Other impacts

Spills

Spills can result from accidental releases of crude oil, produced water or other hydrocarbon products at well sites, batteries, storage tanks or pipelines. They can affect land, vegetation, water bodies and groundwater.

Industry’s priority is to prevent spills and, in the event of a spill, to ensure trained personnel and equipment are available to respond.

The industry achieves this by inspecting facilities, installing computer technology to detect leaks, replacing or relining sections of pipeline, and having trained personnel and spill response equipment. Industry co-operatives in each producing area maintain stockpiles of absorbent booms, temporary dams, special boats and oil removal equipment for this purpose.

When a spill threatens surface water (streams, rivers or lakes), industry crews are dispatched immediately to halt the leakage and prevent the contamination from spreading. Industry and government officials test water quality downstream from spills to ensure that water meets federal and provincial standards. After initial cleanup, crews remove contaminated soil and vegetation from the banks for disposal by incineration or land treatment.

Spills on land require cleanup to prevent contamination from reaching underground water supplies and water wells. Special measurement devices are placed in wells drilled around contaminated sites to monitor underground water quality.

A significant amount of oil spilled on land will eventually be eliminated naturally through evaporation and bacterial action, a process that can be enhanced by tilling and fertilizing the soil. High-temperature kilns are sometimes used to remove oil contamination from soil. In other instances, the soil is excavated and trucked to an approved industrial landfill site lined with plastic or clay.

Salty water, which is the primary contaminant in a produced water release, can affect the ability of soils to support vegetation. Generally, this impact is managed by rinsing the soil with fresh water.