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The Horrifying Effects of a Canadian Tar Sands Oil Spill

OilPrice.com -- Part of the US’s attempts to secure energy independence involves increasing the imports from friendly neighbours such as Canada. This has led to a large number of new pipelines spreading out across America in preparation for the increase in tars sands deliveries.

With more pipelines comes the risk of more spills, and Canada’s tar sands do not produce conventional crude oil. It is thick, sticky and full of sand and other materials that are used in the extraction techniques.

Little is known about how tar sands crude will behave after a spill, or whether its density and the fact that it contains sand will cause unknown wear on the pipes. Scientists are only just researching this, and still have little idea of what to expect.

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Submitted Aug 21, 2012 By: NOTSOGRN

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,650 Points:1,612,445 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 26, 2012 7:27:50 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse Wolfman, too bad that there aren't more people who think along the lines of what you posted.
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:22,141 Points:1,388,765 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Aug 25, 2012 2:04:06 AM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse Excellent comments Wolfman TJack from Twin Cities. For those of you that prefer to stick your head in the sand, and like to pretend that all of the tarsands mess will somehow magically clean itself up? You may want to practice holding your breath and repeating the phrase "Why didn't anyone warn me?".
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,650 Points:1,612,445 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 25, 2012 12:12:30 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse OilPrice.com piece... hmmmm.
GOBUTLER Champion Author Indianapolis Posts:1,425 Points:391,035 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 10:27:55 PM Ignore GOBUTLER Report Abuse Interesting...
Stevedog Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,868 Points:1,948,820 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 4:43:22 PM Ignore Stevedog Report Abuse Not horrifying for Michigan but then we have our own problems
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:33,088 Points:2,348,435 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 5:20:20 AM Ignore tomok Report Abuse No Oil or Fuel Spill of any kind is wanted and certainly Not A Bitumen Tar Sands Crude Oil Spill, the worst possible kind! Thick, Sticky, Toxic and smelling very strong – Not good for people, the environment or animals! Controls, Maintenance, Surveillance can lessen the potential for a spill but it will Not prevent a spill. Build refineries near the source of dangerous crude oil production and transport the refined products instead. A quick spill response is very important! Whatever the size or shape of the vehicle, Produce and ‘Drive’ vehicles with high MPG, are very safe, reliable, have a ‘reasonable’ cost and a good ‘value’ for the money. The price of fuel at the pump is too high! 12/22/2012!
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,524 Points:463,215 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 1:07:02 AM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse That would be bad enough if oil companies did a good job of maintaining and monitoring these pipeline systems -- but they do not. All of the most significant spills over the last two years were discovered not by the oil companies, but by ordinary citizens. The new report documents how prior to the Michigan spill, Enbridge conducted an "integrity management assessment" with an ultrasonic in-line inspection device. The disastrous spill happened anyway. The same is true of other companies whose pipelines ruptured. Given the environmental and health consequences of the Enbridge spill, as well as the millions of dollars still being spent to clean it up, Michigan Representative Fred Upton's position on the subject is puzzling at best. After the Kalamazoo spill occurred in his district, he did cosponsor a bill that would hold companies accountable for reporting incidents. But since then, he's come out in support of rebuilding the Enbridge pipeline and constructing even more pipelines, including Keystone XL. Given the inevitability of more spills, Upton is apparently willing to put the health and home of his constituents at risk, for dubious benefits. In a recent interview, Upton claims his constituents will be protected from gasoline price spikes "with the expansion and rebuilding to a number of refineries here." It seems he's forgotten that the Keystone XL pipeline will transport tar sands crude to refineries in Texas for export overseas, making it unlikely that anyone in his district will benefit. Frequent tar sands spills and their devastating effects in places like Michigan make it clear that by continuing to develop tar sands we're not taking a risk that we will poison our water and land -- we're ensuring it. And all for oil that we don't really need.
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,524 Points:463,215 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 1:06:28 AM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse Tar sand spills prove even more toxic and difficult to clean up than typical oil spills. That's because the heavy mixture of oil sand sinks in water, which means that tactics like skimming the surface can't be used. Instead, remediators must try to recover the oil from the bottoms of rivers, reservoirs, or wherever it has spilled -- a far more difficult task. Tar sands already contain high concentrations of heavy metals, and chemical diluents mixed in for transport are also known to be carcinogenic. EPA lab tests following a December 2011 oil leak in Colorado found concentrations of cancer-causing benzene as high as 2,000 parts per billion in the creek where the leak occurred -- well above the 5 ppb national drinking water standard. This would be bad enough if such spills were rare occurrences -- but they're not. In the past few months alone, three separate tar sands pipelines have reported spills in Canada. Enbridge Inc., whose pipe leaked into the Kalamazoo, reported a spill of 1,450 barrels of oil-sand crude in eastern Alberta during the month of June, while two other companies cited spills of 3,000 and 5,000 barrels respectively, the former into a reservoir used by a nearby small town. And Canadian tar sands spills are not limited to Canada. Since May 2011, three major tar sands spills have occurred in North Dakota, Montana, and Colorado. The North Dakota spill was the twelfth from TransCanada's Keystone I pipeline during its first year of operation. Why are tar sands pipes so accident prone? To pass through the pipelines, tar sands must be brought to extreme temperatures and pressures. Add sand and powerful chemicals to this equation, and you've got a formula for corroding and rupturing steel pipes, leading to breaches that spill toxic goo into aquifers and rivers.
Wolfman_TJack Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,524 Points:463,215 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 1:05:33 AM Ignore Wolfman_TJack Report Abuse We don't need tar-sands oil from Canada, yet Big Oil is determined to force it down our throats anyway -- or at least force us to let them pipe through our nation so they can export it abroad. And now we've got some pretty shocking evidence of just how high a price we could end up paying for their greed. In 2010, more than 30 miles of the Kalamazoo River was transformed into an environmental disaster zone by a cracked tar sands pipeline and a tar sands pipeline company that neglected to turn off its pumps. Since then, a monumental $800 million cleanup effort has removed more than a million gallons of tar sands crude, along with 17 million gallons of polluted water, and 190,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris. June 2012, after two years, the EPA officially reopened the affected section of the river. Now, though, a just-released in-depth report from Inside Climate News today shows that this massive cleanup effort was in fact a debacle -- a failure that reinforces the reputation of tar sands as the dirtiest oil on earth, exposes the weakness of regulatory oversight, and casts an ominous shadow across the thousands of rivers and streams that millions of Americans who live downstream of proposed tar sands pipelines depend on.
crreed1 Champion Author West Virginia Posts:2,000 Points:2,529,260 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:15:24 AM Ignore crreed1 Report Abuse ok
NASH Champion Author Edmonton Posts:22,513 Points:3,646,535 Joined:Oct 2001	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:13:41 AM Ignore NASH Report Abuse We cannot figure out why they want to ship sand-laden bitumen by pipeline. It can be upgraded to synthetic crude (basis of Mobile 1) but nobody wants to build a new up-grader. There is not enough capacity at the up-graders here now. Exxon/Esso backed off building one. How come? They tried pipe transport of bitumen a few years ago at one of the plants. Pipe lasted less than two years.
METEOR49 Champion Author Ontario Posts:2,187 Points:458,150 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:12:35 AM Ignore METEOR49 Report Abuse refine the oil at source , problem solved.
pa79th Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:1,797 Points:1,219,775 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:11:03 AM Ignore pa79th Report Abuse Duh! Build a filtration plant near the source!
regout Champion Author Quebec Posts:2,970 Points:835,630 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:10:06 AM Ignore regout Report Abuse Old news.
Zonk Champion Author Michigan Posts:6,496 Points:2,105,690 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:10:00 AM Ignore Zonk Report Abuse The entire project is of questionable quality.
kzrooster Champion Author Kalamazoo Posts:2,400 Points:519,675 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:07:58 AM Ignore kzrooster Report Abuse It will act as an abrassive, so check the pipes more often!
rahcat Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:2,483 Points:665,875 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:07:38 AM Ignore rahcat Report Abuse This summer Michigan finally opened up the Kalamazoo river for recreational activities.
ManOfLeisureII Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:1,889 Points:457,075 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:05:31 AM Ignore ManOfLeisureII Report Abuse No pain no gain
12766 Champion Author New York Posts:2,458 Points:1,486,340 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:05:02 AM Ignore 12766 Report Abuse OK
boatfloyd Champion Author Jacksonville Posts:1,733 Points:390,900 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:04:44 AM Ignore boatfloyd Report Abuse The sand probably does do harm to the pipes.
us4usa Champion Author Missouri Posts:6,003 Points:1,115,215 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:03:47 AM Ignore us4usa Report Abuse And we know Uncle Sam loves Corn Water...
Cheney Champion Author Toronto Posts:2,025 Points:2,537,720 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:03:46 AM Ignore Cheney Report Abuse naturally a more substantial oil comes from Canada.
heartbroken2010 Champion Author Ottawa Posts:4,359 Points:900,460 Joined:Aug 2010	Message Posted: Aug 22, 2012 12:03:46 AM Ignore heartbroken2010 Report Abuse messy thing.
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,340 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:54:31 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse Gotta agree with @NHLiveFree. It takes more energy to refine the tar sands than what you actually get from the tar sand. In that respect, it's the "ethanol" of the petroleum family.
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:11,113 Points:1,625,315 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:50:54 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse Of course it shall cause "known" wear on the lower quality Chinese steel pipes that have all been purchased and stockpiled in the USA for use on these pipelines. The wear factor is definitely not an "unknown" as falsely stated in this paid shill publication of the Oil Industry. It is absolutely senseless to use a process that usees more energy in the natural gas burned to melt the tar sands bitumen into a coarse and caustic low quaility crude oil for transfer by absurdly long pipelines to remote refineries.
A2J Champion Author Richmond Posts:3,090 Points:605,875 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:44:11 PM Ignore A2J Report Abuse CANADA should pay
Agarre Champion Author Richmond Posts:1,335 Points:263,785 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:40:21 PM Ignore Agarre Report Abuse hmm
bigdipperMS Champion Author Mississippi Posts:1,530 Points:540,635 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:35:34 PM Ignore bigdipperMS Report Abuse Just as a common sense approach it would appear to me a spill of the Canadas tar sand would cause little environmental problem due to the nature of the crude. It has a very high viscosity and would stack up on the ground rather than dissolving into the ground. The sand in the crude would almost surely cause a faster loss of pipeline thickness over time due to erosion.
abcdMA Champion Author Worcester Posts:7,937 Points:1,577,905 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:31:58 PM Ignore abcdMA Report Abuse the risk reward balance
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,340 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:31:18 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse Only the "lefties", @gsayeg1? Does that mean the oil companies have your permission to put a pipeline behind your house?
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,340 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:29:52 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse @OGW, at least when there's an ethanol spill the worst that happens to the environment is that some animals get a little drunk.
gsayeg1 All-Star Author Milwaukee Posts:797 Points:141,055 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:29:08 PM Ignore gsayeg1 Report Abuse watch those lefties jump on this one
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,340 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:28:26 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse No, @CityCouponer. This is why we should just leave the tar sands alone. Take mass transit more often and the oil we have will last a lot longer.
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,340 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:27:01 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse No need for scare tactics from the environmentalists, @DEG. The truth is scary enough. Enbridge themselves admit that even a brand new pipeline will have a spill around once every 10 years. Fantastic.
CityCouponer All-Star Author New Orleans Posts:948 Points:204,180 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:25:11 PM Ignore CityCouponer Report Abuse ~ This is why we should all walk to work.
Blue48 Champion Author Illinois Posts:7,320 Points:1,640,870 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:24:35 PM Ignore Blue48 Report Abuse NOT GOOD!
mstearno Champion Author Dayton Posts:8,080 Points:1,734,140 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:24:30 PM Ignore mstearno Report Abuse oh the horror
nj2000ng Champion Author Houston Posts:1,507 Points:449,020 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:22:08 PM Ignore nj2000ng Report Abuse ok
herbiepopnecker Champion Author British Columbia Posts:13,616 Points:2,509,255 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:21:27 PM Ignore herbiepopnecker Report Abuse They're probably trying to discourage investment in it to keep $$$ at home.
wayoung56 Champion Author Alabama Posts:2,815 Points:821,260 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:20:31 PM Ignore wayoung56 Report Abuse Maybe they need to process the stuff closer to the source...
OGW Champion Author London Posts:5,334 Points:1,534,725 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:19:47 PM Ignore OGW Report Abuse Why would they worry about tar sands oil when the US transports ethanol daily which is the most corrosive fuel one can transport. It eats the seals out of pipelines if piped causes corrosion in tankers.
Tekkersmom57 Champion Author Syracuse Posts:1,894 Points:704,115 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:16:03 PM Ignore Tekkersmom57 Report Abuse Great point, sillywagon!
FlogNut Champion Author Chicago Posts:104,400 Points:1,991,350 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:14:53 PM Ignore FlogNut Report Abuse Why does it seem like the articles from OilPrice.com seem to be against the oil industry? Just asking.......
whaboush Champion Author Richmond Posts:1,233 Points:733,660 Joined:Nov 2010	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:14:10 PM Ignore whaboush Report Abuse Ugly
suzmar Champion Author Texas Posts:2,214 Points:874,980 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:14:05 PM Ignore suzmar Report Abuse The articles from oil price.com always seem very biased.
txkrb Champion Author Texas Posts:1,564 Points:640,110 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:12:25 PM Ignore txkrb Report Abuse I am almost certain the sand is removed before it is shipped in the pipeline How would the refinery deal with the sand which is not in other oil they refine
itsjustme719 All-Star Author Hamilton Posts:612 Points:600,520 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:10:09 PM Ignore itsjustme719 Report Abuse We should be keeping this oil in Canada to help reduce our own fuel costs. We're paying much more than $4/gallon!
CocoPaz Champion Author Santa Barbara Posts:2,385 Points:325,345 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:07:18 PM Ignore CocoPaz Report Abuse And I wonder why I can't sleep at night...
knot2swift Champion Author Calgary Posts:4,403 Points:700,130 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:07:01 PM Ignore knot2swift Report Abuse This is just too stupid. Maybe we in Canada will have to send it to China to be "Luandered Properly".ROFLMAO.
Shakleelady31 All-Star Author Fort Wayne Posts:571 Points:403,850 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Aug 21, 2012 11:05:50 PM Ignore Shakleelady31 Report Abuse Interesting.