9.5 million litres of toxic waste spills in Northern Alberta

[Tonington]

Bad timing for folks in the energy business.

The substance is the inky black colour of oil, and the treetops are brown. Across a broad expanse of northern Alberta muskeg, the landscape is dead. It has been poisoned by a huge spill of 9.5 million litres of toxic waste from an oil and gas operation in northern Alberta, the third major leak in a region whose residents are now questioning whether enough is being done to maintain aging energy infrastructure.

The spill was first spotted on June 1. But not until Wednesday did Houston-based Apache Corp. release estimates of its size, which exceeds all of the major recent spills in North America. It comes amid heightened sensitivity about pipeline safety, as the industry faces broad public opposition to plans for a series of major new oil export pipelines to the U.S., British Columbia and eastern Canada.​

Toxic waste spill in northern Alberta biggest of recent disasters in North America - The Globe and Mail

 

[petros]

There was a spill but nobody knows what it is and are going on the word of a Dene Chief?

Does he need a new truck?

 

[Zipperfish]

They really don't do themselves any favours in the long-term trying to cover these things up.

 

[petros]

Who? Indians that get POed because they need new trucks to keep them quiet but don't always get one? How much does he want?

 

[Zipperfish]

I don't know about that, but the fact is that Keystone and Enbridge pipelines are at critical junctures. Cover-ups aren't going to help their cause.

 

[petros]

Who, the Dene?

 

[damngrumpy]

Lots of things to think about when it comes to a spill its not if its when.
If the place is really polluted already what's a few more litres. I do think
its it a spill and if they clean it up properly they can learn from it, and
perhaps prevent more serious damage when they have a larger spill.
Remember we learn more from one mistake than we do from all of our
successes.

 

[petros]

What spill? The one the Chief who wants more money says exists?

 

[B00Mer]

Was this BP?? :lol:

 

[petros]

It was Indians. Apache.

 

[karrie]

There was a spill but nobody knows what it is and are going on the word of a Dene Chief?

Does he need a new truck?

They know exactly what it is. Apache released the numbers. The Dene chief is only making it clear what 'produced water' means, so that Apache doesn't try to downplay it in the media.

For those who aren't familiar with the oil patch, who don't know what some of these sorts of byproducts are.... produced water is so toxic that a few moronic field hands use it to sterilize the earth in places, like around granaries, under decks, etc. Places where they don't want to have to mow, or ever worry again about anything growing.

 

[petros]

Yeah, brine will do that and there is nothing "toxic" about brine.

 

[karrie]

Yeah, brine will do that and there is nothing "toxic" about brine.

Those in the know, know that down hole water and water from oilsands are not the same.

Produced water is not 'just brine', and even if it were 'just brine' is toxic to the land that exists there. It's nothing to sniff at. It's unnecessary environmental damage with an alarming lack of oversight or prevention going into it.

I'm all for logical application of environmentalism. We need oil, I hate when people are nutty about oil production. But by the same token, this is not okay.

 

[petros]

So, how do energy companies replace aging infrastructure without causing confusion amongst the moonbats? When they want to update, it's evil, when old sh*t breaks, it's evil and FNs never ever embellish or want more money when the opportunity arises?

 

[karrie]

So, how do energy companies replace aging infrastructure without causing confusion amongst the moonbats? When they want to update, it's evil, when old sh*t breaks, it's evil and FNs never ever embellish or want more money when the opportunity arises?

Well, Apache's the one that release the numbers on the size of the spill, so I don't see why you're accusing the Dene of embellishing.

This is the Dene's backyard, their trap lines, their livelihood, in a way that I think most people aren't familiar with First Nations actually living off the land. A lot of the Dene in that area do not own vehicles, and once you're up there, you understand.... just to drive from Zama to the nearest community is an hour and a half, and from there to any other community, an hour and a half again. It's a mind boggling amount of muskeg. These FN communities are actually, really truly, isolated and living more traditionally than most. To go poison a massive swath of their trap lines, their hunting ground, is something they have every right to be vocal about, and from what I'm reading, they're not embellishing. You need something more than the colour of their skin to accuse them of that.

 

[petros]

Embellishing on the effects. Have any of the claims made been verified or are they still using words like "may have", "suspect", "suggest" etc.

 

[karrie]

Embellishing on the effects. Have any of the claims made been verified or are they still using words like "may have", "suspect", "suggest" etc.

*scratches head* Do you mean have they verified the report that the oil company released that says it was 9.5 billion litres of produced water let go into wet lands?

 

[petros]

Re-read the article which goes from "the treetops are brown" to “Every plant and tree died” to "information compiled by the Dene Tha suggests the toxic substance contains hydrocarbons, high levels of salt, sulphurous compounds, metals and naturally occurring radioactive materials, along with chemical solvents and additives used by the oil industry".

How did they manage to "compile information" in just a couple of days? They hired Batman and used the lab in the bat cave?

I suppose they'll blame the sh*tty winter and sh*tty trapping season on the spill and ask for compensation of some sort too.

I spent two years working on a joint study with several bands and NRCan looking into the impacts of the nuclear industry. When the locals found out there wasn't big enough issues to warrant compensation beyond what was already being paid the lower lip dragging could be heard in Mexico.

The entire thing was a joke and all about money and nothing more.

My opinions on the northern tribes took a 180 after that and I now look at everything as suspect and money motivated when they start making claims.

 

[karrie]

Their land is damaged. They have every right to try to get what they can for said damage.

I'm pretty sure if someone went and dumped produced water all over your fields, you'd get a portion of what they're saying.

And yes, all those things are pretty logical to find in produced water. The oil company is doing a pretty fast dance in trying to say produced water is 'just' brine water with a little oil. Ask any oil patch hand if they'd want produced water dumped in their back yard and you'd be guaranteed to see some pretty firm 'no's.

If you really think the tree tops turning brown due to a produced water spill ISN'T the trees dying you've got another thing coming.

Apache isn't denying any of these claims other than trying to minimize it a bit with word play.... 'it's not toxic waste, toxic waste is industrial, and this came out of the ground'. 'It's just produced water, just a bit of brine'. 9.5 million litres of brine and downhole contaminants dumped into a freshwater wet land.

 

[petros]

Where does it say it was "their land" all it says is land they trap on more than likely with permission of Apache. Because the tops are brown the trees are dead? Really? When they cough up fact, I'll believe them. In the mean time, the claims will remain suspect.