Birds Dying In Oil Sands Tailings Ponds

A new study suggests that birds are liable dying in oil sands tailings ponds at least 30 times the rate suggested by industry and government. Study author Kevin Timoney says his results add more weight to influence that relying on industry to check its own environmental impacts isn't working.

Industry reports that the normal number of birds that die in oil sands tailings ponds is about 65. But using a combination of observed data and systematically established averages, Mr. Timoney puts the median figure closer to 2,000 every year.

Sustainable Resources Minister Mel Knight admits that bird deterrence and monitoring could be enhanced. But he says that relying on industry to keep track of the oil sands environmental collision allows for round-the-clock, seven-day-a-week monitoring.