*

Ottawa to provide C$12 million over 10 years for Fort

Chipewyan

Health Study

*

Communities report higher rates of cancer, autoimmune

diseases,

skin irritations, and severe arthritis

*

Pollution concerns intensify after tailings water leak

from

Imperial Oil ( IMO )

(Adds Alberta government comment in paragraph 12)

By Nia Williams

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Canada will fund an Indigenous-led

study into how oil sands development impacts the health of local

communities, the government said on Wednesday, following a

tailings water leak from an Imperial Oil ( IMO ) site that

heightened pollution concerns.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Ottawa would

provide C$12 million ($8.71 million) over 10 years for the Fort

Chipewyan Health Study, which may include an assessment of

whether there are heightened risks of cancer for communities

downstream of the oil sands region.

Fort Chipewyan is one of several Indigenous communities in

remote Northern Alberta that last year learned that tailings

water - a toxic mix of bitumen, sand and residual bitumen - had

been seeping for months from Imperial's nearby Kearl mining

site.

For years those communities have reported higher rates of

cancer and other health issues including autoimmune diseases,

skin irritations and severe arthritis, Chief Allan Adam of the

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation told reporters on a conference

call. He added that his community first called for a health

study in 1992.

If the study points to impacts on communities from the oil

sands it would force the federal and provincial governments and

companies to put stronger environmental and health measures in

place, Guilbeault told reporters on the call.

"That would be the only reasonable course of action," he

said. "I have heard first-hand how the Kearl mine spill affected

the communities but also how these concerns are not new."

Around two-thirds of Canada's 5 million barrels per day of

crude output come from the oil sands, and Imperial is one of the

largest producers alongside Suncor Energy ( SU ) and Canadian

Natural Resources Ltd. ( CNQ )

"Imperial reiterates its support and our willingness to

participate in the health study announced today by the federal

government to improve understanding and build confidence in our

communities regarding our industry," an Imperial spokesperson

said in a statement, adding the company regrets the Kearl

seepage.

Pathways Alliance, a group of Canada's six biggest oil sands

producers, said in a statement it respected the leaders' desire

to seek information on the health of their community and the

region.

The goal of the study is to develop robust data examining

the health and environmental impacts of the oil sands, with

specific objectives to be developed by the communities.

Guilbeault said Ottawa had invited the Alberta government to

help fund the study but had not received any response. He added

that an independent assessment of the risks from tailings ponds

would be useful.

The Alberta government said in a statement it was committed

to working with Indigenous partners on a health study and would

seek more information on the study announced by Ottawa.

The health study is long overdue, Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro of

the Mikisew Cree First Nation, said on the conference call.

"From the time they put the first shovel in the ground all

this should have been taken care of ... but now we are playing

catch-up 30 or 40 years on as people have died," he said.

($1 = 1.3779 Canadian dollars)