Scientists Find 7,300-Square-Mile Mercury Contamination ‘Bullseye’ Around Canadian Tar Sands

Just one week after Al Jazeera discovered that regulatory responsibility for Alberta, Canada’s controversial tar sands would be handed over to a fossil-fuel funded corporation, federal scientists have found that the area’s viscous petroleum deposits are surrounded by a nearly 7,500-square-mile ring of mercury.

Canadian government scientists have found that levels of mercury — a potent neurotoxin which has been found to cause severe birth defects and brain damage — around the region’s vast tar sand operations are up to 16 times higher than regular levels for the region.  The findings, presented by Environment Canada researcher Jane Kirk at an international toxicology conference, showed that the 7,500 square-miles contaminated are “currently impacted by airborne Hg (mercury) emissions originating from oilsands developments.”

Scientists Find 7,300-Square-Mile Mercury Contamination ‘Bullseye’ Around Canadian Tar Sands