Hundreds Of Deformed Fish Found In Tar-Sands Rivers In Alberta - Industry Study Never Told Ottawa

[hatrack]

Hundreds of deformed fish found in rivers running through the Alberta oil sands have been collected and documented by an industry-led monitoring body, The Globe and Mail has learned, but the findings were not shared with the public or key decision makers in government. That body, the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP), has been criticized in scientific quarters as secretive and is under the scrutiny of three reviews. Former environment minister Jim Prentice ordered one of those reviews after being shown photos this fall of a few malformed fish, and it was delivered Thursday to Environment Canada.

It is not known whether the fish deformities are a natural occurrence or a result of toxic pollution, and the absence of full information is hindering a debate that too often sinks into partisan rhetoric. Although Environment Minister John Baird has not responded to questions about the review, it may provide fresh impetus for Ottawa to wade into how Alberta safeguards its waterways.

The data obtained from RAMP concerns deformed fish pulled from the Athabasca – a cross-border river that is formally under Ottawa’s jurisdiction and flows through the oil sands development area – and the nearby Clearwater. The data reveals that 915 fish with deformities, growths or other abnormalities have been found since 1987. That number is greater than those found in annual reports submitted by RAMP to the province.

Ottawa used to have a representative on the RAMP board, but no longer does. In a statement, Environment Canada said “our science has shown that deformities, lesions and tumours are present in the Athabasca River system at a stable level.”
Critics of oil sands development have questioned water quality in the Athabasca, although no scientific report has substantiated claims of pollution. Academics say it’s possible the proportion of fish deformities recorded by the agency that monitors water quality in the area is a natural occurrence. The deformities make up 2.2 per cent of the Athabasca sample, and 1.1 per cent in the Clearwater.

EDIT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ottawa-kept-in-the-dark-on-abnormal-fish-found-in-oil-sands-rivers/article1841714/

[hedgehog]

1. This story is an example of why I get so impatient with the scare

stories about Corexit use in the Gulf. The real hazard is the petroleum itself, IMO.

[Nihil]

2. Yeah but petroleum is a *traditional* health hazard. (n/t)

:banghead: