Studying the impacts of the oil fields in Alberta
We are studying how contaminants are affecting the Athabasca and Peace rivers in northern Alberta. We are using our methods to track where contaminants come from, and how populations from the smallest microbes to fish and river otters have responded to contamination.
The oil sands region in northern Alberta has seen intense development over the past decade. Although the oil sands industry provides significant economic benefits, the development of this resource has not been without controversy. In particular, members of the Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations are worried about the impact of oil sands activities on their traditional lifestyles and treaty rights. Moreover, there have been a number of concerns raised by scientists and Indigenous communities about the impact of the oil sands industry on human and ecosystem health.
The oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of crude bitumen (thick, heavy crude oil), sand, clay, ultrafine mineral solids and water. Bitumen contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs and dibenzothiophenes; collectively known as polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). These PACs are of considerable interest for human and wildlife health due to their potential to have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and endocrine disrupting effects. Evidence is emerging that these PACs are increasing in the atmosphere, water, soil, sediments, plants, wildlife and fish in the AOSR as a result of oil sands activity.
As is the case for many other environmental pollutants, the effects and underlying mechanisms triggered by exposure to complex PAC mixtures have been mostly drawn from studies using single compounds in cell cultures or laboratory animals; experiments which do not address the impact of these chemical mixtures on wildlife and human health.
To learn more about the impacts of industrial developments on wildlife populations, we are studying the fate and distribution of contaminants in the region, as well as the impacts of oil sands industrial development on free ranging river otters in the Athabasca River (work by Phil Thomas at Environnment and Climate Change Canada). The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) was chosen because, as a top consumer in the aquatic food web, it is a good indicator of ecosystem health, while being culturally- and economically-important to local land users and Indigenous communities. This work is intended to examine how river otters are exposed to contaminants from the oil sands industry, and determine whether their health is being compromised by these contaminants.
Oil sands mine, Alberta, Canada.
Photo: Philippe Thomas
