Results of Fort Chip cancer study released

On Friday Feb. 6, Alberta Health Services released its findings into cancer incidents in Fort Chipewyan, a small rural community approximately 600 km northeast of Edmonton.  

This study was requested by community members after a local physician reported that there were a high number of cancers found in the community of 1,200, located on the shore of Lake Athabasca and about 250 km downstream from the Athabasca Oil Sands, as well as in close proximity to uranium mines.  

The study concluded that the levels of a rare cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, were not higher than expected, but that the overall levels of cancer in the community were higher than expected (51 cancers were found and 39 were expected).  According to Dr. Tony Fields, vice president, Cancer Corridor, Alberta Health Services, “these results were based on a small number of cases” and that “there is no cause for alarm, but there is an indication that continued monitoring and analysis are warranted.”

The report indicates that further analysis should be conducted to determine if these higher numbers signal a trend or are an anomaly.  The increase could be due to increased detection, says the report, as well as a whole host of other potential risk factors such as lifestyle, family history, occupational risks, as well as environmental risks.  

On Feb. 12, the Alberta Government released a “20-year strategic plan” for future oil sands development.  Long on generalities, the plan contains six strategies to “reduce the environmental footprint, optimize economic growth, and increase the quality of life in Alberta’s oil sands regions.”

Strategy four of the plan looks to “strengthen our (Alberta’s) proactive approach to Aboriginal consultation with a view to reconciling interests.”  Although strategies one and two do mention human health as a priority, the plan does not go into specifics regarding water quality and impact that oil sands development has on remote communities downstream from or in close proximity to extraction projects (whether oil or uranium).  

Keepers of the Athabasca, an environmental stewardship action group composed of First Nations, Metis, Inuit, environmental groups and concerned citizens issued a press release on Feb. 11 as a follow-up to their Feb. 6-11 meetings in Fort McMurray calling for the federal and provincial governments to protect the watersheds affected by oil sands development.  Chiefs from Fort Chipewyan, the Northwest Territories and Prince Albert expressed concern over Treaty Rights and oil sands development, specifically how unsafe water has affected and will continue to affect their communities in the long-term.