http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/david-suzuki/2016/11/world-class-may-not-mean-much-when-it-comes-to-oil-spill-respons
[links in on-line article]
'World class' may not mean much when it comes to oil spill response
By David Suzuki
November 1, 2016
In July, a pipeline leak near Maidstone, Saskatchewan, spilled about
250,000 litres of diluted oil sands bitumen into the North Saskatchewan
River, killing wildlife and comprising drinking water for nearby
communities, including Prince Albert. It was one of 11 spills in the
province over the previous year.
In October, a tugboat pulling an empty fuel barge ran aground near Bella
Bella on the Great Bear Rainforest coastline, spilling diesel into the
water. Stormy weather caused some of the containment booms to break.
Shellfish operations and clam beds were put at risk and wildlife
contaminated.
Governments and industry promoting fossil fuel infrastructure often talk
about "world class" spill response. It's one of the conditions B.C.'s
government has imposed for approval of new oil pipelines. But we're
either not there or the term has little meaning. "This 'world-class
marine response' did not happen here in Bella Bella," Heiltsuk Chief
Councillor Marilyn Slett told Metro News.
If authorities have this much trouble responding to a relatively minor
spill from a tugboat, how can they expect to adequately deal with a
spill from a pipeline or a tanker full of diluted bitumen? The simple
and disturbing truth is that it's impossible to adequately clean up a
large oil spill. A 2015 report commissioned by the City of Vancouver and
the Tsleil-Waututh and Tsawout First Nations concluded that "collecting
and removing oil from the sea surface is a challenging, time-sensitive,
and often ineffective process, even under the most favourable conditions."
What the oil and gas industry touts as "world class spill response"
boils down to four methods: booms, skimmers, burning and chemical
dispersants. An article at Smithsonian.com notes, "For small spills
these technologies can sometimes make a difference, but only in
sheltered waters. None has ever been effective in containing large
spills." Booms don't work well in rough or icy waters, as was clear at
the Bella Bella spill; skimmers merely clean the surface and often not
effectively; burning causes pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; and
dispersants just spread contaminants around, when they work at all.
Researchers have also found that cleaning oil-soaked birds rarely if
ever increases their chances of survival. A tiny spot of oil can kill a
seabird.
After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off the Alaska coast, industry only
recovered about 14 per cent of the oil -- which is about average -- at a
cost of $2 billion. The 2011 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has cost
more than $42 billion so far, and has not been overly effective. In that
case, industry bombed the area with the dispersant Corexit, which killed
bacteria that eat oil! Record numbers of bottlenose dolphins died.
We're not going to stop transporting oil and gas overnight, so improving
responses to spills on water and land is absolutely necessary. And
increasing the safety of pipelines, tankers and trains that carry these
dangerous products is also critical, as is stepping up monitoring and
enforcement. With the Saskatchewan spill, the provincial government
deemed an environmental assessment of a pipeline expansion connected to
the one that leaked as unnecessary because the Environment Ministry did
not consider it a "development." University of Regina geography
professor Emily Eaton, who has studied oil development, told the
National Observer that Saskatchewan "gives a pass" to most pipelines it
regulates.
Beyond better response capability and technologies, and increased
monitoring and enforcement, we have to stop shipping so much fossil
fuel. The mad rush to exploit and sell as much oil, gas and coal as
possible before markets dry up in the face of growing scarcity, climate
change and ever-increasing and improving renewable energy options has
led to a huge spike in the amount of fossil fuels shipped through
pipelines, and by train and tanker -- often with disastrous
consequences, from the Gulf of Mexico BP spill to the tragic 2013
Lac-Mégantic railcar explosion.
Spills and disasters illustrate the immediate negative impacts of our
overreliance on fossil fuels. Climate change shows we can't continue to
burn coal, oil and gas, that we have to leave much of it in the ground.
If we get on with it, we may still have time to manage the transition
without catastrophic consequences. But the longer we delay, the more
difficult it will become.
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