An article in the Globe & Mail Sept 7, 2020 says, “a central tenet of industrial development is the polluter-pays principle” but it seldom happens. Alberta is no different. It has been estimated that to clean up all the abandoned oil and gas wells throughout the province, it will cost $260 billion and take 30 years to complete.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation released a report that “asserted that the Government of Canada was failing to effectively enforce the pollution prevention provisions of the federal Fisheries Act with respect to the alleged leaking of deleterious substances from oil sands tailings ponds in northeastern Alberta, Canada.” Alberta’s Athabasca River and its tributaries and area groundwater are being polluted by this seepage and the Fisheries Act was designed to protect fish from contamination and deleterious substances. It seems neither the federal nor provincial government have anything in place to monitor this.

Deleterious Substances? How bad can it be? What is it?

Fracking is a popular way to extract oil and gas. Water and chemicals create a brine mixture they shoot down into the wells for flushing. Naturally it’s this mixture is contaminated when it’s returned to the surface. They store it in holding ponds or tailing ponds. They are looking into ways this can be filtered, cleaned and returned to the Athabasca River. But the seepage from these ponds hasn’t been cleaned and it’s loaded with toxins.

On the east coast a few years ago, frackers were drilling exploratory wells. They didn’t have any plan for getting rid of the millions of litres of wastewater. Atlantic Industrial Services (AIS) asked Windsor, a town of 3,785 people in Hants County in western Nova Scotia, to dispose of the fracking waste water. Questions were raised after millions of litres of wastewater was put through the town’s sewage treatment plant. From there it would be flushed out into the Minas Basin and make its way to the Bay of Fundy.

Experts were consulted. The wastewater was deemed safe to dispose of. Not everyone was convinced. Ken Summers, a member of the Nova Scotia Fracking Resource and Action Coalition, had the resources to begin an investigation. These were difficult times to look for scientific information. In 2014 Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut down or pulled funding for hundreds of federal programs and world renowned research facilities.

Mr. Summers released a report, “Critical Toxins Present, But Will Not Be Tested For,” in 2015. In his report he says:

These chemical compounds listed as present in hydraulic fracturing waste include, but are not limited to, Methanol, Isoproponal, Ethoxylated Alcohol, Trisodium Nitrotriacetate, Sodium Persulphate, Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, Acrylamide Copolymer, Fatty Acid Esters, Terpene, Alcohol, Alkyl Alkoxylate, Methylene Bis (Thocyanate), and 2-(Thiocyanomethylthio) Benzothiozole.

Most of these compounds are documented to pose health risks, yet do not have provincial or federal health guidelines at this time. Over two-thirds of these compounds are rated as having moderate to high risks to human health. The last two compounds are biocides to which the EPA gave their highest level warning: Toxicity Category 1.[2]

• Methylene Bis (Thocyanate)
• (Thiocyanomethylthio) Benzothiozole

Here’s a look at some other chemicals Mr. Summers mentions in his report:

Trisodium nitrilotriacetate:
Known as a carcinogen. Also an environmental hazard as it hinders the elimination of heavy metals in wastewater treatment systems. It appears in products like Tilex Soap Scum Remover & Sunlight Laundry Detergent. It is also a common flame retardant. Although it is a known carcinogen, it is overly dangerous in wastewater.

Sodium Persulfate:
Exposure via inhalation or skin contact can cause sensitization, i.e., after initial exposure individuals may subsequently react to exposure at very low levels of that substance. Exposure can also cause skin rashes and eczema. Sodium persulfate is irritating to eyes and respiratory system and long-term exposure may cause changes in lung function (i.e. pneumoconiosis resulting in disease of in airways) and/or asthma.

Benzothiazole:
A chemcial ring of Benzene and Toluene. Short-term health effects of exposure include dizziness, headaches, loss of coordination, respiratory distress, and skin, eye, nose and throat irritation. Long-term health effects of exposure include kidney, liver, and blood system damage. Long-term exposure to benzene can affect bone marrow, causing anaemia and increasing the risk of leukaemia and diseases such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Benzene is a health hazard even in minute quantities. Australian drinking water guidelines for benzene state that there is “no safe concentration of benzene in drinking water.”

Methanol:
A highly toxic VOC is readily absorbed via ingestion, inhalation, and skin exposure. Causes central nervous system depression and degenerative changes in the brain and visual system. In the body, methanol is metabolized into formaldehyde and formic acid, and is toxic in very small doses if ingested. Chronic exposure causes headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, and blindness in humans.

The above chemical descriptions were obtained from an article written by Dr. Wayne Somerville B.A. (Hons.), M.Clin.Psych., D.Psy. Clinical Psychologist, titled CSG and Your Health: Understand the Risks and Protecting Your Family

Acrylamide Copolymer:
Once inside the body, acrylamide binds to red blood cells. Potential symptoms of overexposure to monomeric acrylamide include numbness of the limbs, and weakness and lack of coordination in the legs. Long-term exposure to small doses of acrylamide can cause nerve damage in the extremities. Some tunnel construction workers have experienced neurological damage from exposure to acrylamide in the grout. Animal studies have shown acrylamide to be a carcinogen, although evidence supporting increased cancer in humans following occupational exposure to acrylamide remains controversial.

Terpene:
Classified as a Group 1 carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency’s report (removed after Trump was elected during his assault on the EPA) in the US warned about:

ECOTOXICITY
• Acute Toxicity to Fish
• Acute Toxicity to Aquatic Invertebrates
• Acute Toxicity to Aquatic Plants

HUMAN HEALTH TOXICITY
• Acute Toxicity
• Genetic Toxicity
• Repeat Dose Toxicity
• Reproductive Toxicity
• Developmental/Teratogenicity Toxicity

Alkyl Alkoxylate:
The production and use of nonylphenol and nonyphenol ethoxylates is prohibited in the European Union due to its effects on health and the environment. In Europe, due to environmental concerns. Besides being a known carcinogen, it has been shown to have a negative impact on pregnant women, and people’s metabolism. Wikipedia has a good article on it if you would like more information.

There hasn’t been any mention of NORMs yet. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material are brought to the surface with the wastewater. Radium-226 is five times the density of water. It’s going to sink into the sediment of the Athabasca River and bio-accumulate. It is a natural carcinogen and will be found in larger quantities where fracking occurs.

Radium-226 has a half-shelf life of 1,600 years, but after it has been brought to the surface it starts decaying immediately. This means it breaks down into several other radioactive chemicals and soon becomes Radon.

A 2012 Health Canada study found that more than seven per cent of the homes measured in Calgary, Peace River, David Thompson Country and Aspen regional health districts had dangerous levels of radon (200 becquerels per cubic metre). High levels of radon have also been found in northeast B.C. That geographic region has also witnessed intense shale gas activity over the last decade.

There’s no safe amount of toxins or foreign chemicals we can ingest with impunity. The dance with toxins is a game of chemical Russian Roulette. It doesn’t matter whether these chemicals are used in the east or the west, the toxicity is the same. There may be slight differences due to variances in soil, but these chemicals will all be present in fracking wastewater.