Researchers find 7,300-mile ring of mercury around tar sands in Canada.

[another_liberal]

Source: Al Jazeera America

Scientists have found a nearly 7,500-square-mile ring of land and water contaminated by mercury surrounding the tar sands in Alberta, where energy companies are producing and shipping oil throughout Canada and the U.S. Government scientists are preparing to publish a report that found levels of mercury are up to 16 times higher around the tar sand operations, principally due to the excavation and transportation of the bitumen in the sands by oil and gas companies, according to Postmedia-owned Canadian newspapers like the Vancouver Sun.

Environment Canada researcher Jane Kirk recently presented the findings at a toxicology conference in Nashville. The revelations add to a growing concern over the environmental impacts of the tar sands. Many environmentalists charge that the exploitation of the sands for oil will lead to an increase in carbon emissions, the destruction and contamination of land and water and health problems for Canadians. The debate over the tar sands crossed over into the United States when energy company TransCanada proposed building the Keystone XL pipeline to transport the crude oil to the southeastern U.S. for refining and distribution. Kirk and her colleagues' research shows that the development of the tar sands may be responsible for spreading mercury —which can cause cancer in humans — far beyond the areas where drilling and transportation are taking place.

The research suggests that the tar sands development has created a "bullseye" of mercury contamination, with areas close to the sands showing much higher levels of mercury than prior to development.

(snip)

Read more: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/29/7-500-mile-ring-ofmercuryfoundaroundcanadastarsands.html

---

Mercury poisoning anyone? It was mercury which led to insanity being an occupational hazard among early hat makers (they treated the furs they used with mercury). Will tar sands pollution make the next generation of Canadians become "Mad Hatters?"

[hatrack]

1. Wow, no one could EVER have predicted that!

Tool Monkeys! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!

[kristopher]

23. Don't worry, the nuclear industry has a plan to clean up tar sands production

Nuclear Technology & Canadian Oil Sands: Integration of Nuclear Power with In-Situ Oil Extraction
A.E. FINAN, K. MIU, A.C. KADAK
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 24-105 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307

Abstract - This report analyzes the technical aspects and the economics of utilizing nuclear reactors to provide the energy needed for a Canadian oil sands extraction facility using Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology. The energy from the nuclear reactor would replace the energy supplied by natural gas, which is currently burned at these facilities. There are a number of concerns surrounding the continued use of natural gas, including carbon dioxide emissions and increasing gas prices. Three scenarios for the use of the reactor are analyzed 1) using the reactor to produce only the steam needed for the SAGD process; (2) using the reactor to produce steam as well as electricity for the oil sands facility; and (3) using the reactor to produce steam, electricity, and hydrogen for upgrading the bitumen from the oil sands to syncrude, a material similar to conventional crude oil. Three reactor designs were down-selected from available options to meet the expected mission demands and siting requirements. These include the Canadian ACR- 700, Westinghouse’s AP 600 and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). The report shows that nuclear energy would be feasible, practical, and economical for use at an oil sands facility. Nuclear energy is two to three times cheaper than natural gas for each of the three scenarios analyzed. Also, by using nuclear energy instead of natural gas, a plant producing 100,000 barrels of bitumen per day would prevent up to 100 megatonnes of CO2 per year from being released into the atmosphere.

http://web.mit.edu/pebble-bed/papers1_files/OilSands.pdf

Alberta Tar Sands
Nuclear Power in Canada Appendix 2
(Updated February 2010)
In Canada, notably northern Alberta, there is major production of synthetic crude oil from bitumen extracted from tar sands. Alberta's tar sands are one of the largest hydrocarbon deposits in the world. Production from them is expected to grow strongly, but may limited by the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during extraction and upgrading of the bitumen. Open pit strip mining remains the main extraction method, but two in situ techniques are likely to be used more in future: cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). These methods inject steam into the formation to heat the bitumen, allowing it to flow and be pumped to the surface.

<snip>

Nuclear power could make steam and electricity and use some of the electricity for high-temperature electrolysis for hydrogen production. (Heavy water and oxygen could be valuable by-products of electrolysis.) The steam supply needs to be semi portable as tar sand extraction proceeds, so relatively small reactors which could be moved every decade or so may be needed. One problem related to the provision of steam for mining is that a nuclear plant is a long-life fixture, and mining of tar sands proceeds across the landscape, giving rise to very long steam transmission lines and consequent loss of efficiency.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-A-F/Appendices/Nuclear-Power-in-Canada-Appendix-2--Alberta-Tar-Sands/

[hue]

2. This is how an industry bulldozes into a complex environment with a token EIS & does lasting damage.

The energy companies make all kinds of reassuring claims when promising jobs and proposing to dig but they really have no idea of the lasting implications of what they are really doing.
This is disgusting! It should be an example of what never to do!!!

[on point]

3. Immediately fine and tax them (or seize assets if needed) to pay for the COMPLETE clean-up.

Since they claim the market works, let us let it work by charging them complete for all expenses and then see if tar sands are still a good idea.

[another_liberal]

7. I'll second that!

Great idea, and we can do it.

[Laelth]

4. I never knew the history of the term "mad hatter."

Thanks for that.

-Laelth

[jtuck004]

5. So long, and thanks for all the (contaminated) fish...

Colville Tribes Win Long-Running Environmental Lawsuit against Teck Metals - here.

In the early 90's fisherman reported seeing mercury beads floating on the water in the upper Columbia river, and that led to the Colville Tribe suing the Tech Mining co over the dumping of the waste from their lead and zinc mines, as well as the contaminants spewed out from their smokestacks.

Should also note that mercury has been found in a lot of the Northern lakes on the other side of the country...here.

And now that our pollution is being controlled, China is, of course, increasing, those effects are being seen in Hawaii, here, and in the Great Lakes.

I wonder what effect that is having on all of us?

But not to worry. Fukushima, or perhaps our (the world's) habits of burning all the oil we can find will take us out before we all go utterly mad...

[RC]

8. You know of course that mercury is a heavy medal and can't float on water?

In the early 90's fisherman reported seeing mercury beads floating on the water...

mercury molecular weight
Molar mass of Hg = 200.59 g/mol

water molecular weight
Molar mass of H2O = 18.01528 g/mol

http://www.convertunits.com/molarmass/

Saying things like this is hard on your creditability for anything else you say.

[jtuck004]

9. First, I really don't care what someone who is too lazy to read a link thinks,

and second, the newspaper wrote it and the fisherman reported it - so take it up with them.

"In the early 1990s, anglers in the Upper Columbia River reported seeing beads of liquid mercury floating in the water.

The sightings were followed by advisories from the Washington Department of Health warning people to limit the fish they ate from the river.

The actions galvanized the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, whose 1.4?million-acre reservation borders the Columbia River."

Have a sciency day, ok?

[RC]

11. Then don't post stupid stuff without an explanation, so people think you believe it.

[jtuck004]

12. I don't care enough to. And now I care even less. Thanks for the heads up. n/t

[snooper2]

27. do you care a little more now?

It's Learning Time!

[starroute]

19. Small drops of mercury can, due to surface tension

A little googling turns up somebody asking about it at Yahoo Answers and getting this answer:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070922155813AAipi50

normally, no...however, a very small drop may ' float ' on water because of something known as ' surface tension.' the same way a needle can float on the surface of very still water in a container. throw a piece of toilet paper on top of a bowl of water, immediately place a needle on top of the piece of paper. soon the paper will drop to the bottom while the needle will float. the force holding the needle at the top of the water is known as ' surface tension.'

[reACTIONary]

26. That's like saying...

...that a small stone can float on water due to surface tension. Highly dubious. A more reasonable explanation for the claims might be that they had heard about mercury contamination and associated that with shinny reflections off the water.

In any case, mercury contamination does not involve elemental mercury, it involves very low concentrations of compounds of mercury. It is virtually undetectable without using the techniques of analytical chemistry.

Elemental mercury is readily available, and surface tension is more stable and effective in a controlled environment. So you could try floating a drop in a bowl of water at home. Or just use a small stone about the size of a "drop". It should be easier to float than on the turbulent surface of a river. If you can't do that at home, it just didn't happen.

[Berlum]

6. Tar Sands & Fracking are Total Insanity (R - Planetary Plunder Style)

[loudsue]

10. I think mercury (in our fish, to start with) is what is causing Americans to act so insane.

Am I Paranoid? Maybe....I'm eating that crap, too. But we're getting chemicals people shouldn't be ingesting through GMO's, pesticides, herbicides, (home grown American) and gawd knows what else China is putting in our food....it sure kills enough of our dogs and cats, and I doubt it stops there! (Over 3,000 dogs and cats in Oct/Nov/Dec)

I really wish someone would do studies on tissue of Americans to see what levels of toxicity we're experiencing.

[marsis]

17. That could explain the Tea party

[loudsue]

18. Mmm-hmm. And DU.

It's everywhere.

[mountain grammy]

13. It's all insanity knowing what we know

and allowing this to happen. Every day in Colorado we are treated to beautiful commercials courtesy of "Coloradans for responsible Energy Development" or CRED ( I call it CRUD or CROC.) Funny, I've asked everyone I know and many I don't if they belong to CRED and, surprise, no one does.
We are told riches await us right under our feet that we can tap into with "clean, responsible fracking." Our future. Disgusting.

[LiberalEsto]

14. Read what happened in Minimata, Japan due to severe mercury poisoning

I fear this is what's in store for us and Canada.Note the date: this article was written in 2001.


Mercury poisoning of thousands confirmed
Thirty years on, the victims of Japan's worst case of industrial pollution are getting support from scientists and the courts - but not the state

Jonathan Watts in Tokyo
The Guardian, Monday 15 October 2001 22.31 EDT

For Yasuko Tanaka, it started when the village cats turned into demons. One year, they were sleepy pets; the next, they were hyperactive monsters - screeching, scratching and jumping around as if possessed.

That was when she drew the connection between Japan's worst case of industrial pollution in nearby Minamata and the splitting headaches, tunnel vision and shaking hands that she and several other villagers had been suffering.

Yesterday, more than 30 years later, researchers presented evidence that the mercury poisoning of Minamata bay in the 50s and 60s lasted longer, spread further and affected tens of thousands more people than previously believed.

The study by doctors at Kumamoto University could cost the Japanese government billions of yen (millions of pounds) as thousands of claimants seek recognition as having Minamata Disease - the nerve disorder caused by eating seafood from the polluted bay or nearby waters.

Much more:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/16/japan.jonathanwatts

Also in the NJ Meadowlands, where they cleaned only 600 feet of contaminants from a highly polluted 7-mile area several years ago. The waste was trucked to Canada according to the story.:


MERCURY BEING REMOVED FROM BERRY'S CREEK
Friday, October 9, 2009
BY JAMES M. O'NEILL
STAFF WRITER
The Record


"Mercury-tainted sediment is being dug from Berry's Creek this week in an ongoing effort to clean up a contaminated Wood-Ridge property that has been on the federal Superfund list for a quarter-century.

The 600-foot strip of creek bed that borders the site of a former mercury processing facility is being cleaned out so workers can replace a malfunctioning tide gate designed to reduce flooding in the residential and industrial neighborhoods around Teterboro Airport. The site is just south of Moonachie Avenue.

Morton International, which owns the site, has agreed to pay for the sediment removal so that the tide gate can be replaced by the Meadowlands Commission.

"If we didn't clean the creek bed, it would add to the difficulty for fixing the tide gate and put workers' health and safety at risk," said Doug Tomchuk, the Environmental Protection Agency's project manager for the site. "You'd need workers with special training to work in a contaminated site like that.""

http://www.northjersey.com/news/63828067.html?page=all

[bucolic_frolic]

15. Mercury toxicity is no fun

I had it

it never goes away completely, just reduces by 50% every 8 years or so

in nature, in the body, mercury combines with sulfur

binding up all the amino acids the body uses to run itself

so everything works differently or not very well

in vitro, articles reveal toxins can go across 2, 3, 4 generations

mercury? I'd say the same thing

some of ancestors worked and lived near sulfur mines

which no doubt, contained mercury

one of my parents, with higher mercury than me, had cancer

stay away from mercury!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Mercury needs watching. Reference "Minimata disease" and W. Eugene Smith's photographs. nt

[madrchsod]

20. there`s zero news articles about this in the all of the american news media.

one news article in the canadian press,one in a financial press publication,and of course ,aj america.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Not in the news

Toxicological Profile for Mercury

last updated in the Clinton Administration

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp.asp?id=115&tid=24

Mercury goes everywhere. Can't contain it, and industries emit
a lot of it.

I think they gave up. They try to limit it, treat it. Even dental
amalgam issues went nowhere as far as litigation.

[Stonepounder]

22. I've pretty much given up.

From 'mad hatters' if yesteryear to fracking, tar sands, Fukushima, GMO's and global warming of today, the 1% are absolutely determined to cause the extinction of the human race. And if they take the rest of life on earth with them, that's OK as well. They own the media and the governments and they don't give a damn about future generations. All they care about is their next billion and how to get it, even though they know there is no way they can ever spend their fortunes. So rape the planet, spend millions denying global warming, pollution, etc. and don't worry about the damage you cause, just keep going making money because that is the only thing that matters.

Mankind hasn't got a prayer.

[Peace Patriot]

29. Humankind surely 'doesn't have a prayer' if your attitude prevails.

Before you post such a downer...

...take a walk.
...get a massage.
...eat or drink something nourishing.
...get a good night's sleep.
...read up on the "slow food" movement.
...plant some vegie or flower seeds.
...burn some sage in your abode.
...go to a Farmer's Market.
...volunteer at a Soup Kitchen.
...implement ways to reduce your plastics use.

Sometimes depression is just physical. We need to humbly acknowledge this and try physical remedies when we get very down about things. If feelings of depression and hopelessness prevail, we will surely never solve the huge problems that our civilization has created. Best to DO something about these problems, than to wallow in the negatives. And be aware of the "beat down" you and all of us are getting by the corpo-fascist propaganda machine. I'm convinced that one of its quite deliberate goals is to DEPRESS us. Depression = powerlessness--i.e., make us feel just like you have said--hopeless, powerless, in despair. Maybe recognizing that---that that is just how the bad guys want you to feel--will energize you. In any case, think twice about passing on this message of hopelessness/powerlessness.

[Stonepounder]

30. A sputtering torch

I am retired. 50+ years ago I was marching for Civil Rights and getting arrested. How much progress have we really made? We are no longer 'seperate but equal' but racism is still everywhere and politicians are doing their level best to disenfranchise everyone buy older white America. 45 years ago I was demonstrating against Viet Nam and getting tear gassed for exercising my 1st Amendment 'rights' and my right to 'peaceable assembly' and my right to 'petition for redress of grievance'. Today I look at Afghanistan and see nothing has changed. 40 years ago I was campaigning for Bobby Kennedy. We all know how well that turned out. Today I look at our country's first Black President and see him hamstrung by a do-nothing Congress that refuses to do anything to help American citizens, while at the same time Obama is working (in secret) to negotiate the TPP which will pass much of our sovereignty to the multi-national corporations.

I look at climate scientists declaring, in near unanimity, that the amount of carbon we are dumping into the atmosphere is going to cause calamitous global warming. And then I see the multinationals spending obscene sums of money to hire pliable lackys to tell us that fracking is good and coal is good and oil consumption is good and solar is bad and wind farming is bad. And the 'don't worry, be happy' crew gets all the air play from the so-called 'liberal media', which is, of course, owned by the same multinationals. And I see the right-wing hate mongers convincing people to vote against the own self-interest time after time after time just so that lazy no-good down the road doesn't get a penny in food stamps or unemployment. And I see our congress seriously talking about cutting my Social Security - an annuity that I paid into all my life, and cutting my MediCare - an insurance plan I paid into all my life.

And you tell me that I have the power?

Both my wife and I suffer from health issue that preclude taking long walks. We can't afford massages. We are on a low fat, low salt, low carb, fresh fruit and vegetable diet. Very little beef, a little more chicken. We sleep 8 hours a night. I put in a veg garden each spring. We are active in dog rescue.

I am not so much depressed as I am fatalistic. My first 'real job' was working in a lumber mill, where I earned about $15.00/hr. My daughter, who is a Certified Physician's Assistant (and a widow with 3 children), works for a Neurologist and makes $15.00/hr. I shudder to think what kind of life my 12-year-old grandson is going to have.

I feel like I have fought the good fight for over 40 years and frankly all I see is that we have lost at every juncture. We have been thrown just enough crumbs to make us think we were accomplishing something, when in reality we have accomplished bupkus. I don't see that as depression, just bowing to the inevitable.

I have thought since I was in High School that evolution developing a big brain is going to turn out to be one of the most egregious mistakes that nature has ever made and I don't see anything to make me change my mind.

[snagglepuss]

31. Very interesting observation that depressing people is deliberate as

depression definitely immobilzes people. Its certainly something I'v experienced. Your remarks should have its own thread.

[another_liberal]

34. Don't give up!

Your life can end any moment due to any number of causes from car accidents to brain aneurysms. Live every day like you just escaped being executed, because you have!

[theHandpuppet]

24. Does anyone have a link to a map of the affected area?

I know there's a lot of cattle ranching in Alberta and am wondering if the tar sands are anywhere near agricultural areas.

[kristopher]

28. The research hasn't been published yet.

The information in the article is based on a newspaper interview with the researcher after she presented her team's findings at a conference. I'd guess she has a presentation slide that might be lurking somewhere on the internet though; I'm going to look for it. If I find something I'll post it.

From original source Canada.com

Kirk, who will publish the findings in a scientific study in 2014, told the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conference in Nashville in November that about 19,000 square kilometres are “currently impacted by airborne Hg (mercury) emissions originating from oilsands developments.”

http://www.canada.com/business/Mercury+levels+rising+expanse+around+Alberta+oilsands/9332186/story.html

[theHandpuppet]

32. Thanks. I look forward to reading an update...

... or maybe not.

[blackspade]

25. More great tar-sands news!

It's the best!

[csziggy]

33. Mercury levels are even higher where those products are used

Kirk, who will publish the findings in a scientific study in 2014, told the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conference in Nashville in November that about 19,000 square kilometres are “currently impacted by airborne Hg (mercury) emissions originating from oilsands developments.”

The levels decrease with distance from the oilsands. “It’s a gradual thing like a bulls’-eye,” says co-investigator Derek Muir, head of Environment Canada’s ecosystem contaminants dynamics section.

The highest mercury loadings were found in the “middle of the bull’s-eye,” he says, and cover “probably 10 per cent” of the 19,000 square kilometres found to be impacted.

Both Muir and Kirk stressed in an interview with Postmedia News that much higher levels of mercury pollution are seen in southern Ontario and southern Quebec, which are on the receiving end of toxins created by incinerators, combustion and coal-burning power plants.

The scientists say much research remains to be done on the mercury around the oilsands, but there are indications the toxin is building up in some of the region’s wildlife.
More: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Mercury+levels+rising+expanse+around+Alberta+oilsands/9332186/story.html

It's insanity to only worry about the contamination at the source. The product is the contamination - everywhere it is used will be poisoned.

[Pterodactyl]

35. Is Canada still morally superior to the United States? Honestly, I've lost track.