Category Archives: Tar sands crude

CN Rail, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Diluted bitumen (Dilbit), Fire, Oil spill, Soil contamination, Tar sands crude, Tribal lands, Water quality

Ontario derailment: tar-sands crude (diluted bitumen), more pictures

Repost from  CBC News
[Editor: New details: carrying tar-sands dilbit; 15 cars released crude oil and seven caught fire; responders letting it burn itself out; oil pooling at the frozen headwaters of a small creek; nearby Mattagami First Nation concerned; expect all trees in the surrounding area to be coated with toxins, some die-off; soil contamination a long range cleanup.  – RS] 

Gogama oil spill raises concerns about environmental damage

Cleanup continues at the site of a CN train derailment about 30 km northwest of Gogama, Ont.

CBC News, Feb 18, 2015 9:27 AM ET, Updated: Feb 18, 2015 11:57 AM ET
Gogama_derailment_CBC
Derailed tank cars, Gogama, Ontario. (Transportation Safety Board)

While investigators continue to search for the cause of a CN train Saturday near Gogama, Ont., the environmental impact is becoming more apparent.

Black charred oil tankers lie on their sides in snow stained by crude oil.

CN said the derailed train was carrying diluted bitumen from Alberta to eastern Canada.

Laurentian University professor Charles Ramcharan says that’s one of the worst things that can be spilled.

“The trouble is that it’s very toxic, so if you have a spill it causes a lot of damage and because the bitumen is a solid, it stays on the landscape for a very long time.”

The nearby Mattagami First Nation is also concerned.

Oil is pooling at the frozen headwaters of a small creek near the site of the derailment.

Councillor Jennifer Constant said that waterway leads to her community.

“The impacts may be not immediate, but what are the long-term aspects going to be for people who do utilize the lake and go hunting in the area? They’ve used these lands for time immemorial and they’re worried about the impacts of that,” she said.

“Their health or practices have the potential to be affected by this.”

Contamination, die-off

While CN works with partners to clean up the spill, Ramachran said he worries the incident could fall off the radar because of its remote location.

“Just because there are no immediate human health concerns, I do worry that this one will kind of fall off the radar.”

CN says crews are letting a controlled fire burn out at the site.

Once the dillutants burn off, tar will be left to remove, Ramcharan noted.

He predicted all trees in the surrounding area will be coated with toxins, leading to some die-off. He said the soil will be contaminated as well.

A total of 15 cars released crude oil and seven caught fire when the train went off the tracks late Saturday night.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating a section of broken rail containing a rail joint and a broken wheel.

The director with Transport Action Ontario, an organization that advocates for transportation improvements, said some kind of mechanical failure might be to blame.

“It’s hard to tell,” Dan Hammond said.

“You know, I would like the investigation to take its course on this one. But things like broken wheels, the industry does not like to see.”

CN said both the train and the track passed safety inspections shortly before the derailment.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Fire, Oil spill, Tar sands crude

Ontario train derailment: still burning 4 days later, first photo

Repost from CBC News, Sudbury
[Editor:  Fires are STILL burning, 4 days later.  The type of crude is not identified, although it is coming from Alberta, which would imply tar-sands.  Finally, a photo!  3 more photos.  – RS]

Gogama train derailment: safety of shipping oil by rail questioned

Reducing our dependence on oil means we won’t have to ship as much, university professor says

CBC News Posted: Feb 17, 2015 8:41 AM ET, Last Updated: Feb 17, 2015 1:16 PM ET
CN says 29 cars carrying crude oil from Alberta jumped the tracks late Saturday.
CN says 29 cars carrying crude oil from Alberta jumped the tracks late Saturday. (Dillon Daveikis)

A crude oil spill near Gogama is again raising questions about the safety of shipping oil by rail.

A CN train hauling 100 cars derailed late Saturday, causing 29 cars to jump the track and seven to catch fire.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation.

An associate professor at Laurentian University in Sudbury said incidents like this are becoming more common as oil is increasingly shipped by rail.

“You know, we had a spill in Richmond Hill not that long ago, another one in Mississauga,” Charles Ramcharan said.

“So it’s happening even in areas that are heavily populated. It’s only a matter of time before we have a disaster.”

CN said the rail spill is contained on a frozen, snow covered surface, but it’s not yet clear what kind of crude oil was spilled. The train was carrying fuel from Alberta.

‘In the back of their minds’

The secretary of the local services board in Gogama said he can’t help but wonder what might have happened if the train had derailed closer to home.

The rail line runs right through town, Gerry Talbot said.

“I think everybody’s got it in the back of their minds and you sort of try to block it out. We know that the possibility is always there because we did have a derailment right in town back in the ’60’s. So we know that it’s there and that it could happen to us.”

And, he continued, “We’re a lot more conscious of it now, especially since what happened in Quebec [Lac Megantic].”

Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravel raised the issue in the House of Commons on Monday. He said it’s a good thing the frigid weather is keeping the oil from running.

“If this would’ve happened in July, it would’ve been, probably, a total disaster.”

Reduce dependence on oil

With the amount of oil shipped by rail increasing, Ramcharan is convinced that another disaster is possible. The only solution is to reduce our dependence on oil, he said.

“This sort of thing is going to keep happening with increasing frequency, as long as we continue our reliance on these fuels.”

Talbot said the residents in his community are “a lot more conscious of what could happen.”

“I think it’s made us more ready. I think there’s more of a good knowledge that it could happen so there’s less hesitancy from the residents [to escape or take a derailment seriously].”

A spokesperson with CN’s public affairs department says CN’s environmental team continues to work closely with the Ontario Ministry of Environment in the remote, densely wooded area.

Clean up crews are also working with Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board “to extinguish the fire, remove all the rail cars, repair the track, conduct a full investigation into the incident and move forward with a comprehensive environmental clean-up.”

The Transportation Safety Board said crews are working to reopen the rail line.

“I would expect that once the site is safe and the fire is under control that they will move ahead with trying to get that line open,” Rob Johnston, a spokesperson with the TSB said.

A spokesperson with the Ministry of the Environment says they have requested CN keep nearby First Nations updated. Health Canada and Environment Canada are have been informed as well, Kate Jordan said in an email.

Ministry staff are attending the command post set up by CN and will be meeting with company response teams for further updates.

“Nearby waterways in the area are frozen over, but we will ensure there are no concerns for environmental impacts off site of the derailment,” she said.

Bakken Crude, Bay Area Refineries, Tar sands crude

The Condor and The Eagle – A documentary film directed by Clément Guerra

Repost from YouTube
[Editor: See also Clément’s and Sophie’s website, The Takeoff.  – RS]

The Condor and The Eagle

A documentary film directed by Clément Guerra

In April 2014, Clément and Sophie Guerra began their epic journey here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Interviewing many of us who are working to stop Crude By Rail in our refinery towns, they have now released “The Condor And The Eagle – Mini Series – Episode 1- The Bay Area.”

After you watch this video, be sure to check out the other Condor and the Eagle episodes.

From the YouTube page:

Our project started 10 months ago in the Bay Area, CA. There is currently this feeding frenzy in 5 communities of the Bay of proposed projects to retool the refineries to receive, transport and refine dirtier bottom of the barrel oil: Bakken and Tar Sands. The communities are now coming together, ready to fight back and make sure that California won’t take part of this devastating mega projects that are Alberta tar sands. People are rising, more and more people come together. Nothing is done yet, it will take a lot of work to give the movement the kind of form that will make a difference. It’s about re-creating the foundations of an inclusive dynamic, focused on how to bring onboard those who aren’t yet.

Featuring:
– Pennie Opal Plant
– Andres Soto
– Marilyn Bardet
– Kalli Graham
– Ed Ruszel
– Bill Nichols
– Greg Karras
– Nancy Rieser

Crude By Rail, Marine transport, Spill prevention and response, Tar sands crude

Pacific Northwest editorial: Tar sand expenses must stick on those who profit

Repost from The Daily Astorian, Columbia Pacific Region

Editorial: Tar sand expenses must stick on those who profit

Up to 10 mile-long tar sands trains per month are now moving between Canada and destinations on Puget Sound, Portland and California.

February 12, 2015, The Daily Astorian

Compared to ordinary unrefined petroleum, crude oil originating in the vast tar sand deposits of Alberta, Canada and nearby areas of the U.S. is distinctly more challenging to clean up if it spills.

There is surprising news this week that a great deal of it is moving along the Columbia River and elsewhere in Washington and Oregon — without any spill-response plan in place among state environmental agencies.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Tony Schick did a good job illuminating tar sands issues in a story Monday. Due to a gap in the law that required communications between shippers and agencies for U.S. tar sands but not the same material from Canada, regional train traffic has rapidly expanded just since late November 2014. Up to 10 mile-long tar sands trains per month are now moving between Canada and destinations on Puget Sound, Wash., Portland and California.

There are “good news” components in this. Petroleum processed from tar sands is a large part of why gasoline prices have gone down, as North America again becomes a net exporter of energy. This surge in domestic production, transportation and shipping of crude oil generates profits, jobs and taxes.

But it is nevertheless surprising to learn that vast quantities of a distinctly hazardous substance are being transported around the Pacific Northwest without anything like an appropriate level of preparation for spills — disasters that are virtually inevitable.

Plain old crude oil and petroleum are bad enough from the perspective of spills. In the latest of in a series of excellent stories, Sightline Daily notes that U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River already responds to about 275 oil pollution incidents a year. But pending plans for additional fossil fuel shipments could triple the number of tankers crossing the Columbia bar and double major vessel traffic on the river as a whole.

A good deal of this traffic would involve tar sands crude, which OPB describes as much worse to clean up. Canadian tar sands produce bitumen, a heavy tar-like material that is sticky and heavier than water. Because it sinks and adheres to everything it touches, cleanups are time consuming and expensive — more than $1 billion in the case of a burst bitumen pipeline in Michigan.

All this has caught U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s attention. “It is unacceptable that volatile tar sands oil has been moving through our communities for months, and yet Oregon officials only found out about it last week,” he told OPB. He is working on a strong rule that would ensure that local and state emergency responders are kept in the loop about tar sands shipments.

Beyond this, it is vital that the expense of insuring against spills and making things right afterward are fully absorbed by those profiting from tar sands exploitation. Northwest citizens must be guaranteed that we won’t get stuck holding an empty bag when a tanker wrecks on the bar or an oil train derails in some formerly pristine location.

The oil industry is rife with examples of leaving messes behind for others to deal with. This time, things absolutely must be different. Those who profit must shoulder all the financial risk.