Negative Impact of Tar Sands Mining

The oil sands industry in Alberta faces a complicated yet feasible challenge; the challenge being one of reclamation. Alberta has come to a point in time where it has become necessary to reclaim its land resources and restore them to their natural levels of abundance and productivity.

Everyday throughout the year, trucks the size of houses carry out sand creating crater-like holes which are left behind sporadically scattered along with muskeg in the northern regions of the Boreal Forest of Alberta. These mass amounts of excavated sand are then sent to processing plants that extract bitumen to form a crude oil. The largest deposits are found along the Athabasca River. Tremendous amounts of water are used for the extraction process and the provocative question that arises is, “Is it possible for Alberta to initiate reclamation to any effective degree to recover and restore these natural resources which are being constantly depleted and disturbed by these exaction and processing procedures and what precautions are in effect if any?

The Athabasca River is Alberta’s longest river and one of the longest undammed rivers in North America. It also passes through the Boreal Forest which is being cleared and strip-mined and serves as the primary source of water used for bitumen extraction. The obvious threat posed here is the exhaustion of the Athatbasca River’s resources as well as, those of the rivers and lakes that surround it.

Water monitoring is an essential component for environmental protection. The Tar Sands mining operations extract 2 to 4.5 barrels of fresh water from the river for every barrel of oil that is produced. This volume of water is not released back into the river but is re-used and recycled for the same process. The rivers are then left bereft of these extracted amounts. Residual water and particulates separated from the oil are stored in large tailing ponds. These tails are a mixture of sands, clays and fine silts that can take decades to settle out of the water. Gypsum is added to the mix to form an inert landfill material so ponds can then be filled with sand and covered with topsoil, trees, shrubs and grass.

Several of the rivers adjacent to the Athabasca River which run directly through the Oil Sand areas are redirected or removed all together preventing contamination.

Above the abundant tar sands lies the Boreal Forest. Composed of forest, wetlands, and lakes it represents one-quarter of the word’s remaining intact forests. Its wetlands provide safe habitat for wildlife consisting of bears, wolves, lynx and the largest woodland caribou in the world. This endangering of species and the compromising of natural land resources is another cause for great concern.

Land reclamation is a valid and viable solution to the disturbing amounts of damage and disruption being caused by mining in these regions. The aim of land reclamation is to restore land to its natural levels of productivity and abundance. This is done through the application of tailing sand to fill in the mined out areas and then covering it with layers of sand, gravel and shale, which covered the oil sands before mining began.

Muskeg and topsoil are then added so that the area can be reforested. Various types of trees, grass and shrubs indigenous to this area are then planted. Land can be reclaimed this way as forest, wetlands and meadows, thus creating a continuing bountiful habitat for the wildlife of the region to flourish for the future.

The huge amount of energy used to extract bitumen results in the oil sands industry being one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases in Canada. Hydrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide are among some of these pollutants that deteriorate air quality. Ambient air is an issue literally of atmospheric proportions.

Many companies are taking measures to reduce air pollution. Introduction of the flue gas desulphurization project has shown benefits. The FDG works like a scrubber using limestone to remove sulphur dioxide from emissions, which has shown to reduce levels significantly. Monitoring air quality is another preventative measure showing a significance of great importance. Numerous monitoring stations are in place around plant sites. On one minute intervals the analyzers examine many factors that include wind speed and direction, temperature and relative humidity, and voltaic organic compounds. Every 10 minutes these findings are averaged. If quality guidelines are exceeded the plants are put under notification.

If the oil sands industry can manage to continue land reclamation by taking progressive measures to recover and restore natural resources being depleted and work in conjunction with the environment, then Alberta can remain a healthy mosaic of clean water, air and land. Everyday measures are being taken to continue this process to prevent excessive depletion and to in-still practices which respect and honour the majesty of the land.

It is an ongoing struggle and a necessary one to keep the land’s integrity intact. The prevent ion and repair of contamination to the environment is a very possible goal and an outcome that must be fought for vigilantly and without a doubt.