Outrage over silence as toxic oil tailings leaked
Since the Kearl mine in northern Alberta began production on Treaty 8 territory in 2013, the company has touted technological innovations that they say \u201cenhance environmental performance.\u201d\n\nYet for months, wastewater from the mine\u2019s tailings ponds, containing arsenic, hydrocarbons and sulphides has been seeping into the land.\n\nThe company that runs the mine, Imperial Oil, first reported the leak in May 2022 to the provincial regulator. But Chief Allan Adam of the nearby Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says his community only learned of the seepage last month.\n\nThat\u2019s created anxiety, says Chief Adam, because people have been hunting, fishing and trapping without knowing there was a risk of contamination.\n\nDrew Anderson, the Narwhal\u2019s Prairies reporter, joins us today to walk us through how the leak happened, Alberta\u2019s tailings pond debate and who\u2019s accountable.\n\nFor transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts