Dirty oil in Ecuador

 I believe The best thing we can do for the environment is get every ounce of oil sands out of the ground as fast as possible. If there was a safe way to do it and with wildlife conservation the highest priority. What Alberta is doing to the wildlife in the area is criminal.

I just watched all the videos related to the one above and I can't believe the method in which they are using and the cost to the environment and our health. The UN should protest and stop the destruction of a country.

I am embarrassed to live in Alberta or even Canada for that matter.

How will they get all those toxins out of the ponds?

My family grew up in Northern Alberta and my father says that he saw oil seeping out of the river banks near the oil sands current location, long before any oil sands developement had begun.

I believe the Oil Sands are the cause of health problems in the area.

I also believe there is no way in hell that the toxic  ponds at the oil sands are safe for the environment.

I believe these toxic ponds should be in cement enclosure's with some kind of lining or coating that prevents all leaks of toxic chemicals in to the ground waters. How much would that cost.?

I would like to know how Syncrude is preventing the toxins from their ponds from entering the ground waters?

I would also like to know what happens with contaminated mud from drilling rigs.

Where is it stored and how are the toxins or chemicals removed.

We will have to look at H₂S in the future with a lot more details.

H₂S is one gas that at a less than 1% percent can kill you in seconds.

The more you breath H₂S the more it will affect you with less resistance than the time before.

1000 PPM (Parts Per Million) will cause immediate loss of breathing with as little as one breath, followed by immediate death!

For a definition of Parts per million (ppm) Click Here

I worked on H₂S wells for a few years and I have not worked on any H₂S wells that I thought were safe.

I worked on one H₂S well, where we were drilling for a very high percent of H₂S with a oil rig that broke down several times per day. That was 6 KM North West of the town of Edson, Alberta.

One day we went threw $1400.00 worth of hydraulic oil. several of the hydraulic hoses were rotten and when I tried to fix the leaks the hose would twist apart with no effort.

The traction motor was arcing ( throwing Massive Sparks) and was spinning the drill pipe and table at very high speed in reverse.

If this would of happened while the tongs were locked on to the drill pipe, someone could have died.

Also if the traction motor started to arc massive sparks while there was a gas leak, well you can only imagine the explosion it could cause and following that with possible severe damage to the environment and wild life.

We were not allowed to have a electric coffee pot in the dog house (driller's room and meeting place where meals are eaten).

But we operated with a traction motor occasional arching out with massive sparks and turning the drill pipe in reverse to almost twist off.

If the drill pipe would have twisted off, it could be very dangerous depending on the timing.

It took several years to find out why the traction motors would spin in reverse and arc out sparks.

All that time the oil rig remained in operation.

It turned out that when breakers were blown in the SCR (diesel electric light Plant) that were at that time out dated and impossible to replace.

So instead of upgrading to a modern SCR shack they would just move the electrical connection the other side of the electrical panel etc.

After a year or two so many of the electrical connections being re-routed to the other side of the SCR, caused the SCR to turn into a motor occasionally. Switching the direction of the out put and causing the traction motor to run in reverse for several seconds before returning to normal operation.

Drilling company's are well known for not repairing anything until it breaks down or someone gets hurt or killed.

It's all in what the budget will pay for and in slow times there is not much money for repairs.

I am really surprised that no one died and that the drill pipe didn't spin off and cause a major disaster.

In my opinion the oil rig was a death trap and I should know I now have life long injuries that have a major impact on my retraining and return to the work force. All because of faulty equipment that was worn out beyond repair.

When it comes to oil rigs and oil companies people just don't count, it's all about money, no concern for the environment or people.

In nine years on the oil rigs I worked very few oil rigs that I  would call safe enough to drill for H₂S. Maybe one or two out of countless oil rigs.  But that is not saying their are not oil rigs safe enough in Alberta,  sometimes the lack of training is the issue.

Drilling for H₂S is a gamble when it comes to safety.

If I had a farm that was located near an H₂S well I would move.

But what about local wild life, the company's only care about money.

They don't care and our Government turns a blind eye to the environment and wildlife.

If you complain to the Government they will just forward your name to the offending company and make a file on you.

The above statements are my opinion and just the views I have

Neil Lizotte

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