There is a lot of concern that the increased cancer rates in communities around the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada are a result of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many papers that have been published within the past decade show that the levels of PAHs in the Athabasca River and its tributaries are much higher than initially reported. The link between PAH exposure and cancers is widely established; PAHs were one of the first chemicals to have their carcinogenic effects documented.
As a part of my masters research through the University of Dundee, I created a bio-molecular 3D animation to present these issues to the public. These are stills from the animation.
