All posts by Veronique Hynes

Alberta sees 155 oil spills in 2014

Database assignment three
Share

On average, there is an oil spill in Alberta every two and a half days.

There have been 155 crude oil spills so far this year, according data from the Alberta Energy Regulator.

The majority of the oil spills were caused by a leak by pipelines, which transport 97 percent of Canada’s crude oil and natural gas on land.

Pipelines carry about 200 Olympic sized swimming pools worth of crude oil everyday, according to the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. These three million barrels of oil travel across Canada and into the United States.

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. reported more oil spills than other companies that operate in Alberta.

The Calgary-based oil producer was responsible for 20 incidents in 2014 so far. Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Cenovus Energy caused the second and third most spills, with 17 and 11 incidents respectively.

A CNRL pipeline was also responsible for the biggest oil spill of the year when 60,000 litres of crude oil leaked near Red Earth on Nov. 14. It is believed a mechanical problem caused the leak, which is the same volume as one of the smaller exhibits of the Toronto aquarium, according to the incident report.

There were 155 oil spills in Alberta in 2014, as of the publication date.
There were 155 oil spills in Alberta in 2014, as of the publication date.

All oil companies are required to report any incidents where oil or a production was by-product was spilt to the Alberta Energy Regulator, the industry watchdog of the province.

The Regulator updates its database every 24 hours, according to spokesperson Carrey Rosa. The database does not include any of the pipelines that cross into other borders or the U.S. because the National Energy Board regulates those pipelines.

“In terms of the common causes of the incidents its corrosion, mechanical failure, and equipment malfunction,” she said.

It’s difficult to say what caused the majority of the spills, because a number of factors can cause a pipeline to leak, she said. The most common causes for pipelines to spill are machine and human error. Farming and construction can often damage pipelines and wells.

“We regularly inspect pipelines in Alberta to ensure that facilities remain in compliance with requirement and if they don’t follow the rules, we have a number of restrictions that we can put in place. We can shut them down for the day, or longer than that until the problems have been fixed,” Rosa said.

The majority of these incidents reported no wildlife or water bodies were affected by the spill.

But Greenpeace advocate Mike Hudema said this information simply isn’t reliable, because oil companies have a vested interest in saying there is no damage to the environment, he said.

The impact of a spill depends on its size and location, he said. Some, like the very serious spill near Little Buffalo in 2011 were disastrous. People complained of nausea and headaches and children had to stay home from school because of noxious fumes, he said.

“What we know is that spills have had a dramatic impact on communities, human health, and of course have had very damaging and long lasting impacts on ecosystems,” he said.

Any amount of oil leaking into the environment can harm the people and ecosystem in the surrounding area, Hudema said.

“There is very little enforcement here in Alberta,” he said. A self-regulation system for the oil sands just doesn’t work. Oil workers often call Greenpeace to tell them about spills that they employers have yet to report, Hudema said.

“Companies have a financial incentive to not report spills. It could mean litigation, it could mean their facility is shut down.”

Thousands of barrels worth of oil spilt into Little Buffalo, Alta. in 2011. Photo courtesy of Joe Whittle, with permission from Greenpeace
Thousands of barrels worth of oil spilt into Little Buffalo, Alta. in 2011.
Photo courtesy of Joe Whittle, with permission from Greenpeace

Impaired driving increase insignificant, Ottawa Police say

Assignment 2, Database assignment two
Share

Impaired driving is down overall in the city, except for an upswing in the Capital ward.

Overall impaired driving charges went down four percent, but three wards saw a spike in 2013: Capital, Stittsville Kanata-West, and Knoxdale-Merivale, according to data from the Ottawa Police Service.

Capital ward saw 37 charges of impaired vehicle operation in 2014, compared to 25 in 2013. Capital ward includes Old Ottawa South, Carleton University, and the Glebe.

Capital ward residents have not noticed there was an increase in impaired driving in their neighborhood, said ward councilor David Chernushenko.

Chernushenko spoke at a community event held at O’Briens pub at Heron rd., sipping his “one allowed beer” of the evening.

He said that being conscious of alcohol intake is essential and that impaired driving of any kind is a serious hazard to everyone.

“Any distraction, from using your cell phone, to drinking coffee to eating an ice cream, all of these things when done while driving – in a sense, they can turn your car into a weapon,” he said.

The increase in Capital Ward and other wards does not mean that impaired driving is rampant in the area, said Sgt. John Kiss.
“That’s only one extra charge per month,” he said. The increase could be because the officers patrolling that neighborhood target certain kinds of crime more than others.
“There are all kinds of officers who like to concentrate on different aspects of policing. There are some that like to chase crack heads, there are some that like to chase stolen cars,” he said. “One extra arrest per month is not a significant number for one officer to do if he’s out there every night looking for impaired drivers.”
Kiss said there has been a general decline in impaired driving across Canada over the last twenty years, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Juristats report, which lists Police-reported crime statistics.
“But that’s a general shift in society and has been over the last couple of decades because of changes in social norms, education and the media,” he said.
“The numbers are down in general, but what causes that could be a number of factors…it could also be the results of officers being too busy to enforce it and not getting the arrest or the charges.”
November marks the beginning of “the bulk” of the police’s impaired driving enforcement, which will last until January, he said. But contrary to common belief, there aren’t more drunk drivers on the road during Christmas party season.
“We do that because there are a lot of parties going on, but most of all we do that because we really want to avoid a tragedy over the holidays. So we’re out there doing our thing and thankfully the last couple of years we’ve been tragedy-free over the holidays,” he said.

Petrie Island has most ‘No Swim Days’ of Ottawa Beaches

Assignment 1, Database assignment one
Share
Petrie Island's River Beach had high E.coli levels for 12 days this summer.
Petrie Island’s River Beach had high E.coli levels for 12 days this summer.

Petrie Island’s River Beach was most likely to have unhealthy numbers of E.coli bacteria this summer than other beaches operated by the city of Ottawa.

River Beach in Orleans was found to have E.coli levels deemed unhealthy for 12 days this summer, according to data recorded by Ottawa Public Health.

This also means the city issued more ‘no swim advisories’ for River Beach than any other beach.

Swimming in water contaminated with E.coli can cause rashes, stomach problems, and make cuts and scrapes become infected.

Data from http://data.ottawa.ca/dataset/beach-water-sampling-data/resource/ab85fe8e-98c4-4388-9dc3-2839890f637d
http://data.ottawa.ca/dataset/beach-water-sampling-data/resource/ab85fe8e-98c4-4388-9dc3-2839890f637d

 

It is difficult to pinpoint why the beach had high bacteria counts, as animal waste, heavy rain, or simply being downstream of Ottawa’s urban centre could all play a factor, said Martha Robinson, program development officer at Ottawa Public Health.

E.coli levels exceeded the recommended level 11 days in 2013, the second highest of all the beaches, Robinson said.

Britannia Bay had the lowest bacterial count of all the beaches, as the beach did not have a single day where the E.coli count was over the federal standard of 200 per 100 ml of water.

E.coli counts were also much lower at East Bay, the other beach on Petrie Island, which recorded at total of five days over the limit.

The city samples the water of all five of its beaches everyday from June 20 until Aug. 16. When the previous day’s E.coli counts exceed 200 per 100 ml of water, the city issues a no swim advisory.

The two biggest threats to a beach’s water quality are rainfall and birds, Robinson said. Bird feces can contaminate the water, while rain can make waste run into into the river.

Not all of Ottawa’s five beaches have mechanisms to prevent birds and waste runoffs due rain from contaminating the water.

“Westboro doesn’t have anything,” she said.

“Petrie Island has tried a variety of things to discourage birds over the years,” she said. Some, like keeping dogs on the beach and spreading foul-smelling fertilizer onto the grass have not scared away the geese at all.

Others have been more effective. The beach got a drone to scare away birds twice a day in 2013, Robertson said.

The city stops monitoring water quality and staffing beaches in mid-August, but three days of high temperatures has led some Orleans residents to let summer go on a little longer, as people were still tanning at River Beach in late September.

Moreen Dodd said she comes to Petrie Island often to read or relax with friends, but she never goes into the water.

“I don’t swim because of the bacteria,” she said. “A friend of mine once got a really bad infection after swimming in the river. It lasted months and just wouldn’t heal.”

Sisters Stacey and Melanie Campbell said they come to the beach about once or twice a week, to go swimming with Stacey’s five and six-year-old.

As long the city has declared the water safe for swimming, Stacey said she loves to splash around with her kids.

“It’s really nice. You can look at the sky, the forests, the Gatineau airport across the river. Sometimes you can see air shows,” she said.

She does take some precautions. Her kids are not allowed in the water if they have a cut or a bug bite, she said. She also wipes their arms, legs and torsos with a towel very thoroughly to prevent swimmer’s itch.