A University of Toronto research team says air pollution from the oil sands is probably being underestimated.
The group looked at reported levels of what are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can cause cancer.
It found that emissions might be two to three times higher than the estimates in environmental reviews of projects.
That’s because their study included ways those compounds get into the air beyond just the extraction process, like evaporation from tailings ponds.
It found that the concentration of those compounds in the air in the region was comparable to a big city like Toronto.
