Vancouver Observer October 7, 2013
I
am responding to the article in the Vancouver Observer, “There is a way out: Preventing oil sands health
tragedy from becoming Canada's permanent legacy”, October 2, 2013, written by
Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician, mother, and board member of the Canadian Association
of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). While I have great respect for CAPE
and their accomplishments, and agree with most of what Dr. Howard has to say, I
do not think she goes anywhere near far enough. Like Dr. Howard, I have begun
my own investigations into the oil sands.
The reason that Dr. Howard found virtually no clinical studies
by government concerning the reportedly high rates of cancer and other diseases
in communities affected by the oil sands industry is because it would appear
that that is the way the federal and Alberta governments and the oil industry
want it. I interviewed Dr. John O’Connor,
chief medical officer for Ft McKay and Ft Chipewyan in August 2013. His initial
concerns of high incidence of cancer and other diseases in Ft Chip in 2006 were
responded to by both federal and Alberta governments with complaints against
him to the Alberta College of Physicians for creating “undue alarm.” (John O’Connor, personal communication,
August 2013)
After the College dropped their investigation of these
complaints, Dr. O’Connor was involved in planning health studies with Alberta
Health first in Ft Chip and then in Ft McKay. Both studies were cancelled
unilaterally by Alberta Health. In the Ft Chip case, Alberta Health wanted the
oil sands industry involved in the study. The community of Ft Chip felt that
this was a conflict of interest and refused. As a result, Alberta Health
cancelled the study. In the Ft McKay case, Dr. O’Connor does not know why the
study was cancelled as Alberta Health personnel would not return phone calls. (John O’Connor, personal communication,
August 2013)
In 2009, Alberta
Health did conclude a cancer study on the Ft Chip population (http://www.ualberta.ca/~avnish/rls-2009-02-06-fort-chipewyan-study.pdf) which their officials claimed showed no cause
for concern. (http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/500.asp) In 2010, the study was peer reviewed by Dr.
Gina Solomon, currently Deputy
Secretary for Science and Health at the California Environmental Protection
Agency. She concluded that the rates of lymphomas and leukemia were 3 times
higher than expected in Ft Chip, and that the rates of bile duct cancers were
seven times higher than expected. She also pointed out that these specific
cancers have been shown to be linked to exposure to oil and petrochemical
products. (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/gsolomon
/the_other_oil_disaster_cancer.html) Amid continued
reports of health concerns, a new three-year health study in Ft Chip overseen
by the University of Calgary is now being initiated. (http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2013/02/20/fort-chipewyan-cancer-study-set-to-begin)
For years, Dr David Schindler, a U of A aquatic
ecologist, has been saying that government environmental monitoring of the oil
sands has been inadequate. (http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/top_scientist_wants_moratorium_on_thirsty_oil_sands_projects) In studies published in 2009 and 2010 by U of
A scientists Erin Kelly, David Schindler, and others, there is strong evidence
of important and growing environmental contamination of the Athabasca River by
the oil sands. They found that high levels of air pollution are falling to the
snow-covered ground in winter in a 50 km radius of the Suncor and Syncrude
upgraders. The toxins are undoubtedly being flushed into the Athabasca River and
its tributaries by meltwaters in the spring. (http://www.pnas.org/content/106/52/22346.full , http://www.pnas.org/content/107/37/16178.long) They characterized the resulting
contamination of the Athabasca River as “the equivalent of a major oil spill
every spring”. (Al-Jazeera documentary
“To the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)
Of course, on top of this is the leakage from the toxic lakes resulting from
oil sands projects. According to Schindler, it is 99% certain that the toxic
water is leaching into aquifers, ground water and the Athabasca River. (Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)
Another study published in 2013 by John Smol of Queen’s
University and Derek Muir of Environment Canada found that oil sands activity
is also polluting remote lakes with PAHs (poly-cyclic hydrocarbons), some of which
are known carcinogens. They report that the level of pollution is no worse than
in urban settings, but is rapidly accumulating. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/oil-sands-development-polluting-alberta-lakes-study/article7014184/)
There are also the many accidental spills including the
one in the Primrose project operated by Canadian National Resources Ltd, which,
as of September 16, was still not under control after 4 months, and had so far
leaked 1.4 million liters of bitumen. (http://www.ecojustice.ca/blog/nothing-to-see-here-except-the-oil-spill-thats-been-going-on-for-four-months)
As a result of the U of A study finding significant
impacts on water quality due to oil sands activity where Alberta’s own
monitoring program had found none, the federal government commissioned the Oil
Sands Advisory Panel to examine the province’s monitoring program. Their final
report in December, 2010,
found major
deficiencies in the program design, inadequate analytical capabilities,
insufficient sampling, no understanding of pre-development baseline conditions,
and no leadership on reporting on oilsands environmental performance. (http://www.water-matters.org/blog/419 ,
http://tarsandssolutions.org/in-the-media/experts-flunk-albertas-monitoring-of-rivers-lakes-near-oilsands)
In
response, the federal and Alberta
governments announced a new “world class” monitoring system: the Joint Canada-Alberta
Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM). This makes sense except
that the Alberta government had been claiming for years that they already had an
excellent monitoring system in place. (Comments by Alberta Environment Minister,
Bob Renner in the Al-Jazeera documentary “To the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)
In fact, I was still able to read in
August 2013 in an oil sands information pamphlet I was given at the Ft
McMurray airport, that the “oil sands industry has no significant impact on the
Athabasca River”.
As
Howard points out, and I would agree, the available data base of the new joint monitoring
system so far “falls far short of being a comprehensive resource.” It is also
under the control of the Albertan Minister of Environment and Sustainable
Resource Development rather than being at arm’s length from government and
industry. Clearly, the Alberta
government does not take seriously the concept of conflict of interest. As
another example, the head of the newly formed Alberta Energy Regulator is
Gerard Protti, a senior executive for Encana from 1995 and 2009, and the
inaugural president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. (http://www.ernstversusencana.ca/energy-lobbyist-ex-encana-vp-gerard-protti-appointed-as-albertas-new-top-energy-regulator) It also took an Alberta court ruling this
week (on October 2) to force the Alberta Energy Regulator to allow the Oil
Sands Environmental Coalition to participate in the regulatory review of
a proposed oil sands project. (http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/judge-quashes-alberta-s-decision-to-bar-environmentalists-from-oilsands-hearing-1.1480927)
People in the area do not need to be told that there are
pollution problems with the Athabasca River coming from the oil sands. No one
drinks the river water anymore. The Ft Chip commercial fishing industry died a
decade ago because no one would buy their fish, knowing that they were
downstream of the oil sands. The local fish-packing plant sits idle. (John Regney, Special Projects Manager for
the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation, Personal Communication) Also, because of the high and growing
incidence of deformed, discoloured and tumour-bearing fish, few locals from Ft
McMurray to Ft Chip will eat the fish. (Local eagles, osprey, and otters do not
have that luxury.) I heard the same story over and over as we traveled on the
river from Ft McMurray to Ft Chipewyan. The last such story I heard was from
John Regney, Special Projects Manager for the Athabascan Chipewyan First
Nation, who has lived in Ft Chip for 40 years and has raised his children
there. On his last fishing outing, he said that three out of five fish caught
had tumours. He also had his second experience this spring of fish that taste of gasoline. He rarely fishes
anymore. (John Regney, personal communication)
The level of pollution in the tar sands is an abrogation
of indigenous treaty rights which include the right to hunt, fish and carry out
traditional activities. How can Aboriginal people do that if they cannot eat
the fish or drink the water, and if their land is occupied by the biggest
industrial project on the planet? The latest insult in this regard was the
decision made by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) which was released the day
before we started our trip. We heard about it first from Rod Hyde, the husband
of the late, former chief of Fort McKay First Nation, Dorothy McDonald. The AER
approved
a lease for a new SAGD (Steam assisted gravity drainage) tar sands project (the
Dover Commercial Project by Brion Energy Corporation). It is adjacent to Ft McKay FN lands referred
to as the Moose Lake Reserve, 50 km northwest of Ft McKay. According to the Ft
McKay FN website (http://www.fortmckay.com/) :
“This
particular area in our traditional territory is sacred to the community of Fort
McKay and is the resting place of many of our ancestors.”
“Moose
Lake is one of the only areas far enough away from oil sands development where
the people of Fort McKay can hunt, trap, fish, and pick berries safely and in
peace. Fort McKay First Nation is committed to the protection and preservation
of Moose Lake in order to ensure our children and grandchildren have a clean,
peaceful place to keep our traditions and culture alive.”
Apparently this will soon no longer be
the case. The Ft McKay Band had asked for a 20 km buffer zone around the lake
for the above reasons. They are being granted 1.2 km. The band is appealing the
decision. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/alberta-first-nation-appeals-decision-on-athabascas-dover-project/article14147058/)
If allowed to continue as it is, when the oil sands boondoggle
finally ends, my best guess is that the reclamation of the forests, wetlands,
lakes and rivers despoiled by oil sands development, estimated to eventually
cover the surface area of Greece, will be left with Alberta First Nations, the
Canadian taxpayer and the fish and the wildlife to deal with, while oil companies
make a quick exit citing bankruptcy or whatever the latest ploy will be to
avoid taking responsibility. This will be very similar to what Dr. Howard
describes as the current situation in Yellowknife with the now abandoned Giant
Mine being the country’s biggest toxic waste site. The difference is that the
oil sands area will be much bigger: much more spread out and with much higher
amounts of toxins, and most will never be reclaimed according to David
Schindler. (Al-Jazeera documentary “To
the last drop” http://www.seankheraj.com/?p=1079)
Dr.
Howard states that “the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
believes that the people of the Athabasca region and of the Mackenzie River
system deserve a truly world-class monitoring system, and that all of our
children deserve meaningful action promoting climate health.” So do I, but
I do not think that a proper monitoring system will help much, and it is clear
that it is being used as one more delaying tactic by industry and government.
It is high time that Albertans and Canadians demand that
not only no more new projects be approved in the oil sands, but that current
ones be considerably slowed down. At the same time Canadians deserve a chance
to determine what is reasonable given our need to protect human health,
maintain a healthy environment, meet Aboriginal treaty obligations, receive fair
economic recompense in taxes from oil sands profits, and decide on a rate of
extraction that is reasonable with regard to ongoing climate change. We know enough now to recognize that what is
being done today in the oil sands is completely unacceptable to a sane country.
Based on oil sands activity, I am not sure if Canada currently fits that
description.
Eli Pivnick, PhD, former research scientist for Agriculture Canada and
currently a high school teacher in Kamloops, BC. In August 2013, Pivnick
paddled down the Athabasca River from Ft McMurray to Ft Chipewyan with 9 other
paddlers from all over Canada and the United States.
