At an open house on Saturday, Edmontonians had an opportunity to ask questions about a report that revealed the neighbourhood near the former Domtar site saw higher rates of cancer than other communities. 

Earlier in the week, Alberta Health revealed the province had found some contamination levels that exceeded human health guidelines for toxic chemicals at the former wood treatment site. The report said those who had been in contact with the contaminants may be at higher risk of poorer health outcomes.

Over a period of 10 years, residents of the area have experienced higher rates of breast, lung and endometrial cancer.

Although officials did not link the contamination to the spike in cancer cases, Alberta Health and federal experts said they were still investigating the increase.

Saturday night, Edmontonians asked Alberta’s chief medical officer of health if the report means they should be concerned.

“In terms of numbers it really depends. It depends how people are exposed. If somebody was regularly on the site that had the contaminants and was interacting with soil in that site, they would be at a higher risk than someone who never interacted with any of that soil,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

“The message that we’re giving is that last year we put measures in place to protect people from the contaminants that were identified on the site and that the information we released really validates the measures that were taken last year to protect people,” she replied.

The majority of samples with high contamination levels—96 per cent—were found in areas that had already been fenced off.  

Hinshaw said she was also emphasizing that the report doesn’t conclude living in the area resulted in greater risk of cancer.

“It simply means there’s an association, and we are doing more work to find out what population factors might have contributed to those cancers.”

She reminded the public there are lots of ways to reduce the risk of cancer, including reexamining personal smoking, dietary and exercise habits, or visiting a family doctor.

The provincial government is expected to release a soil sampling report about the former Domtar site later this month.

All areas with high levels of toxic chemicals will continue to be fenced off.

Another public information session will be held on March 14 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room 3 at Clareview Community Recreation Centre.