Are there increased levels of mercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), or arsenic in water bodies or animals in the oil sands region?
The Athabasca River region is unique because of the naturally occurring oil sands that the river runs through. Sediment from the banks of the river are caught in the current and because of this, there are naturally occurring contaminants in the water. Data from the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program indicates no increase in concentrations of contaminants as oil sands development has progressed. The Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program also monitors polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) levels in the river. There is no doubt that PAHs are in the sediments downstream of the oil sands. This is due to the magnitude of the oily sand along the river banks through which the river has eroded naturally. PAH levels found in samples on other rivers in the area with absolutely no industrial oil sands activity have been found to be higher than samples taken downstream from oil sands developments. The sources in the area are natural. There is evidence that PAH concentrations in delta sediments ar
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