Ugly Acheson mess underscores a troubling reality 2004 EVENT By Andrew Nikiforuk - For Business Edge Published: 01/06/2005 - Vol. 5, No. 1 The sorry mess at the Acheson wellsite just west of Edmonton once again calls into question the provinces high-stakes approach to sour-gas development and the sloppy commitment by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) to protecting the public health. This all-too-sour Christmas story began on Sunday, Dec. 12, as a crew from Acclaim Energy began a routine work-over on an old 1952 sweet-gas well originally owned by Imperial Oil. Something went very wrong and clouds of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a potent neurotoxin that has killed nearly 40 oilpatch workers in the last 30 years, spewed from the well and forced the evacuation of 700 citizens, including many members of the Enoch Cree First Nation. Costs will likely spiral upwards of $1 million. While trying to stop the uncontrolled flow of gas the next day, a spark ignited the well, creating clouds of sulphur dioxide, a mighty lung irritant. After numerous adventures, including the injury of two workers, the fire was contained and put out. But the well continued to leak deadly gas that at press time continued to trespass on neighbouring lands. In addition to the toxic trespassers, Acclaims dysfunctional well was gushing saltwater and hydrocarbons in such high volumes that 13 trucks were required to suck up the fluids. Although Acclaim drilled two nearby wells to relieve the pressure on the Acheson site, some families may remain homeless for another week. This ugly incident underscores a troubling reality: The encroachment of sour-gas development on urban fringes - or as industry would put it, the urban invasion of the provinces profitable sour-gas fields. In fact, Edmonton now boasts 33 sour-gas wells within a five-kilometre radius of the city and more than 350 wells within a 25-kilometre radius. Calgary, which has many sour wells within its borders, will soon debate the merits of sticking six new sour wells on the citys southeastern limits that could place 250,000 citizens in emergency planning zones. As the Acheson well illustrates, the proximity of potentially lethal wells to people is a one big bad idea. For starters, many of these wells are much more deadly than Acclaims Christmas spoiler. Even though Acclaims leaky vessel contained less than one per cent of H2S, it was still capable of releasing spikes of sour gas (350 parts per million, ppm) capable of causing irreversible harm within a kilometre of the well. But the toxicity of hydrogen sulfide at low levels is also cause for concern. The Acheson well spewed between 24 parts per billion and 32 parts per billion (ppb) two days after the initial blowout. The EUB, which has no health experts - no public health and safety division, period - said this was nothing to worry about. Yet new scientific studies suggest otherwise. The World Health Organization has a 10-minute exposure standard for five ppb for H2S - and for good reason. A recent North Carolina study suggests that exposure to low levels of H2S (from 30-215 ppb) may contribute to an increased suicide rate for down-winders.” Exposures to 30 ppb in Dakota City, Neb., have been strongly associated with asthma hospital visits for children. Low levels of H2S also caused eye irritation during the Lodgepole blowout in 1982 and the Drummond blowout in 1984. Chronic exposures between one and five ppm have been also associated with irreversible neurological damage. These heavy health risks are predictably taking a heavy toll on property values. As a 2003 EUB study noted, the introduction of a sour-gas well to a neighbourhood can reduce the price of each home by $6,000. The addition of four more wells within a four kilometre radius can shave off another $40,000. Why? Because, in my view, sour gas is an imposed security risk that makes no better a neighbour than a pedophile. Every year the industry experiences about 30 significant leaks or releases. The EUB, however, still refuses to tell Albertans where these leaks occur; which companies are involved; what penalties were levied; or how many people were evacuated or injured. Since 1985, the province has steadfastly refused to keep a registry of Albertans injured or knocked down by sour gas, despite repeated recommendations by health officials and the public to the contrary. Recent studies suggest that the provinces 30,000 sour-gas workers should be routinely examined for neurological damage, but none are. In fact, an excellent report on public safety and sour gas in 2000 by a group of landowners, industry and government types - or what the province loves to call multi-stakeholder groups - made 87 recommendations to help clean up this toxic and continuing controversy. The report demanded that the EUB forcefully address such issues as better monitoring, transparent reporting and saner planning. It recommended an H2S registry and better co-ordination between cities and sour-gas developers. Neither has happened. Now five years later, the EUB has only checked off 18 of the original 87 recommendations. While dragging its feet on sour gas, the EUB has also tried to quietly soften regulations to make it easier to locate more sour-gas wells closer to Albertans. Back in 1990, the regulator established 100 ppm at three minutes as a conservative margin of safety for establishing emergency planning zones around sour-gas facilities. That was a good standard. But the EUB recently proposed to obliterate this margin with new endpoints that range from 251-447 ppm. Thankfully the Calgary Health Region has opposed these pathological changes for the simple reason that they are not based on good science and do not provide adequate protection for Albertans. The Acheson incident is the price of bad luck, reckless gas development and shoddy planning. But if the EUB doesnt soon act in the public interest and establish credible sour-gas policy in 2005, most of Albertas cities will soon be surrounded by wells that have the potential to harm or kill. Thousands of people will find themselves not only living next to potentially lethal neighbours such as the Acheson well, but developments that will actively devalue their property values and diminish the local tax base by five to 15 per cent. As the Acheson well continues to leak and sputter away, Albertans need to ask their government just what advantage the province has gained by carelessly imposing so many risks and vulnerabilities on its citizens. (Andrew Nikiforuk is an award-winning Alberta author and journalist.) Email Article Print
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:44:53 +0000
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