Dear Editor
If anyone (e.g., Kinder Morgan president, Ian Anderson) suggests to your readers that, if the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion is approved, there will be “only” one tanker ship a day going through our harbour, please correct him. The official company figure is “34 per month.” However, each tanker has to return to be refilled. So, double that figure.
But it gets worse. Since there are not 34 days in a month, some days during each month there will have to be two full tankers (plus two returning) for a total of four tankers passing through the harbour.
Each Aframax tanker (known to be the length of 2.5 football fields) must pass very slowly during high tide to avoid scraping the hull on the harbour bottom. Imagine the disruption to harbour traffic (including the SeaBus) as it waits for each tanker to pass by.
Cleanup of spilled diluted bitumen is next to impossible. Once it releases its toxic, carcinogenic benzene-laden fumes into the air, the heavy bitumen will sink to the bottom. It is not normal oil. This is backed up by solid scientific studies which the NEB is not allowing to be presented to them.
And finally, the public need to be aware that Kinder Morgan is not liable for spills once a tanker leaves the loading dock. Liability shifts to the tankers that are registered in Third World countries and may not be in a financial position to deal with the outcome of a major disaster such as significant bitumen spillage or damage to one of our bridges.
David Malcolm, Burnaby
