As is detailed in the dilbit disaster, laforge, his wife lorraine laforge, an adult daughter and three grandchildren were living in a house near where talmadge creek joins the kalamazoo river. These documents will give you tips and advice to prepare for and recover after a disaster. Response to oil sands products assessment uscg homeport. The 20 mayflower oil spill occurred on march 29, 20, when the pegasus pipeline, owned by exxonmobil and carrying canadian wabasca heavy crude from the athabasca oil sands, ruptured in mayflower, arkansas, about 25 miles 40 km northwest of little rock releasing about 3,190 barrels 4,000 us gal. The kalamazoo river spill tspace university of toronto. And an explainer of how diluted bitumen dilbit, the form that tar sands crude take to travel through pipelines, is a hell of a lot harder to clean up than regular old crude. Different from conventional oil home about contact tips whistleblowers awards subscribe donate a pulitzer prizewinning, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization. Fort hills reduced carbon life cycle dilbit blend, frb, fort hills dilbit, blended bitumen, bitumen blend.
By elizabeth mcgowan and lisa song, insideclimate news. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of kindle single kindle edition by mcgowan, elizabeth, song, lisa, hasemyer, david. The pipeline carries diluted bitumen dilbit, a heavy crude oil from canadas athabasca oil sands to the united states. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, part 1 walking on the tarry mess was like stepping on chewing gum. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of mcgowan, elizabeth, song, lisa, hasemyer, david on. And an explainer of how diluted bitumen dilbit, the form that tar sands crude take to travel through pipelines, is a.
Use of information technology in emergency and disaster. Dilbit diluted bitumen is a bitumen diluted with one or more lighter petroleum products, typically naturalgas condensates such as naphtha. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, about a project that began with a sevenmonth investigation into the milliongallon spill of canadian tar sands oil into the kalamazoo river in 2010. On july 26, 2010 the 6b carbon steel pipeline carrying diluted bitumen ruptured.
Costsbenefit analysis for natural disaster management. Sunken oil is looming threat to kalamazoo river, 646 t he g eorgetown i nt l e nvtl. The oil industrys dilbit coverup canadian centre for. Analysis of the potential costs of accidentsspills. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard jun 28, 2012. After responders discovered the dilbit had sunk to the sediment at the rivers bottom, they developed a variety of tactics to collect the oil. It says dilbit is no different from conventional crude. When dilbit spills, most of the added chemicals evaporate, leaving the heavy bitumen to sink in water. November 22, 2017 fort hills diluted bitumen page 1 of 7 fort hills diluted bitumen safety data sheet section 1. Walking on the tarry mess was like stepping on chewing gum. A narrative of what happens to two local families and the entire community when an oil disaster strikes. Environmental protection agency epa had to deal with a dilbit spill of this size into water. This disaster was the largest onland spill in american history to date. As oil sands production rises, what should we expect at.
The impact of natural disasters on human development and poverty. Diluting bitumen makes it much easier to transport, for example in pipelines. School emergency plans know your childrens school emergency plan. Regional trends in undp expenditure on disaster prevention and recovery, 2004. Contact your childrens school or day care center to discuss their disaster procedures. What can we learn from fuel oil spills for understanding. Insideclimate news won the 20 pulitzer prize in national reporting for.
Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, during the enbridge tar sands spill in kalamazoo, michigan, significant heavy crude sank below. The behaviour and environmental impacts of crude oil released. Undp expenditure on disaster prevention and recovery, by region, 20042009 22 table 2. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, part 1 a black goo stopped just 10 feet from the metal cap that marked his drinking. Ralph dollhopf, epa incident commander for the spill, told the kalamzoo gazette july 24, 2011 that responders are writing the book on how to deal with dilbit.
The effective date of the reassessment is the assessment date that is prior to the occurrence of the disaster. Disaster management being a key part of emergency management encompasses wide range activities. Ask how the school will communicate with families during a crisis. Disaster recovery resources american dental association.
Other environmental factors will affect the rate at which this process takes place. Inside the dilbit disaster, part 1 a black goo stopped just 10 feet from the metal cap that marked his drinking water well. It was prepared by the african centre for disaster studies nwu potchefstroom campus in the preparation of the usaid disaster risk reduction training programme for south and southern africa. This diluted bitumen, or dilbit, is the same type of oil that would be carried on the 1,702mile keystone xl pipeline if the controversial project is approved. For annually assessed mobilemanufactured homes, it is the january 1 before the date of the disaster. Before a disaster to reduce the potential for human, material or environmental losses caused by hazards and to ensure that these losses are minimized when the disaster actually strikes. Railbit bitumen with 1520% diluent and raw bitumen can be transported in coiled and insulated tank cars which are also sometimes used to transport dilbit. Dilbit have caused con cern because some of the unique spill properties august 19, 2015 16. More than 1 million gallons of oil spilled into the kalamazoo r. Dilbit spills pose an especially difficult cleanup challenge due to the properties of the oil. With the first crash and explosion of a unit train of tar sands oil in canada in february, we learned that the conventional wisdom among people covering the oilbyrail industry regarding the flammability of tar sands oil has been dead wrong. Typically, diluted bitumen or dilbit is 70 to 80 per cent bitumen, and 20 to 30 per cent diluent. Dilbit disaster unfolded by elizabeth mcgowan keystone xl primer. Sustainable development is the outcome of comprehensive planning that incorporates considerations of disaster risk reducing hazards and vulnerability as well as strategies designed to protect the environment and to improve economic growth, levels of education, and living conditions of the entire population see box 3.
Distribution, posting, or copying of this pdf is strictly prohibited without written permission of the national. In recent years, dilbit spills in michigan the dilbit disaster, 2014, arkansas. The following document serves as a template to assist your longterm care organization to plan and prepare to meet the needs of both your residents and staff in. The stoney creek environmental committee in cooperation with community and environmental groups is hosting a series of public forums to discuss kinder morgans plan to twin the trans mountain. Understanding disasters national institute of disaster.
State health officials recommend people in areas impacted by a natural disaster make sure they are uptodate on their tetanus immunizations. A 2015 study by the national academies identified unique problems associated with a dilbit spill. Dilbit really is different and even without keystone xl, its criss. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, part 1 a black goo stopped just 10 feet from the metal cap that marked his drinking water well. National academy of sciences, effects of diluted bitumen on the environment. Insideclimate news won the 20 pulitzer prize in national reporting for this fourpart narrative and six followup. The investigation is part narrative, part explainer. Using technical cooperation among developing countries to better manage disasters 44 tables table 1. Small investments in disaster risk reduction in mexico pay off 34 box 2. Canadas spill response regime a couple of decades behind the federal government supports the trans mountain expansion and has pledged a new world class spill response regime. For an idea, read insideclimate news pulitzer prizewinning authors the dilbit disaster. A short tutorial on how raw bitumen or tar sands is converted into dilbit diluted bitumen. Click to access condensatesweetoshawhmisghssds20150217.
What can we learn from fuel oil spills for understanding the fate of dilbit. Natural disaster definitions, frequencies, and impacts. Washington state officials troubled by oilpatch secrets. Dilbit, like all crude oil, floats in water but, over time, will sink, complicating cleanup efforts, particularly if dredging is considered too ecologically damaging. I have never heard of this incident till i read this book. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, part 1 by elizabeth mcgowan and lisa song, insideclimate news timeline. A second derailment and explosion on march 7th involved synbit, which is a form of bitumen diluted with synthetic crude oil. Overview challenges and background elements of cba pros and cons.
Any type of wound, major or minor, could be an entry source for the tetanus organism. Disaster risk reduction, and the regional report on disaster risk and poverty in latin america. On dilbit, oil spill response and political gamesmanship. Frb fort hills reduced carbon life cycle dilbit blend trade names and synonyms. Per the alberta oil sands bitumen valuation methodology, dilbit blends means blends made from heavy crudes andor bitumens and a diluent, usually naturalgas condensate, for. Disaster led to the formation of oxygenated residues. Emergency management programme are developed and implemented through the. Bitumen is the type of oil that is extracted from the athabasca tar sands, a region of alberta the size of new york state. Disaster recovery resources for those affected by recent hurricanes and tropical storms, resources from the ada may be of assistance. The cleanup of north americas biggest dilbit pipeline spill was behind schedule and laforges property in southwestern michigan, about a.
The kalamazoo river oil spill occurred in july 2010 when a pipeline operated by enbridge. Inside the biggest oil spill youve never heard of, part 1. The terms natural disaster and climaterelated events will be used interchangeably, understanding that socioeconomic conditions play a role to explain the intensity and. Ask if the school stores adequate food, water, and other basic supplies. It was a short but very informative book regarding the spill.
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