A northern Alberta aboriginal band is demanding a moratorium on new development along the Athabasca River after a new study suggested the river they depend on for food and water is contaminated with arsenic, mercury and carcinogens.

“I think industry or the government should think about putting a moratorium on industry for now until we can catch up and find a solution to all these problems before it gets out of hand,‘‘ said Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

On Thursday, Adam and a number of other groups, including the local health board in the northern Alberta community of Fort Chipewyan, released a study of water and sediment quality in the lower reaches of the Athabasca River.

The report, prepared by Treeline Ecological Research, suggested that Health Canada‘s guidelines for mercury are exceeded in more than 30 per cent of the area‘s walleye and virtually all walleye larger than a kilogram, fish important to the local people‘s diet.

Arsenic levels were also high “relative to the region at large,‘‘ the report says.

As well, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons _ chemicals considered carcinogenic _ have been slowly increasing in river sediments, from one milligram per kilogram to 1.4 milligrams. An American study has said anything over one milligram endangered fish populations.

Treeline‘s conclusions were based on both field work and historical data from government and industry.

Alberta Environment spokesman Jim Law said all three contaminants occur naturally and concentrate in animals higher up the food chain, such as walleye. As well, PAH compounds exist in oilsands deposits and local readings of them can be affected if erosion exposes a fresh outcrop of the tarry sand.

Monitoring of Athabasca River water has shown no change in contaminant levels, said Law.

“Our data consistently states there is no contamination in the Athabasca River.‘‘

The Fort Chipewyan area, which is downstream from major forestry mills and Alberta‘s booming oilsands region near Fort McMurray, has been the subject of environmental health concerns before.

In 2006, a local doctor raised concerns about what he considered an unusual number of a rare cancer of the bile duct. John O‘Connor also found many cases of leukemia, lymphoma, colon and cervical cancer, as well as immune system diseases such as lupus and Graves‘s disease.

Epidemiologists at the Alberta Cancer Board failed to find a higher rate of cancer.

Alberta Health Minister Dave Hancock said his department would have a look at the Treeline report.

He added that a 19-member committee composed of industry, government, aboriginal and environmental delegates looked into the issues around oilsands development earlier this year. The report called for orderly development of the resource but stopped short of calling for any slowdowns.

“The department of environment has a good handle on the issues relative to the impact of industrial growth,‘‘ he said.

Adam said he‘s not necessarily blaming industry for his concerns.

“I‘m not pointing fingers to anybody,‘‘ he said. “Everyone has something to blame.‘‘

But he does want activity to slow down until scientists can figure out where the contaminants are coming from.

“As it faces right now, from our environmental view what we feel (is) it‘s going to take a hundred years to heal itself. And with the continual growing of industry and population that‘s down south that contributes to the Athabasca River and everywhere else around it, we are feeling 100 per cent effects from it.‘‘

http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=12488

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