Health concerns continue following northern Alberta oil spill

Concern is growing among northern Alberta residents living near the site of a massive oil spill.

A break in the Rainbow pipeline has spilled an estimated 28,000 barrels of oil about 12 kilometres from the hamlet of Little Buffalo.

"My sister lives by the lake over here and she said she was getting dizzy and she didn't know what the problem was," said Carmen Langer, who lives in Little Buffalo.

Plains All American Pipeline, the company that owns and operates the pipeline, has set up air quality monitoring stations at the site of the spill and in Little Buffalo, where staff and students at a local school have reported feeling ill.

"Although there is an odour at the release site, the monitors at the site have detected no hydrocarbon levels above Alberta ambient air quality guidelines," said Mike Hallahan, vice-president of Midstream Canada, the Canadian arm of Plains All American Pipeline.

Hallahan also said that crews on site working to clean up the spill have reported no negative health effects.

Company officials maintain that the break was a "singular failure" and not a "systemic problem," though not everyone is convinced.

"It should be a concern to the general public," said Steve Noskey, chief of the Lubicon Lake First nation. "It's a line that was built in the 60s and it could happen anywhere as it travels into Edmonton."

Premier Ed Stelmach said Thursday that his government intends on holding those accountable responsible.

"From what I gather they could be doing a better job and we're going to hold their feet to the fire to make sure they're there," Stelmach said.

Plains All American Pipeline says there as nearly 150 staff working on cleaning up the spill site. The company is expected to make more information available at a news conference on Friday.

The Rainbow pipeline is approximately 770 kilometres long and runs from Rainbow Lake to an Enbridge processing plant just outside of Edmonton.