing equipment prevented Paquette from hearing his superior's commands, he said, and he hesitated.

He stood on the end of the boom as he watched the water rush by.

"If I would have fell, there would have been no hope for me," he said. "Think of the fastest-flowing river you've ever seen. That's how fast it was."

He climbed onto a set of pipes that lined the tunnel wall, he said, and was rescued by his co-workers, who formed a human chain.

Since that day, Paquette has lived with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The hardest part was waking up with my kids every day. I had to pretend to be happy," he said. "But every day, I'm thinking, 'Cigar Lake, Cigar Lake. I almost died, I almost died.' "

When miner Cory Braaten was killed in a mining accident at Seabee gold mine 125 kilometres northeast of La Ronge earlier this month, it set off more panic for Paquette.

"The very first thing that came into my head was, 'It could have happened to me,' " he said.

While he has approached a lawyer about his case, Paquette said he's not looking for a huge settlement.

He received a thank-you letter from Cameco, but he'd like something that could help feed his family. Before the flood, he was making about $75,000 a year. He received $3,000 when he was laid off and his counselling is being paid for, but he believes he's entitled to compensation for suffering and the eight months he has been unable to work.

"I'm not looking to be a millionaire," he said. "Just give me what you owe me."

Sources confirmed that the other two men are on paid leave from work with MTM.

For Cameco's part, a spokesperson said compensation for employees would be the responsibility of the company that directly employs them.

"Generally, the way it works is that they would be dealing with their employer on that and Cameco would be dealing with the larger issues overall," Lyle Krahn said.

Counselling for trauma experienced while on the job is made available to any employee through either company's employee assistance program.

SOME MINERS REHIRED

Meanwhile, Thyssen Mining president Rene Scheepers, who confirmed the other two mine employees have been employed with MTM since the flood, said Paquette was one of many people laid off following the flood. Some of them have since been rehired.

If jobs become available, Scheepers said Paquette could be rehired if he is the best candidate for a job.

"It's a matter of whether we have work available for the guys or not," Scheepers said.

"He will be treated like anybody else. The selection criteria are level of experience and skills. Michael Paquette was less experienced, had less time on the mine than the other two, for example, and than other people.

"But as the workforce grows again, and the need, he will be looked at just like anybody else that's worked for us."

Given his experience in the mine, Paquette doesn't want to work underground again.

He just wants to be compensated for the past eight months.

"Cigar Lake's worth $12 billion," Paquette said. "What about me?"

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