We are very pleased to see this important commentary in print - the authors were great to work with, the peer-reviewers very positive about the article, and we hope it was a good experience for everyone. If you want to see the reviewer comments, they are linked to in the footer of the PDF of the manuscript (we are working on making them more prominent). Congratulations to the author team of Reena Sandhu and colleagues!
Climate Program Manager @ Environmental Defence | 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders
In what is perhaps my nerdiest moment to date, I'm excited to share our peer-reviewed editorial on improving oil sands waste management was just published! 🤓 🎉 In "Evidence-based approaches to managing Canadian oil sands tailing pond waste", we argue there is a *lot* to do to mitigate and address the environmental and human health disaster that is oil sands mining. I'll summarize our observations and recommendations below! Thank you to our fearless leader Reena Sandhu for driving this forward - your ideas, rigour and dedication shine through this paper. Thank you also to co-authors P. David Josephy, David Dolan, Chijioke Emenike, PhD, Tim Takaro, Leah Leon and Gail S. Fraser who all volunteered lots of time and brainpower to get us here. In the paper, we focus on the local impacts of oil sands toxic waste on communities and ecosystems, and conclude: ➡ Given the decades of exposure for local Indigenous communities and ecosystems, any action the industry takes to permanently dispose of this waste must guarantee *no further exposure* to toxic waste. This is a new approach compared to the usual harm reduction standards. ➡ An independent assessment of the risks posed by this waste is long overdue and should be a priority. For those new to the topic, you might be shocked to hear it doesn't currently exist! ➡ Indigenous communities directly impacted by the pollution must be decision-makers in what happens next, not simply consulted or informed. Check out the full piece here (open access): https://lnkd.in/e3UmGuq9