Health concerns from tar sands extraction

The development of tar sands unearths hydrocarbons and releases toxics to the environment. Workers, and communities living close to the developments, are concerned.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Mikisew Cree First Nation, which lives with the downstream impacts of tar sands development, has expressed concerns about water pollution, toxic waste management, a decline in wildlife populations such as moose and muskrat, and loss of fish habitat.

Hunters from the Fort Chipewyan First Nation have reported that their duck and muskrat tastes watery and bland, that moose livers are enlarged and spotted white, and that when they boil river water it leaves a viscous brown scum on the pot.

Contaminants in water and food

Scientific reports show that toxic contaminants are present in water and traditional foods used by First Nations living near the tar sands.

• A 2006 study by Suncor found elevated arsenic levels in moose 453 times higher than the acceptable level in terms of cancer risk (that is, the levels could lead to 453 additional cases of cancer for every 100,000 residents).
• Dissatisfied with Suncor's study, the Alberta government initiated its own study, which found arsenic levels to be 17 – 33 times higher than the acceptable level in moose meat. The study also found that all wild meat may have unacceptably high levels of the cancer-causing toxin.
• In November, 2007, an independent consultant hired by the Fort Chipewyan First Nation found high levels of arsenic in the waters of the Peace-Athabasca Delta near Fort Chipewyan; fish that were contaminated with high levels of mercury; and levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons considered unsafe to aquatic life. Contaminants were not only found in fish, but also in waterfowl, muskrat, beavers, and moose — all of which are traditional food sources for the community.

Health effects (and political fallout)

In 2003, Dr. John O'Connor started treating patients in Fort Chipewyan's small, largely native population of 1,200. He documented a number of cases of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct that typically affects only one in 100,000 people. He reviewed the health histories of the town's residents and saw a high incidence of colorectal cancer and an abnormally high number of gastrointestinal cancers.

Dr O'Connor documented what he was seeing and called for a thorough health study of Fort Chipewyans's residents. Government officials from Health Canada responded to O'Connor's health warnings by slapping him with a complaint to the Alberta College of Physicians that accused the doctor of raising undue alarm.

In December, 2007, O’Connor was cleared of three professional misconduct charges filed with Alberta Health and Wellness and Health Canada –- he is awaiting a ruling on a fourth charge.

With all the apparent evidence, O'Connor's friends and supporters in the community, including fellow doctors, have little doubt that the complaints against him were politically motivated.

Health concerns from tar sands upgrading and refining

Whereas the health threats posed by tar sands extraction are primarily water and food-related, many of the public health threats posed by upgrading and refining tar sands crude result from air pollution.

Overall decline air quality

At the present time there are plans to construct eight new tar sands upgraders in Alberta’s “Industrial Heartland,” which is an area located northeast of Edmonton. Those living in the area are already concerned about their quality of life, which includes loss of agricultural lands, traffic congestion, noise, local air quality and emergency services. The new upgraders will release more harmful pollutants into their air -- pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic compounds.

According to the Pembina Institute, under a plan conceived the Alberta government the concentrations of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides will be allowed to increase by 30–40% above current levels in the Industrial Heartland. These allowable increases will lead to a further deterioration of air quality in the Industrial Heartland -- air that is already the worst of the 11 stations that report an Air Quality Index in the province.

Increase in specific pollutants

Those people living close to U.S. refineries that take or plan to take tar sands bitumen are faced with similar health threats. According to the Environmental Integrity Project, refining extra heavy sour crude oil extracted from tar sands will result in higher air emissions of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric acid mist, and nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as toxic metals such as lead and nickel compounds.

• In July of 2006, Suncor completed a diesel desulphurization and oil sands integration project at its Commerce City refinery in Colorado. According to Suncor, the upgrade increased in the refinery’s ability to process tar sands bitumen and a broader slate of synthetic crude oil including up to 15,000 barrels per day of sour (high sulfur) tar sands crude oil.
• Data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) show that between July 1, 2006 (when the tar sands refinery expansion was completed) and the end of June 2007, Suncor exceeded allowable emissions of sulfur dioxide on five occasions, releasing excessive amounts of SO2 for a total of 429 hours.
  According to EPA, sulfur dioxide in the air can cause temporary breathing difficulty for people with asthma who are active outdoors, and longer-term exposures to high levels of SO2 causes respiratory illness and aggravate existing heart disease.
• In October of 2006, a number of residents, including teachers at an elementary school 18 city blocks from the Suncor refinery, reported to the CDPHE that they smelled sulfur and hydrocarbon odors that they thought were from the refinery. According to CDPHE, these complaints occurred at a time when a power outage forced Suncor to shut down and vent emissions to flaring units. The odors were so strong that a maintenance crew at Bruce Randolph School had to shut down the ventilation system to keep the pollutants out of the school.

Dust from petroleum coke

Another source of pollution that present a concern for people living close to tar sands refineries are the piles of petroleum coke, which is a by-product of refining tar sands bitumen.

• Coke is often stored in open-air piles. According to an LA Times article, studies have shown a link between elevated levels of coke dust in the air and the deaths of people with respiratory illness and heart disease. In recognition of the risks involved in open-air storage of petroleum coke, in 2000 the South Coast Air Quality Management District of California passed a law to reduce the emission of airborne particulate matter from the storage, handling, and transportation of petroleum coke. This is not a requirement in all states.
• Coke is also shipped by rail through many communities. For example, the Shell refinery in Anacortes, WA ships petroleum coke by rail and barge. The coke rail shipments cross the Swinomish Reservation within one half mile from the refinery, and there are concerns about the particulate matter, heavy metals and carcinogenic compounds in the coke getting into air, and spilling from the rail cars into waterways and onto land.

For More Information

• NDE: Dirty air pollutants: VOCs, NOx, particulate matter, diesel exhaust, H2S, and acid rain.

• NDE: Dirty air and tar sands.

• NDE: Dirty water and tar sands.

• NDE: Sources of dirty energy - tar sands.

• Nunee Health Board Society Fort Chipewyan, Alberta: A Study of Water and Sediment Quality as Related to Public Health Issues, Fort Chipewyan, Alberta.

• Environmental Defence: Canada’s Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth.

• Pembina Institute: Upgrader Alley-Oil Sands Fever Strikes Edmonton .

• Environmental Integrity Project: Tar Sands - Feeding U.S. Refinery Expansions with Dirty Fuel.

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