Alberta Tar Sands Leaks That Still Can't Be Stopped

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/19578-alberta-tar-sands-leaks-that-still-cant-be-stoppe

Tar sands oil that began leaking more than four months ago in northern Alberta is still bubbling to the earth's surface, an environmental disaster that has prompted the Alberta government to intervene.

The government has ordered Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the company in charge of the leaking Primrose tar sands operation, to drain two-thirds of a 131-acre lake on the property in an attempt to plug one fissure, located directly below the lake, which has been spilling tar sands oil into the lake over the four months. The order, according to CNRL, will allow the company to identify the exact location of the leak and attempt to halt it. The company's plan to stop the other three leaks on the site is unknown, though CNRL says the seepage rate from all four leak sites has been reduced to fewer than 20 barrels a day.

The first of the four ongoing leaks at the Primrose site was reported May 20, and may well have started leaking long before that. As of September 11, the leaks have spilled more than 403,900 gallons - or about 9,617 barrels - of oily bitumen into the surrounding boreal forest and muskeg, the acidic, marshy soil found in the forest. In addition, 14,491 metric tons - 31,947,188 pounds - of "impacted soils" have been removed from the site, along with 515 cubic meters - 18,151 cubic feet - of oily vegetation. Two beavers, 49 birds, 105 amphibians and 46 small mammals have been killed as a result of the spill, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Back in July, CNR attributed the cause of the four leaks to "mechanical failures of wellbores in the vicinity of the impacted areas," but the Alberta Energy Regulator said in August that it was "far to early" to determine the cause of the event. CNRL said that the seepage was "now controlled to specific containment areas where it is effectively recovered as it reaches the surface" - basically, that the leaks were being monitored and the oil cleaned up, but the leaks weren't being stopped.