CALGARY — The owner of a broken oil pipeline in northern Alberta says air quality readings are good near the site, but a nearby community remains concerned about health risks.
Mike Hallihan, vice-president with Plains Midstream Canada, did not take questions from reporters Thursday after he provided an update on last Friday’s spill of 28,000 barrels of crude.
“Although there is an odour at the release site, the monitors at the site have detected no hydrocarbon levels above Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guidelines, and no negative health effects have been reported by workers on site to date,” he said.
A school in the First Nations community of Little Buffalo about 10 kilometres away remains closed due to health concerns. The company has been monitoring air quality there as well.
“These monitors have been in place since Monday and have detected no hydrocarbon levels whatsoever. We will continue monitoring air quality at the release site and in surrounding areas,” Hallihan said.
Lubicon Cree Chief Steve Nosky, who flew over the spill Wednesday evening, said a strong odour of crude oil is hanging in the air in Little Buffalo, a community of 350.
The school is expected to remain closed Friday and it’s unclear when it will re-open.
“It doesn’t look good,” Nosky told The Canadian Press. “If we get favourable reports from Plains and (Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board), a decision has to be made by the chief and council whether or not we let the kids back in,” he said.
“Certainly we can measure all the (toxic hydrogen sulphide gas) and the air quality, but if you have the strong smell of crude over a long period of time, that can make you sick.”
Particularly worrisome, he said, is the potential for rainfall in the area. He fears it could cause a beaver dam that has contained much of the spill to overflow.
“It’s potentially a disaster if it releases into the reserve,” Nosky said, noting the dam is three kilometres from Lubicon Lake.
Nosky said the pipeline is more than 40 years old and that begs the question of what could happen next.
“It should be a concern and people should start asking before it happens,” Nosky said. “The pipeline companies should be accountable to the general public — not only our First Nations, but the general public as a whole.”
— with files from Bill Graveland