PoPulationand Public HealtH etHics

The oil industry acknowledges that bitumen extraction and refinement
procedures can warm underground water, thereby liberating arsenic (a potent
carcinogenic) and other heavy metals from deep sediments. Although
Canadian Natural Resources reports that an arsenic plume has moved approximately
1,200 feet over a 15-year period, it also indicates that “it would
take centuries, if ever” for the arsenic to affect drinking water. 4
Case
In 2006, a local physician reported a high number of cases of cholangiocarcinoma,
a rare form of bile duct cancer, as well as high rates of other cancers
in Fort Chipewyan residents. In 2010, the Alberta Cancer Board released a
report outlining its findings from its investigation of the incidence of cancer
cases within the community. 5 It concluded that the observed cases of cholangiocarcinoma
and colon cancer during the period of investigation (1995–2006)
were within the expected range of cancer occurrence, although the number
of cancer cases overall was higher than expected.
Fort McMurray’s Medical Association expressed concerns about the Alberta
Cancer Board study’s methodology as a result of the narrow inclusion criteria
that were used: only cases in the Alberta Cancer Board registry were
included in the study. The Vice President of the Cancer Corridor for Alberta
Health Services dismissed these concerns by indicating that an increase in
observed cancer cases over expected could be due to chance, increased detection,
or increased risk, including environmental risk in the community and
so continued monitoring and analysis were warranted.
More recently, large disparities have been identified between estimated oil
sands emissions and pollutants identified in the Athabasca River watershed. 6
An independent scientific review committee called into question Alberta’s
water monitoring program and noted evidence of increased arsenic concentrations
in Lake Athabasca. 7
Although questions linger about whether the reported health concerns can be
scientifically linked to water contamination, 8 local First Nations, Greenpeace
and the Pembina Institute have called for a moratorium on new oil sands
projects. 1 Further, the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, comprising representatives
from all First Nations groups in Northern Alberta, unanimously passed a
Alberta oil sands
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