Tag Archives: oilsands

Deleterious Substances in the Athabasca River is a Toxic Brew

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.

Link

Small Minded Government To Use Hydrogen To Power Oilsands

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Alberta Tarsands: This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

JWN Energy claims green hydrogen is set to be competitive with fossil fuels by 2040. Green hydrogen is made from renewable energy such as solar or wind. Blue hydrogen is made using natural gas. It’s more environmentally friendly than traditional fuel sources, but not as friendly as green hydrogen

Last month I published an article saying, Alberta eyes a cleaner future as a hydrogen superpower. It includes a quote by Simon Dyer, deputy executive director of the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank. “Alberta has a lot of the building blocks in place to be able to compete in this space and develop a thriving hydrogen economy.” He said, “Hydrogen could represent a lifeline to Alberta’s oil and gas industry,”

Naturally, I envisioned Alberta becoming a world leader in producing and distributing hydrogen. It would give us the edge. When the world wanted Alberta’s bitumen, there wasn’t any mention of reaching tidewaters to get it to the market. They came and got it. Now that it’s the dirtiest and least valued oil in the world, no-one wants it. The government, whose budget relies on oil revenue to meet it’s budget, is completely delusional to think we can turn back time, to when it was in high demand.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney feels if markets were more accessible, Alberta could move more oil. He bemoans the province’s lack of pipelines to get the precious cargo to the coast. He’s sure if he had a way to load it onto tankers, that international markets would quickly snap it up. He needs to produce more oil, in fact, as we patiently wait for this opportunity that will never come. Unfortunately, the province has limits.

There is a 100 megatonne annual limit on provincial carbon emissions. In the oil industry, emissions are produced mainly from extraction, transportation and production. Rather than turning Alberta into a world leader in the production and distribution of hydrogen, Alberta will use hydrogen to reduce emissions and increase oil production.

According to a news article, “Alberta will announce, no later than October, a strategy to develop “blue hydrogen” as a cleaner alternative to using natural gas to extract crude at steam-driven oil sands sites, Associate Minister of Natural Gas Dale Nally told Reuters in an interview.

Robert Tremblay of the Alberta Party wrote in the Lethbridge Herald that Alberta is in desperate need of economically viable energy construction projects. This hydrogen project isn’t one of them. We are also in desperate need of politicians who have the vision to lead us into the 21^st century, rather than mire the economy in the mistakes of yesterday.

Mr Tremblay says, “Even better, the domestic and global movement for climate action shows us that these projects are not risky and will not face the severe legal and social headwinds that other energy projects have faced over the past two decades.”

Report shows 70 percent of Canadian oilsands production is owned by foreign companies and shareholders

Kenney’s Dipstick is Low On Oil

Bad Investments And Bad Timing

Kenney has been making one bad investment after another and international lenders and investors have warned him. He doesn’t hear anything. He thinks if he can just tap into old age and union pensions, he can hold on a little longer.

The timing is all wrong too. The Heritage Trust Fund has almost been bled dry. Oddly enough, Norway, who years later based their trust fund on what they saw in Alberta, has banked almost 1 trillion dollars. Colleen Collins, who worked in Premier Peter Lougheed’s office when our trust fund was set up, said it was meant to transfer the province’s oil wealth to future generations, not serve as a rainy day fund or as a vehicle for diversifying the economy. But successive, mostly Conservative governments, failed to stick to the savings plan that was set up for the fund.

Although it takes money to make money and jobs, Mr. Kenney hasn’t been short on promises. Most of those promises have fallen through and blaming it all on a pandemic only goes so far. Last June, he announced a $600 million dollar infrastructure investment he claims will create 50,000 jobs. He said it would be the “largest infrastructure build in Alberta history.” It was to be the a bold new Recovery Plan and more corporate tax cuts, although the last tax cuts failed to deliver any of the jobs he had promised the last time.

In the bold new plan, he predicts global oil and gas prices will recover to a West Texas Intermediate Benchmark of at least $60 a barrel within 12 to 18 months following the return to global demand post-COVID.

The plan also claims that in that environment, Alberta’s oil and gas sector is set to thrive as long as we can build new pipelines to get our product to market. This is why we invested $1.5 billion to ensure Keystone XL broke ground this spring – creating 7,400 high-paying jobs in Canada this year alone. How these figures were arrived at is unknown. Trans Canada, the company behind Keystone XL, claims most of the jobs will be going to Americans.

The Recovery Plan is big on promises but vague on implementation. And, the number don’t add up.

It doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom. Energy Mix publisher Mitchell Beer, mentions the Pembina Institute that released a report in Alberta that hardly gets any notice. From their June report, they show an analysis of the four key areas of Alberta’s economy found that 67,200 jobs can be created over the next decade. This represents a significant portion of Alberta’s labour market – it is equal to 67% of the total workforce of the mining, and oil and gas extraction industry in 2019. These jobs – and others in emerging sectors – show the significant potential for stable, prosperous jobs for Albertans in a more diversified economy.

It doesn’t mean oil and gas jobs aren’t included in the plan. There’s just less of them with a keen eye on the future economy we will be working with.

“Alberta’s largest employers, trends indicate continued challenges ahead. Jobs centred on decarbonizing our economy (like reducing methane emissions) and addressing liabilities (through well cleanups) represent a chance to retain existing job numbers and remain competitive.”

Additionally, there is The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the European membership body for investor collaboration on climate change, and the voice of investors taking action for a prosperous, low-carbon future. Based on the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative (PAII). They provide the first-ever practical blueprint for investors to maximise the contribution they make in tackling climate change and achieving net zero emissions globally by 2050. It’s free for anyone to download.

Alberta has the resources and people to help diversify the economy so we don’t have to become a “Have Not” province. It calls for a willingness by the government to look at other avenues of investing in a future that doesn’t depend on oil & gas. Time and money are running out. We can’t continue to live in the 20th century. The world is moving on, with, or without us.

Steve MacLellan

Ramble On

Tag Archives: oilsands

Deleterious Substances in the Athabasca River is a Toxic Brew

Small Minded Government To Use Hydrogen To Power Oilsands

Report shows 70 percent of Canadian oilsands production is owned by foreign companies and shareholders

Kenney’s Dipstick is Low On Oil