Trans Mountain pipeline opponents express concern over weekend spill in Abbotsford
Posted June 14, 2020 9:42 am.
Last Updated June 14, 2020 11:57 am.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) — A group opposed to the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline is pointing to a spill in Abbotsford as a signal of what could happen if the expanded pipeline goes through to Burnaby.
Karl Perrin, with the Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion, says if the planned expansion is allowed to move forward, spills like the one in the Fraser Valley this Saturday could be the least of the problems.
“In an earthquake, they would spill and likely start a fire, and the forest is right next to them,” he says.
“So in a dry summer, you’ve got a real-real danger for any students at SFU … being trapped up there and succumbing to smoke from the fire.”
And according to Perrin, the oil being pumped through the current line is both dangerous for the environment, as well as toxic in its raw form.
“There’s benzene which is carcinogenic, and that’s something that evaporates off the spill. And it leads to leukemia,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“So there are a number of toxic gases that off-gas from a spill from bitumen [and] from other petroleum sources.”
RELATED ARTICLE: Trans Mountain pipeline shuts as crews clean spill in Abbotsford, B.C.
Trans Mountain has confirmed that an unspecified amount of oil spilled from its existing pipeline.
The company won’t say how much oil spilled, other than to say the leak has been contained.
In a news release, it said that an alarm was received early Saturday, and the pipeline was immediately shut down as crews went to investigate.
The Transportation Safety Board says it has also deployed an investigator to the spill that occurred in a pump station.
The Crown-owned pipeline moves about 300,000 barrels of crude per day from Alberta to B.C.’s terminal near Vancouver.
