Alberta First Nations request Ottawa to classify oil sands tailings component as toxic, prompting potential human health study and new regulations.

Two Alberta First Nations request Ottawa to classify a component of oil sands tailings as toxic. This move could force a long-awaited human health study, bring the industry under new regulations, and affect its ability to release treated wastewater. The First Nations' concern is focused on naphthenic acids, found in tailings and other oilsands wastewater, which are toxic to fish, affect hormone function in humans and other mammals, and may be carcinogenic.