There are also a lot of arsenic and mercury found in the water and the fish are becoming contaminated because of this. The levels of these are higher then they should be. People who were fishing caught abnormal growths and hunters found fowl covered in oil. The drinking water in this community has been tested and is said to be safe to drink. Why would you even want to drink it if you know what it is doing to the people and wildlife? The few times I visited Fort Chipewyan, I've always drank bottled water. Just knowing these things just makes you unsure. The government has to know what it's doing to the environment but probably only worried about the money that the oil sands are bringing in and not worried about the side affects.
http://mostlywater.org/study_proves_it_tar_sands_operations_poisoning_athabasca_basin_fort_chipewyan
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It must get so frustrating for the residence of Fort Chip to be told that their drinking water has been proven to be safe to drink. For me, just going through the article that you've posted and referring to some that are in this blog from back in 2006, the evidence is clear that the water is not safe. I don't understand why the tests keep saying that the water is fine. It's frustrating for me and I don't have to drink the water! Obviously the testing facility or the testers themselves are not up to par. Bribary much? It's all so corrupt and twisted and the shady antics of officials makes my stomach turn.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of obvious. I actually do not believe that the water is safe. Also it is even frustrating to see testing the water for safety. If I am living in the Fort Chip, I would be mad and I probably would move out to other cities. There is no doubt that the water is not safe, but I think the government is pressing media and news because if water is found to be not safe enough, then government loses huge amount of money. I am just really mad that the government is playing with people lives. It is sick
ReplyDeleteThe results of this study are horrible but at the same time it is exactly what was expected. However, this article did leave me confused on a certain issue.
ReplyDeleteIs it that the drinking water that comes from the tape, and therefore the water treatment plant that is safe, while water from the lake that is not? Or is it all water, treated or otherwise, unsafe? Since the study said that high levels of pollutants such as mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are present in one sentence while claiming the water is safe in another. The reason I ask is that in an earlier article on this blog it mention that residents used to drink straight from the lake. If drinking untreated water is the cause then the solution is much easy to deal with, since people can drink tape water and not just bottle. Though if the tape water is containmented then the problem is much larger.