The Role Of Oil Toxins In The Snow

There are rare and sensitive species of plants in the Tundra and can be harmed due to the treeless plains that cause no obstruction to vehicles patrolling the pipeline. Gravel roads alongside have been built and workers must drive only on these roads and also park there then walk to the pipe.

The oil production in Canada has several significant issues that depict the destruction nature of the industry. These issues can be categorized as environmental, political, economic, and social. The environmental issues lead the pack; in that the environmental destruction associated with the industry is extensive. The environmental problems are climatic, land, water and air related (Best & Hoberg, 2015). Under climatic effect, studies indicate that the development of the tar sides has resulted to three times more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than in production of conventional oil. These environmental issues are caused by the composition of the tar sands. Unlike the convention oil, tar sands are a mixture of bitumen and sand. The process of separating the two results triples GHGs emissions when compared to conventional oil production (Koring, 2013).

This has led to the water supply becoming tainted with arsenic, and other toxic chemicals, which has mutated the fish. It has also led to an increased number of cancer, and brain tumor patients in the town of Fort Chipewyan, due to their exposure to these toxins. The Alberta government claims that the tar sands development leaves the Athabasca Lake unaffected, but I don 't believe that for a minute. They say that any contamination found in the river comes from natural bitumen seeps. It is very obvious from the number of cancer patients in Fort Chipewyan, and the deformed fish from the lake that the tar sands is the cause. I believe that the tailings ponds used by the tar sands are not properly lined, and that is leading to their toxic contents contaminating the river. The Dene land was taken by the government for the development of the tar sands, without their consent. As such, the law states that the Dene have the right to hunt, and fish, on that land. The main reason that they hunt, and fish is for subsistence, as it is a traditional part of their way of life. Sadly, it will be no point in hunting, and fishing because the prey will be far too dangerous to eat, due to its exposure to toxic chemicals from the tar sands.

The social community improvements of alberta as a result of the oil sands. The albertan government committed around 2.5 billion dollars in fixing up the communities of alberta as a result of the oil sands making so much money(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Some examples of this are the 1 billion in road projects, 241 million in building new neighbourhoods, and 103 million in wastewater treatment and to improve the old ones(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Air is rated good 99% of the time, drinking water consistently meets the the guidelines for canadian drinking water(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Which means the quality of life is good in the oilsands region. In conclusion the oil sands affect the communities of that region positively, by bringing in enough money to make improvements to the infrastructure.

The next major environmental issue of the pipeline is the indigenous populations. “Northern Alberta’s, where the tar sands oil comes from, people are coming under attack because of their operation of the tar sands in their livelihoods and cultural traditions.”5 Other people affected by this project are the people who live in communities downstream from the tailing ponds, “they have seen spikes in rates of rare cancers, renal failure, lupus, and hyperthyroidism.” “In the lakeside village of Fort Chipewyan, for example, one hundred of the town’s one thousand-two hundred residents have died from cancer.”5 So not only will this pipeline affect the people living around it but it will also affect the people working on it and living around the tailing ponds, wherever those may be located. With it traversing six U.S. states that means a lot of people could get sick and even die from a project that has so many issues with it before it’s even began to be used for its intended purpose.

According to the Pembina Institute on climate implications, the Energy East pipeline crosses at least 90 watersheds and 961 waterways such as the Rideau River and the Bay of Fundy. It is considered a serious threat to marine ecosystems, as well as the drinking water of more than five million Canadians. It threatens drinking water supplies like Shoal Lake, which supplies drinking water to Winnipeg as well as posing a threat to the St. Lawrence River which is a breeding ground for the beluga-whale.

Oil pollution is causing cancer and other diseases. According to the text the oil might be damaging the health of those in its path. The text also states three studies show rising amounts of polluting chemicals in lakes and rivers near the oil sands. some cause cancer. According to http://www.dw.com/en/oil-boom-in-canada-health-and-environmental-damage-at-lake-athabasca/av-17437070 There is highly-toxic waste produced during the oil extraction process

The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Ice-field and flows in a north-easterly direction about 1500 km to the Athabasca Delta and Lake Athabasca. Throughout its course, the river flows through (or adjacent to) many communities, including Jasper, Hinton, Athabasca, Fort McMurray, and Fort MacKay (with a combined population of more than 155,000 people). Due to its rich natural resources, Athabasca river basin is host of many mining and forestry industries and agricultural activities along the river (MRBB 2004). Particularly, there is an ongoing oil sands development in the region adjacent to the lower reach of the Athabasca River, north of Fort McMurray. All of these activities, in conjunction with the natural watershed geology, effluents from wastewater treatment plants (point sources) and runoff from both natural and altered landscapes (non-point source), have the potential to affect water quality in the lower Athabasca River (Hebben 2009).

The other adverse effect of the Canadian oil sands is that pipelines and massive processes of refining oil sands in Canada are a source of pollution that pose a great threat to air, water, and land as well as human health. Additionally, the use of its products like natural gas that is used to run medium-sized turbines that produce electricity releases greenhouse gases. These emissions are mostly produced when steam is injected to reduce the viscosity of the crude and during refining. These further increases to the global warming effect that is already out of hand and it also negates the gains made by society by exposing them to the adverse negative

Along with greenhouse gases, other pollutants are released into the air during oil sands operations. These pollutants are harmful to ambient air quality and human health. In the Alberta oil sands, regional air quality is mainly impacted by the production of nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide (NOx gases) (“Air Emissions,” 2015). NOx gases are primarily produced by fuel combustion in vehicles and react to form smog and acid rain (NOx gases in diesel car,” 2015). Consequently, these gases project a concern to the workers present that are mining the oil sands. This is because NOx gases overtime can lead to reduced lung function and breathing problems (NOx gases in diesel car,” 2015). Finally, these gases pose a threat to local wildlife and vegetation since they react to form acid rain in the atmosphere. The production of acid rain is harmful for the ecosystems present. This is especially true for aquatic ecosystems and overtime will lead to death of local wildlife. To conclude, the development of the oil sands is unfavorable due to the production of harmful gases. The development impacts global climate negatively due to increased greenhouse gas

The proposed pipeline goes over the great plains, which rely heavily on groundwater supplies. Mason Inman, who works for National Geographic, explains that “Keystone XL would pass over [a] heart of [a] aquifer, cutting through the Sand Hills of Nebraska, a region of grass-covered dunes that contains one of the largest wetlands ecosystems in the United States. The region's porous ground acts as a thick sponge, environmentalists say, allowing oil to soak into the aquifer more easily than it would if the soil were more solid.” This would mean that the drinking water would be contaminated for countless individuals, creating a water crisis arguably as bad as the one in Flint, Michigan. Let’s address the specific health issues that oil causes when diluted in water. Diluted bitumen, also known as “dilbit” is a specific type of oil transported by the pipeline, which National Geographic says that it “carries hazardous chemicals such as cancer-causing benzene and toxic heavy metals such as arsenic. Because it also contains particles of sand, the environmental groups say, dilbit is much more corrosive than oil alone, thus more likely to cause leaks.” Basically, if an oil spill were to fall into those water supplies, there would be a sharp increase in cancer and other deadly diseases in that area, creating even bigger disaster than one just affecting animals. The most concerning part of that passage, however, is that dilbit is more corrosive than standard oil, which means that the already high chance of an oil spill rises even more. The risk of this alone should frighten people away from such a dangerous energy

Global diminishing energy resources and climate change are a growing issue. Every year there are more than 250 pipeline spills which contain hazardous liquid including tar sands. Tar sands are the leading cause of Canada’s global greenhouse emissions. TransCanada corp. is planning to repurpose a 40 year old pipeline, called Energy East, that runs from Saskatchewan to Ontario and attach a new pipeline that runs through Quebec to Saint John, New Brunswick. The problem with this idea is that the original pipeline they plan to repurpose is made in a way that would not be used today as the material that the pipe is made of is too thin which could result in spill. Oil spills are incredibly difficult to clean up because a diluted bitumen known as

There has been much controversy when it comes to oil companies in the Arctic over the past few years. The oil industry has invested heavily in the development of Alaska’s Arctic natural resources and Shell has invested $3 billion to purchase leases and prepare for exploratory drilling in the Beaufort and Chuckchi seas (WWF, 2010). Between 2008 and 2010 Imperial Oil Ltd., British Petroleum, Chevron and Exxon Mobil purchased offshore exploration leases in the Canadian Beaufort Sea and the Canadian government continues to sell offshore exploration licenses for Arctic energy exploration (Noble et al., 2012).

This is because it needs to generate a lot of water to get the natural gas to heat and properly melt the oil out of the sand. In fact this crude oil ingests 3 barrels of water for every one barrel it produces. As a consequence lakes become polluted. In addition, Canadian refineries are not proficient enough of processing the bitumen in the tar sands. This means as a result a great amount of the crude oil is directed directly to the US gulf coast.(scott,89)

Spills risk is the probability of oil and petroleum product going out of their containment and into the open and the consequences that such an event can lead to. This project will review the guidelines and evaluate and see how the Trans Mountain Expansion Project meets these objectives. As the Trans mountain pipeline company awaits the expansion project’s approval, failure to meet these objectives will block it. This huge expansion will introduce 348 new tankers to transport oil and petroleum products across the BC every year.