Could Lac Megantic Happen in Winnipeg? Yes!
Oct 11, 2014
*For immediate release*
On Global Frackdown Day, concerned citizens along with Council of Canadians-Winnipeg Chapter, Boreal Action Project, and Transition Winnipeg speak out on the dangers of Hydrogen Sulphide in the trainloads of oil passing through Winnipeg.
We are asking the Manitoba provincial government to follow the lead of Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Nova Scotia, and declare a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Manitoba. We are acutely conscious that the lands involved here in Manitoba are the lands of the Anishinaabe and Dakota peoples and we are not willing to see the heritage of the Indigenous People continue to be despoiled for the economic benefit of others.
The multiple safety issues associated with the practice go far beyond the known environmental costs such as permanent destruction of fresh water, acid rain from flaring of sour gas, climate change, and contamination of agricultural lands with toxins from drill mud sprayed onto the land.
In the disaster in Lac Megantic, it is suspected that many were killed by deadly hydrogen sulphide (H2S) contained in the oil. This catastrophe is waiting to happen every time a train or pipeline carries oil with high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and volatile components (such as Bakken oil).
Hydrogen sulphide is an extremely hazardous, toxic, flammable gas. 50 to 200ppm can cause severe respiratory tract irritation, shock, convulsions, coma, or death. Because of the extreme danger to workers, the US Federal Regulatory Commission has granted permission to Enbridge to limit H2S content in the crude oil in their pipelines to no more than 5 ppm; but trains and pipelines in Manitoba can carry hundreds of ppm.
"There are no measuring and reporting requirements in Manitoba," says retired scientist Dennis Leneveu, "but technical documents on the Manitoba Petroleum website and on Crude Oil Monitor website indicate that the H2S content in Manitoba oil carried in pipelines and rail cars can be of the order of hundreds of ppm or more."
With current practices it is just a matter of time before Winnipeg becomes another Lac Megantic. Especially in light of the latest train derailment in Saskatchewan, we must recognize the immediate need to reduce our use of fossil fuels and transition to a low-carbon economy.
The group has sent a letter to the Government of Manitoba, and has organized a student letter writing campaign supporting a moratorium.
More info:
http://www.canadianswinnipeg.org/apps/blog/show/42724922-hazards-of-transportation-of-manitoba-crude-oil
