Oil Sands Tailings

Impacts of contaminated waterways and air pollution have been shifted onto surrounding and downstream communities to bear, which are predominantly Indigenous. Tailings ponds have resulted in a loss of access to traditional lands by Indigenous communities, fundamentally changing traditional practices such as land-based teaching, hunting and fishing, medicine harvesting, and community gatherings.   
 
Research has shown that atmospheric deposition of inorganic contaminants, such as mercury, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have increased since oil sands development began. Some pollutants can reach more than 100 km downwind of the oil sands, which can have impacts on both air and water quality   

Within the greater oil sands region, there are consumption advisories for fish species, due to concerns of elevated methyl mercury concentrations in the fish. Rates of fish abnormalities and deformities are higher than expected in downstream waters. Downstream communities are at risk of adverse health effects, especially if they drink the river water and eat resources within which contaminants have bioaccumulated. Many community members no longer trust the waters. 

Tailings ponds are known to leak into groundwater and seepage has been detected at monitoring sites extremely close to nearby surface waters. Evidence of leaking tailings ponds was first documented in 1973 by industry. More recent estimates have indicated the tailings leak over 11 million litres per day. Impacts of the leaking ponds have not been quantified, as industry and government data on the rate of leaking is not available to the public.  

Some ponds sit just a kilometer away from major rivers, raising serious concerns about contamination of the Athabasca watershed.  

The boreal forest of northern Alberta is a highly interconnected water and wetland system – even containing one of the world’s largest inland freshwater deltas 

Tailings ponds fundamentally threaten and fragment these landscapes, posing a deadly risk to wildlife – especially migratory birds, who mistake the toxic ponds for natural waterbodies needed for rest and feed. Birds can easily mistake the tailings “ponds” as safe short-term rest stops: they are large bodies of fluid (that appear to be water), often ice-free because of the warmth of industrial waste fluids, with the added attraction of artificial light sources. During poor weather conditions, birds are particularly likely to become attracted to landing in tailings “ponds”. 

Peatlands – specialized wetlands that store enormous amounts of carbon – are among Canada’s most effective natural climate solutions. Unfortunately, oil sands mining and tailings ponds have led to significant losses of peatlands and old-growth forests, impacting Canada’s opportunities to use nature to store carbon and combat climate change.   
 
These losses are largely irreversible as reclamation of peatlands (bogs, fens) is rarely achieved. One study calculates the impact of oil sands mines will result in a staggering irreversible loss of nearly 30,000 hectares of peatland.   
 
In addition to the massive loss of natural carbon sinks, oil sands operations are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, from extracting and upgrading bitumen to refining and transportation. Tailings ponds also add an additional, often overlooked, source of emissions. As residual bitumen and other heavy metals break down in the ponds, they release methane and other greenhouse gasses – emissions continue for decades (so long as the ponds remain in open-pit storage).