Shocked, Shocked: Study Shows That Wastewater Leaking From Tar Sands Ops Contaminates Groundwater

[hatrack]

An environmental watchdog says it has found "scientifically valid evidence" that Alberta's oilsands tailings ponds are contaminating groundwater sources. The report was released Thursday by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an independent international organization tasked with implementing an environmental side accord to the North American free-trade pact.

"Based on the scientific tools used today, the current literature shows that there is strong scientifically valid evidence of oilsands processed water seepage into near-field groundwater around tailings ponds when compared with the first peer-reviewed evidence published in 2009," says the report.

Tailings ponds, such as the ones used by oilsands mining operations north of Fort McMurray, Alta., collect by-products from oilsands mining operations — a mixture of water, sand, residual bitumen and other hydrocarbons that the industry calls "processed" water.

Many of these by products are toxic and environmentalists have long warned of the risks of leaks from tailings ponds, while the residual oil that covers the ponds can trap migratory birds. These massive ponds are bordered by outer walls of dirt built to hold back the tailings water — which, as the report notes, "is an acutely toxic substance containing, among other things, naphthenic acids and heavy metals."

EDIT

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/oilsands-tailings-groundwater-contamination-1.5711471

[SamKnause]

1. Duh.