
The most in-depth study of health concerns among communities downstream from the Alberta tar sands is out, and the results are damning.The report largely confirms what residents of Fort Chipewyan, home to the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), have long been saying: significant increases in illnesses in the communities, including cancer, asthma, diabetes, and mental illness, among others, can be clearly tied back to tar sands development 200 kilometres upstream along the Athabasca River.
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“This outcome is the first direct link between Oil Sands development and downstream health and wellbeing, in Fort Chipewyan and, for that matter, anywhere,” they write in the study.Community members overwhelmingly reported that the current generation are less healthy than their parents were, and expressed extreme concern over growing cancer rates in the community. Of the 94 people who took part in sessions, 20 percent have or had cancer.Perhaps most stunning is the revelation of the drastic ways in which changes in diet and ways of life brought on by tar sands development have disrupted nutrition and health.McLachlan and his colleagues found high levels of toxins in local wildlife that make up the bulk of traditional, or what they refer to as “country,” food eaten by Fort Chip's residents.Arsenic levels were high enough in muskrat and moose muscle; duck, moose, and muskrat livers; and moose and duck kidneys to be of concern for young children. Cadmium levels were again elevated in moose kidney and liver samples but also those of beaver and ducks, although muskrat samples were again low. Mercury levels were also high for duck muscle, kidneys, and livers as well as moose and muskrat kidneys, especially for children. In contrast to the last phase of the study, selenium levels were high enough in the muscle, kidney, and livers of all wildlife species to be of concern for adults and children alike.
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Community members, including Adam, have been ringing warning bells about increasing rates of illness for over a decade. In particular, they've been calling for a baseline health study that would show the current health of the population, allowing them to be able to track changes in the coming years. But their request has alternated between being ignored and being hindered by government and industry officials refusing to work with the community in developing the parameters for such a study.While McLachlan's work isn't the comprehensive study the community is asking for, both the researcher and Adam see it as a first step.Why has this study been more successful in showing the impacts of the tar sands on health in the community than others? For one part, McLachlan says, researchers have been looking in the wrong places. Other scientists have focused solely on contaminants. No one was willing to look at the actual health impacts in the community, or willing to take the time needed to build the links of trust necessary in order to have access to the information needed to write such a report. The other aspect, he said, is the unwillingness to accept the community's traditional knowledge of the land and their history in conducting research. A big mistake, according to the researcher.
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