The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) • Media Backgrounder

RSC Expert Panel - Environmental and Health Impacts of Canada's Oil Sands Industry

OTTAWA, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - Development of the oil sands of northern Alberta has become an issue of growing public interest in recent years, with highly polarized views being presented by different stakeholders, including First Nations, environmentalists, industries and governments, about the merits of oil sands development in relation to its environmental and health impacts. Regardless of what any individual chooses to believe about these divergent views, the scale of investment and development in the oil sands is a major factor in Canada's economy, making the issues involved of vital importance to Canadians. 

On October 5, 2009, The Royal Society of Canada announced the commissioning of an Expert Panel, consisting of eminent Canadian scientists and chaired by Dr. Steve E. Hrudey, FRSC, Professor Emeritus, Analytical and Environmental Toxicology, University of Alberta. The Expert Panel was given a mandate to review and assess available evidence bearing on these issues and identify knowledge gaps to provide Canadians with a scientific perspective in a summary report.

Context for the Project 

The oil sands (or tar sands) have become a focus of intense development in recent years, and production from the oil sands has raised the prospect of Canada being a substantial net exporter of petroleum products.  The oil sands have become increasingly controversial because of environmental and health issues, including: overall greenhouse gas emissions (the oil sands contribute about 5% of Canada's total emissions, but are Canada's fastest growing source); major landscape disruption from surface mining; massive tailings ponds holding wastes toxic to fish and waterfowl; and major consumptive water use.

These features have drawn the attention of international environmental groups, some of which have labeled the product from this source as "dirty oil."  The deaths of more than 1,600 ducks on a tailings pond in April 2008, and ongoing claims of a cancer cluster being caused by oil sands contamination in the downstream (predominantly aboriginal) community of Fort Chipewyan, have drawn media attention.

On the economic side, the oil sands have been a major source of investment in Canada, supporting not only Alberta but the federal government (through increased taxes), the Ontario manufacturing sector, and skilled tradespeople from across Canada who have migrated to Fort McMurray for employment.

Mandate of the Expert Panel

On December 15, 2010, the Expert Panel will release its report at a press conference in Edmonton, Alberta. Also on December 15, the report will become publicly and freely available for download on the website of the Royal Society of Canada at: http://www.rsc.ca/expertpanels_reports.php

The major health and environmental issues that are elaborated upon in the report include:

Land reclamation: What undertakings have government and industry made with respect to land disturbance and reclamation, and what is the current state of performance?

Adequacy of financial security for reclamation liability: Are there significant public liabilities resulting from land disturbance and the current rate of reclamation? 

Impacts of oil sands contaminants on downstream residents: Are environmental contaminant exposures from oil sands developments reaching downstream communities at levels expected to cause elevated human cancer in the local population?

Impacts on population health in Wood Buffalo: What do population health indicators show about the health of the population of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) in relation to a comparable region and the provincial average in Alberta?

Impacts on regional water supply: Are oil sands water use demands threatening the viability of downstream waterways?

Impacts on regional water quality: What is the evidence for water pollution and how adequate is current water quality monitoring in the oil sands region?

Impacts on ambient air quality: What does current emissions and ambient air quality monitoring show about air quality impacts from oil sands development on regional air quality?

Impacts on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG): What are the trends in the oil sands industry with respect to GHG emissions and emissions intensity?  What are the challenges for Alberta and Canada - in terms of meeting Canada's international commitments for reducing overall GHG emissions - that are represented in these trends?

Environmental regulatory performance: Is the regulatory capacity of the Alberta and Canadian Governments keeping pace with the expansion of the oil sands industry?

Adequacy of environmental impact assessments (EIA): How well is the EIA process working for determining whether oil sands projects, as approved, are in the public interest?

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Members of the Panel

Dr. Pierre Gosselin, Director, Directorate of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Risks, Québec National Institute of Public Health, and Université Laval;

Dr. Steve E. Hrudey, FRSC, Professor Emeritus, Analytical and Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta (Chair);

Dr. Anne Naeth, Professor of Ecology, Land Reclamation, Revegetation, and Restoration Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta;

Dr. André Plourde, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta;

Dr. René Therrien, Professor of Hydrogeology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Université Laval;

Dr. Glen Van Der Kraak, Professor of Zoology and Associate Dean of Research, College of Biological Sciences, University of Guelph;

Dr. Zhenghe Xu, Teck Professor, NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sands Engineering, and Canada Research Chair in Mineral Processing, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta.

Press Conference Details 

• Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 11:00 am
  
• Tory Lecture Theatre LB-11, University of Alberta (For venue details and to view the map visit: www.rsc-src.ca/expertpanels_reports.php)
• Hard copies of the Expert Panel Executive Summary will be available at 9:00 am onsite

For further information: