Study points to industry as cause of health woes

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First Nations leaders in the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan are calling for a moratorium on new oil sands development following the release of a study they say may show a link between industrial activity in the area and poor water quality, cancers and a range of other health issues.

“This is only a start to proving that there is a direct link to oil sands development and our health,” said Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam in a release about the study.

Dr Kevin Timoney, who conducted the water and sediment study on commission by Fort Chipewyan’s Nunee Health Authority, which serves the area but is not part of the province’s health authority system, outlined his findings Nov 7 at a meeting of community residents.

The study concluded that the contaminants arsenic, mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are “higher than they should be for safe consumption, particularly in the fish eaten by local residents.”

Timoney analyzed data from 1970 to this year, focusing on the Peace and Athabasca rivers and their delta near Fort Chipewyan, and discovered these higher contaminant levels in sediment, water and wildlife.

The hydrocarbons studied have increased in the Athabasca delta sediment from 2001 to 2005, he concluded, adding that present levels are higher than historic levels, and “considered unsafe to aquatic life.

“These contaminants are known carcinogens that cause some of the types of cancers found in Fort Chipewyan residents, and also contribute to diseases like hypertension and diabetes,” said the doctor in the release.

It points out that incidences of some forms of cancer and other diseases are believed to be elevated in the northern isolated community, which is the home to mostly Cree and Chipewyan (Dene) First Nations and Métis.

“This is not news to us,” said the newly elected Adam of the study. “It simply supports what we have been saying to this government of Alberta and to industry for decades.”

Alberta Environment spokesman Josh Stewart said his department has been testing the area since the early 1970s, including a water study that involved the area’s First Nations and industry.

“In 30 years, we haven’t seen an increase in those numbers,” he said of the contaminants cited in the study, which he noted his ministry has yet to receive.
“The amount of [ministry] monitoring is extensive on the Athabasca River,” he added.

Timoney’s study may have taken hydrocarbon samples from one day only and on sediment that was recently eroded, Stewart said, which may have skewed his findings.

The spokesman said the hydrocarbons naturally occur in the oil sands area, just as mercury can naturally show up in fish, which may lead to a health advisory.
“I know there’s natural arsenic and chemicals, but it’s not all natural,” retorted Donna Cyprien, the Nunee Health Authority’s health director. “People here all know our water is different than it used to be. People used to drink it, but not anymore.”

Dana Wylie, a board member with the Fort Chipewyan Métis Association, also defended Timoney’s work, which the Nunee Health Authority commissioned because the people it serves were not satisfied with any provincial studies.

Experts like well-respected University of Alberta water expert David Schindler have peer-reviewed the doctor’s work, she told Vue, questioning how Alberta Environment had done their study.

Wylie said she has seen disfigured fish, with curved spines, cysts and bulging eyes, caught from the same waters where children swim.

Fort Chipewyan is downstream from pulp mills as well, she said, and the Athabasca River is used as a “dumping ground” for pollutants.

“I live in the community and I see the impact it’s causing,” said the Métis activist, adding it was “a little frustrating” hearing outsiders doubting the situation. “I know people are getting sick and dying. Something’s not right.”

She pointed out that the pollution affects birds, moose and muskrat, noting how many in her community eat traditional foods hunted and gathered from the area.
Councillor Russell Kaskamin of the Mikisew Cree First Nation noted in the release that the study further supports his band’s recent call at Alberta Energy and Utilities Board hearings for a moratorium on oil sands development.

“The federal and provincial governments are continuing to issue approvals for projects despite all of the uncertainties with the true environmental effects of oil sands development,” he said.

Wylie specified to Vue that the community understands what it is up against in asking to stop oil sands expansion, which involve expensive mega-projects fueled by ambitious corporate plans to take advantage of oil prices topping $100 per barrel.

But she said area residents have been discussing their concerns for years, to no effect, and she just wants the projects “to hold off so we can catch up.”
The Métis activist said the community’s political leadership is discussing their next moves, which may include legal action. V

Study points to industry as cause of health woes

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