Suchergebnisse

The main aim of this report is to inform policymakers and the public about live-in caregivers' perspectives on the policies and procedures that affect their lives. The focus of the report is on caregivers in Fort McMurray, Alberta who are in Canada as temporary foreign workers. Results are based on two surveys: 1) a January 2016 survey of caregivers' views of, and experiences with, current government policies and procedures (especially changes implemented in November 2014), and 2) a brief follow-up study with a sub-sample of survey participants regarding the effects of the May 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. Issues affecting caregivers are exacerbated and exposed by the events of the fire and the oil price collapse

The Fort McMurray wildfire was the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with far-reaching impacts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence and risk factors of elevated generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptomatology in residents of Fort McMurray 6 months after the wildfire. Data were collected via random selection procedures from 486 participants. Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were measured via the GAD-7. The 1-month prevalence rate for GAD symptomatology 6 months after the disaster was 19.8% overall, regression analyses revealed six variables with significant unique contributions to prediction of GAD symptomatology. Significant predictors were: pre-existing anxiety disorder, witnessing of homes being destroyed by the wildfire, living in a different home after the wildfire, receiving limited governmental support or limited family support, and receiving counseling after the wildfire. Participants with these risk factors were between two to nearly seven times more likely to present with GAD symptomatology. In addition, participants who presented with elevated symptomatology were more likely to increase use or problematically use substances post-disaster. This study extends the literature on mental health conditions and risk factors following disasters, specifically in the area of generalized anxiety. Findings and implications are discussed.

Abstract. The destructive nature of the  ∼  590 000 ha Horse river wildfire in the Western Boreal Plain (WBP), northern Alberta, in May of 2016 motivated the investigation of the hydrometeorological conditions that preceded the fire. Historical climate and field hydrometeorological data from a moderate-rich fen watershed were used to (a) identify whether the spring 2016 conditions were outside the range of natural variability for WBP climate cycles, (b) explain the observed patterns in burn severity across the watershed, and (c) identify whether fall and winter moisture signals observed in peatlands and lowland forests in the region are indicative of wildfire. Field hydrometeorological data from the fen watershed confirmed the presence of cumulative moisture deficits prior to the fire. Hydrogeological investigations highlighted the susceptibility of fen and upland areas to water table and soil moisture decline over rain-free periods (including winter), due to the watershed's reliance on supply from localized flow systems originating in topographic highs. Subtle changes in topographic position led to large changes in groundwater connectivity, leading to greater organic soil consumption by fire in wetland margins and at high elevations. The 2016 spring moisture conditions measured prior to the ignition of the fen watershed were not illustrated well by the Drought Code (DC) when standard overwintering procedures were applied. However, close agreement was found when default assumptions were replaced with measured duff soil moisture recharge and incorporated into the overwintering DC procedure. We conclude that accumulated moisture deficits dating back to the summer of 2015 led to the dry conditions that preceded the fire. The infrequent coinciding of several hydrometeorological conditions, including low autumn soil moisture, a modest snowpack, lack of spring precipitation, and high spring air temperatures and winds, ultimately led to the Horse river wildfire spreading widely and causing the observed burn patterns. Monitoring soil moisture at different land classes and watersheds would aid management strategies in the production of more accurate overwintered DC calculations, providing fire management agencies early warning signals ahead of severe spring wildfire seasons.

This paper presents the results of a survey that was undertaken to examine homeowners' FireSmart mitigation practices and investigate existing incentives and barriers to uptake of FireSmart Canada's recommended wildfire mitigation activities in the Urban Service Area of Fort McMurray Alberta. Single-family residential property owners, the large majority of whom were affected by the Horse River wildfire, were invited to participate in an online survey. A total of 496 surveys were completed, with a response rate of 38%. We found that most of the participants generally perceive a low to moderate wildfire risk to their properties: they felt there was a low chance of a catastrophic fire happening soon and/or 'enough' had already been done to reduce the immediate risk. Although about half of the participants searched for information about FireSmart, having information or knowledge of FireSmart did not translate into substantial adoption of recommended mitigation actions. Survey participants generally preferred and implemented more of the low-cost, low effort mitigation measures such as cutting grasses and cleaning debris, likely for reasons other than wildfire risk reduction. With regard to structural measures, we found asphalt shingles and vinyl siding were present on the majority of homes; although this was not a choice but was provided by the builder or on the home when it was purchased. Very few respondents were willing to replace their siding or roof––the cost was the single biggest factor. In addition, we identified several other factors as negatively influencing homeowners' mitigation actions, including the tendency to shift responsibility to the municipal government and social pressure such as neighbors not being as proactive in completing FireSmart mitigation measures. Recommendations that may help promote positive wildfire mitigation behaviors are discussed.

Little research has been conducted to investigate the needs and challenges of homeless individuals living in FM. In this paper, the social determinant of health that exacerbated homelessness in Fort McMurray, Canada, were highlighted . The study implemented a participatory action research design. In-depth open-ended life history interviews were conducted individually with 15 participant which were experiencing homelessness at the time of the study. Common threads were identified across shared experiences embedded within the broad social, cultural, and institutional macro system. These adults face difficult daily challenges including finding adequate and affordable housing and food, securing a safe place to sleep, overcoming addictions and consequently avoiding the rampant availability of drugs and alcohol. Many of FM's homeless also deal with job loss, physical and mental health problems, dangerous environments, and traumatic histories of hardship. Many have been exposed to histories of addictions and depression. The homeless population of FM experiences multiple barriers to survival, including a limited number of available shelter beds, restrictive shelter rules, and high rental-housing costs. The unique economic situation in FM impacts homeless people as a result of the extremely high cost of living, and job turnover fuelled by pull factors associated with the oil industry. Addressing homelessness in FM will need a multisectoral, multidisciplinary approach, and political commitment to attend to the SDOH that are exacerbating the problem. This can only be achieved by the full participation of all the different sectors involved and the people affected, the homeless.

In response to the global mythology spawned by visual representations of Fort McMurray, Canada, this article examines a critical, collaborative youth project that sought oblique entry points to prevailing storylines of "community"
and to what it might mean to live in the shadow of one of the world's largest resource extraction complexes. Building on visual methodologies where participants are encouraged to produce representations of home and place, we explore
the two-way dynamic of the camera as a catalyst for assembling a temporary research collective and, by the same token, as a tool for composing and assaying the contours of "community." The project under consideration encouraged
participants to learn skills of photography and to dynamically engage with other participants, researchers, and the place(s) of Fort McMurray around the creation and public display of images in both on-line and off-line spaces. Where possibilities
of "community" are polarized, occluded, and/or overdetermined by the visual narratives of rapid resource development, collaboration around the camera helps to discern and speak back to the fault lines of community — including as they play out in the everyday lives of youth. Specific photos and the narratives around them are used to illustrate how the camera created and revealed iterations
and relations of community across multiple scales, from the microcosm of the photography research group to the regional infrastructure of oil sands production.

High wages in the oil sands well exceed the Canadian average, making complex class differences less apparent here than elsewhere. This lends itself to a homogenizing narrative of community despite differences in wages, background, citizenship status, and so on. Wolf's useful counter-framework outlines specific processes by which workers are situated, and by which they situate themselves, in labour hierarchies within the accumulation process. Drawing on interviews and participant observation involving two groups (university-educated immi- grant professionals and high-school educated mine labourers and tradespeople from Newfoundland), we argue that layers of precariousness in both these groups thrust them into "community by necessity." The unsettling nature of work in the oil sands emerges as a story within a story. In the larger narrative, where "Fort McMurray is jobs," community is invoked as a place in which household financial security is possible. Inherent in that security, however, is a story of pervasive insecurity wrought by the possibility of injury on the job, paternalism, or redundancies created through company restructuring and economic crises. "Community" is necessary to keep people in place (literally and metaphorically) and at the same time elides ongoing struggles against dispossession.

Abstract

Background
In May 2016, firefighters from the province of Alberta, Canada deployed to a fire that engulfed the urban area of Fort McMurray. During the first days of the fire, firefighters experienced heavy smoke exposures during greatly extended work shifts. Urinary samples were collected post-deployment from three fire services for estimation of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) concentration, reflecting exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), to determine the effects of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and skin hygiene in reducing internal dose


Methods
Urine samples from one fire service (n = 62) were analyzed for 1-HP by two laboratories, using different assays (LC-MS/MS: GC-MS): remaining samples were analyzed just by LC-MS/MS. A Skin Exposure Mitigation Index (SEMI) was computed from questions on opportunities for changing clothing, showering, and washing during breaks. Regression analyses, using 1-HP ng/g creatinine as the dependent variable, assessed the effect of RPE and skin factors on PAH absorption, allowing for environmental exposure and potential confounders. Stratification identified key groups with equal delay in sample collection.


Results
1-HP was detected in 71.0% of 62 samples by LC-MS/MS and 98.4% by GC-MS, with good mutual agreement between the methods. In 171 post-fire samples, 1-HP corrected for creatinine was related to current cigarette smoking and recent barbeque. Among those with samples collected within 48 h, urinary 1-HP was correlated with estimated exposure(r = 0.53, P < 0.001). In those with only one rotation before urine sample collection, no effect was seen of RPE use but I-HP was significantly lower (P = 0.003) in those with those with a high score on the SEMI scale, indicating better access to factors mitigating skin absorption.


Conclusion
Skin exposure to PAHs is an important route of absorption in firefighters, which can be mitigated by good skin hygiene.

Introduction to the Special Issue