Guest Blog Post: Why mining of Canada’s tar sands is worrying
How many of us remember the incident when about 1600 ducks flew straight into Alberta’s tar oil tailings in 2008? A winter storm had forced the ducks to land on the tar sands which was laden with toxic sludge. Hundreds of photographs and videos showing birds covered in oil and toxic sludge were flashed all over national dailies and tabloid covers.
After so many years, have we come to a conclusion about what caused this? Unfortunately, we haven’t and the blame game continues…
The memory of this incident has faded with time but the evidence of the destruction that these tar sands have created is haunting us today and is going to hamper our future too.
What exactly is tar sands?
Tar sands or oil sands are a type of unconventional deposits of petroleum. They occur naturally and are composed of a mixture of sand, clay and water that is saturated with an extremely viscous and dense form of petroleum. They are technically referred to as bitumen.
Major deposits of this tar sand are found in Canada and Venezuela. It is also found in Kazakhstan and Russia but in lesser quantities. The use of this tar sand dates back to 40,000 years in the Neanderthal times. The modern man in the 19th and 20th century found it a good source of fuel for electricity generation and it was also used to tar rooftops. The tar is actually the by-product of the distillation of this bitumen. The extraction of oil from these sands began by 1930s and the Canadian Government took over the process by 1950s.
The viscous nature with the combination of clay, sand, water and bitumen makes mining of the tar sands difficult. Deposits of tar sand near the surface can be extracted by open-pit mining. Large hydraulic and electric shovels remove the surface sand and put them in large trucks. In the extraction plant, the bitumen is separated from the sand, clay and other minerals through a hot water process.
The hot water and agitation combination helps in releasing the bitumen from the oil sand. Tiny bubbles of air attach to the bitumen droplets which then float at the top of the separation unit. The bitumen can be skimmed off of here. Processing this further removes the remainder of the water and solids. The transported bitumen is then upgraded to synthetic crude oil.
Is Tar Sand Mining Worth It?
About two tons of tar sands are required to produce a single barrel of oil. For bitumen deposits which are buried deep in the sands, the in-situ method is used for extraction. Steam injection is the best method for extracting the bitumen which is buried deep inside. But, it requires huge quantities of water and energy which comes from burning oil not to mention the environmental damage it causes.
Tar sand is considered one of the dirtiest fossil fuels. According to reports, these sands are a major source of pollution in North America. In fact, the emissions from the Alberta oil sands exceeds the total emissions from Canada’s largest city. Federal scientists have found that they produce secondary aerosols (45–84 tons a day) which have linked to cancer, lung and heart disease. This is in addition to the high carbon dioxide emissions which is already a thing of concern. Mining of tar sands produces 17% higher carbon emissions than other fossil fuels. Marine animals and fishes are at a risk of because mining of tar sands has contaminated the groundwater too.
Bartering 900K Barrels of Oil for the future of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hearing for the Teck Frontier mine began on 25th September 2018. If approved then it would be the largest tar sands mines in history. It is being opposed by many environmental entities as the Wood Buffalo National Park is just 30kms south of the project. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is at a risk of losing its status because of the rapid ecological deterioration.
One can imagine the increase in emissions if this mine is approved. It would be equivalent to emissions produced by a million cars. Currently, building of new pipelines has been stalled. But, this is not stopping oil getting transported to other countries by train.
Installation of new pipelines on the 1,150kms long Trans Mountain Pipeline System has been stalled by the federal court. This hurts the interests of oil companies in the area because expansion and installation of new pipelines will triple the existing capacity of carrying crude oil from Alberta to British Columbia. Naturally, companies with a vested interest are pushing for an appeal and reconsideration of the ruling.
Although there would be billions of dollars in revenue which would be pouring in (full capacity ie. from 300,000 barrels a day to 890,000 barrels a day), it also means that the number of oil tankers moving to and fro in the regions will increase. The chances of new oil spills (which is a hit on marine life) will increase. The Vancouver port is also a tourist hub and there are many pleasure activities which go on near these waters. The expansion will have a set back on this as there would be large sized ships and tankers which will be going through these waters daily.
According to Kinder Morgan (the largest energy infrastructure company in North America), the chances of oil spills in the new expansion is like a once in a 473 years event. But, a major spill would have an impact 3000 times larger than a current spill. One can imagine what it would do to the ocean waters and the environmental risk to people and marine life. Thousands of acres of boolean forests in and around the existing tar sand lakes have been destroyed over time. An expansion of any kind increases all these risks and threats manifold.
In an October 3, 2018 statement by the Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, the government has currently decided not to appeal to the August ruling which stalls the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline but, instead look into all the weakness that the court identified in the project. But, Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notely is not happy with the decision and her view is likewise voiced by many who vest an interest in the oils. Greenwashing the underlying problems will only further deteriorate the existing environmental issues associated with these tar sands. A stronger call to action (CTA) would be a better way to end it.
Written by: Anindita Bhattacharjee
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