Delayed Cancer Study Nears Completion After Years of Waiting

In 2025, the results of a long-awaited investigation into elevated cancer rates among residents living near a former wood treatment plant in northeast Edmonton are expected to be published. The investigation began in the Homesteader neighborhood after a preliminary health study released in 2019 found that residents living near the site of the former Domtar plant had elevated rates of cancer.

According to Alberta Health officials, the epidemiological investigation's findings and methodology will be subject to scientific peer review before being made public. The study is being conducted by Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, with federal epidemiologists dispatched to Edmonton in 2019 to complete several months of field work.

As the years have passed, reminders of the neighborhood's toxic legacy, including fences and warning signs, have slowly been removed. Last fall, the remaining executive orders for the cleanup of the plant lands were lifted, as Alberta Environment issued reclamation certificates for the three remaining parcels of land where contamination had been found. The cleanup work has involved burying or trucking away the contaminated soil, environmental testing, and dust control measures.

While the cancer study findings remain outstanding, Alberta Health Services considers the general risk to the public as low. However, until more is known from the epidemiology investigation, residents of the area are encouraged to take added caution with health screening and talk to their doctors about the elevated cancer rates.