Gas Plant - Ground water contaminated
Tests show high mercury levels at Turner Valley Gas Plant
By Pamela Roth
Staff Reporter
Independent testing has shown ground water flowing from the Turner Valley
Gas Plant is contaminated.
Approximately 90 residents attending an information forum hosted by the
Turner Valley Gas Plant Committee last Thursday in Black Diamond were
informed testing confirmed small amounts of methyl mercury, a neurotoxic
substance, was found in ground water flowing from the site.
The list of panel members included Environment lawyer Jim Ross, Liberal
MLA and Environment Critic Dr. David Swann, Protect the Sheep River Foundation
member Linda Abrams and Dr. James Argo of the IntraAmericas Centre for
Environment and Health.
Rocky View MLA Ted Morton was also invited to the forum, but was not in
attendance.
Argo informed the concerned group of residents that the site has a Tier
3 Level C contamination — something that shouldn’t be ignored.
According to Dr. Argo, approximately six nano-grams of methyl mercury
were found in the soil and about one nanogram of the same substance was
found in the water from the independent tests. However, Alberta Environment
can only measure 50 nanograms of methyl mercury, making the substance
difficult to detect in small doses.
Methyl mercury is a neuro toxin that easily transmits to the brain, affecting
the central nervous system, and can cause catastrophic birth defects said
Argo.
The substance forms from minerals (some natural and some because of industry)
in the water that are digested by bacteria and biological organisms in
the water.
As a result of the findings, Argo suggested the provincial government
learn from the mistakes of the Government of Ontario in the Walkerton
incident, where six people were confirmed to have died and 2,000 more
were made ill from e-coli which was found in the water supply in and around
the small town northwest of Toronto.
“When you have water in an industrial situation, the water is vulnerable,”
said Argo. “My concern is that this water has something in it at
a very low level that is toxic and poisonous.”
The Turner Valley Gas Plant, which is almost 100 years old, has a history
of contamination dating as far back as 2003.
Some of the most recent tests conducted by Alberta Environment on the
Sheep River near the Turner Valley Gas plant were after June flooding,
where a low level type of hydrocarbon, which is found in diesel exhaust,
was found, but posed no threat to the public.
The water samples were taken 100 to 200 metres upstream and downstream
from the gas plant and were tested for hydrocarbons, mercury, chromium
and other metals.
Hydrocarbons were also found seeping out of the ground outside the gas
plant gate and across a road just northeast of the facility, but, according
to Alberta Environment weren’t a cause for concern because they
weren’t affecting a drinking source.
Samples of orange smelly sludge, which were also found by Black Diamond
business owner Linda Abrams, were taken from the site in July and were
later revealed to be bacteria.
Abrams was encouraged by environmental chemist Dr. Roger Saint-Fort to
test the water samples for amines and sufolane since the sediment from
the site hadn’t been tested for hydrocarbons and heavy metals.
Little did Abrams know that she was about to embark on a wealth of what
she described as disturbing information that would leave her seeking legal
advice in the future.
“Based on what I have seen in the last three months, there is no
question there are contaminants in that river,” said Abrams. “This
is not okay. I think the industry, to some extent, should be held responsible.
The health of this river depends on what happens here and downstream of
here.”
Although Black Diamond Mayor Rolly Magee assured residents they have nothing
to fear about the water coming out of their taps, the finding of the toxic
substance doesn’t sit well with business owner Amy Brewster.
“I think that now is the time to do this and get this area cleaned
up so we can all get on with the health of the future,” said Brewster,
who has heard concerns from her clients about moving to the area because
of high cancer and multiple sclerosis rates believed to be linked to nearby
sour gas wells. “I think it definitely has re-enforced my feelings
that there is a large contamination here.”
Dr. Swann emphasized that so far the government has been negligent in
addressing the potential severity of the situation.
An applause of approval erupted from the audience when Dr. Swann promised
to bring the issue to the attention of the Legislature.
“I think this is a key case for the government about whether it’s
committed to long-term health and protection of the environment,”
said Swann. “We know all that stuff is there and has to be cleaned
up. It’s been 20 years and that’s unacceptable.”
Alberta Environment assured the contaminated ground water is not flowing
into the river and announced last week it will refine the monitoring system.
Plans are still in place to begin installing a $3 million containment
system in the spring of 2006, bringing the government’s total for
reclamation funding to $5.4 million.
Representatives from Alberta Environment and the provincial government
met with the public again on Tuesday night at the Flare ‘n’
Derrick.
High River - Man dies in boating accident
By Darlene Casten
Staff Reporter
The former president of the High River Minor Hockey Association and a
father of four drowned in a boating accident Sunday afternoon.
Michael Ryan, 54, of High River died while out on the Highwood River with
two other men Sunday afternoon.
The three friends had launched a zodiac style dingy from a cabin near
Western Feed Lots and had already drifted as far as the Highwood Golf
Course when their boat struck some debris and flipped.
“It was an innocent little cruise on the Highwood and it turned
tragic in an instant,” said the deceased man’s son Patrick
Ryan.
Ryan saw search and rescue vehicles as he drove into town that day, but
the family had no idea that anything had gone wrong until several hours
later.
“I saw them at the bridge,” Ryan said. “And two hours
later they were at my door.”
The Ryans are planning a memorial tentatively scheduled for this Thursday.
In the meantime it is the support of the community that is holding the
family together.
“Our friends and family have come together and that is helping us
out,” said Ryan.
Michael Ryan was president of minor hockey during the mid 90s.
“He was a coach to many local kids,” said his son. “He
was a helping and loving man.”
Emergency personnel were called to the Highwood River at 3:30 p.m. on
Sunday after a passerby saw boaters in distress.
“They got caught up in a sweeper and that was it,” said High
River RCMP Staff Sgt. Glen Plustwa.
One of the men was able to grab onto a log and get to safety, while the
second man was temporarily submerged, but was able to swim to shore. Ryan’s
body never came to the surface and was spotted underwater an hour later
by STARS air ambulance. There were no life jackets in the boat and RCMP
are looking into alcohol as a factor in the accident.
|
|
Trick or Treat
A group of ghastly ghouls head out
for a night of trick or treating in Okotoks on Monday evening. photo
by Rae Holtsbaum
Foothills - Compton presses on with wells
By Laurel Nadon
Staff Reporter
Compton Petroleum is moving ahead with plans to drill
four sour gas wells south of Calgary despite opposition from the Calgary
Health Region and concerned residents.
Compton vice-president of special projects Derek Longfield, who made
the announcement on Thursday, Oct. 27, said they weren’t prepared
to abandon the application.
“The easiest thing to do would be to throw in the towel because
of the legal issues, but we still believe it will be a project that
benefits everybody,” Longfield said. “It’s a very
important decision for the company.”
Dr. Brent Friesen, medical officer of health for the CHR, said they
were disappointed with Compton’s decision to proceed.
The CHR would like to see the emergency planning zone increased from
9.7 kilometres to 10.7 kilometres during drilling with an emergency
awareness zone of 20 kilometres instead of 15 kilometres.
The proposed location of the wells is 4.5 kilometres southeast of
the closest Calgary residence with tens of thousands of people affected
in the 9.7 kilometre emergency planning zone.
The CHR is also concerned about exposure from hydrogen sulphide which
would be released in a leak or blow out, as well as sulphur dioxide,
which is produced when the well is ignited to remove the threat of
hydrogen sulphide.
“The concentration of hydrogen sulphide in these proposed wells
is 350,000 parts per million,” Friesen said. “If people
are exposed to concentrations over 700 parts per million, that’s
when you’ll see death result.”
At these levels, hydrogen sulphide can paralyze the breathing system
and result in death. Friesen noted there are also health effects at
below 700 parts per million. At 10 to 20 parts per million, people
may experience burning in the eyes and become nauseated.
Friesen said what makes these wells a greater concern than other wells
in the area is the high concentration of hydrogen sulphide and a high
projected flow rate for gases leaving the wells.
The CHR has requested that the EUB review their decision to approve
the wells.
“We’re asking they reopen the hearing so we can provide
additional information,” Friesen said. “We hope that they’ll
increase the emergency planning zone and emergency awareness zone.”
The CHR also wants the EUB to look further at the health risks. Friesen
said Compton didn’t provide the health and safety risk assessment
to show what hazards are faced in a blow out.
“The CHR is supportive in the guidelines that the EUB uses in
the development of sour gas wells in the province,” Friesen
said. “Our concern is that in the case of the Compton wells,
the guidelines weren’t appropriately applied by the panel that
heard the hearing.”
As a last resort, the health region will seek an order under the Public
Health Act to shut the project down if Compton doesn’t address
their public health and safety concerns.
Bob Curran, spokesperson for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board
(EUB), said the hydrogen sulphide concentration of these proposed
wells isn’t unusual.
About 100 sour gas wells are currently operating in Calgary or just
outside the city limits. These wells range from a hydrogen sulphide
concentration of one per cent to close to 40 per cent.
As to the CHR requesting the hearing be reopened, Curran said this
would only be done if the health region had new evidence that wasn’t
available at the time of the hearing or if the EUB made an error.
“We certainly understand that people are concerned. We went
out of our way to make sure people knew how to get involved in the
hearing process,” Curran said. “We are convinced those
wells can be drilled safely.”
He noted that Compton already goes above and beyond the EUB’s
safety rules.
“The chance of sour gas ever reaching the surface is extremely
small, but they still need to be prepared for that,” Curran
said. “We’re expecting that the City of Calgary disaster
services, MD of Rockyview and CHR will sit down and develop the emergency
response plan collaboratively.”
The next step for Compton is to build a draft emergency response plan
encompassing a 9.7-kilometre zone.
There will then be a period of public consultation. The company will
go door-to-door in the evacuation zone and in the rural area of the
sheltering zone. This will affect some MD of Foothills residents,
but doesn’t reach as far south as DeWinton.
Compton also plans to consult with the City of Calgary on how to contact
people within the urban area. The plan may then be modified based
on the consultations, followed by open houses.
Longfield said the danger is the greatest during the drilling and
completion of the horizontal well sections, which is when the emergency
response plan currently being created would come into play. There’s
a different emergency response plan used during production of the
wells.
“The zones are smaller because the wells are equipped with wellheads
and production equipment,” Longfield said.
He added that they won’t know when the wells can be drilled
until the legal issues are resolved.
The EUB granted Compton conditional approval for the wells on June
22, contingent on emergency plans being resubmitted and approved.
The company was required to meet several EUB conditions and had until
Aug. 15 to let the EUB know if they intended to proceed. The EUB then
granted Compton an extension until Nov. 1. The emergency response
plan is now due Jan. 1, 2006.
| |
In this issue...
|
| |
|
Hallowed Halls -
Student bands rock
Okotoks high school
• See Entertainment
Help wanted -
Entry-level jobs tough to fill
See News
Bouncing to finals -
Upstart Drillers advance to league championship
See Sports
|
|
|
