Turner Valley - Sludge raises concerns at gas plant

By Laurel Nadon
Staff Reporter
Okotoks Western Wheel
August 10, 2005 Vol. 30 No.53

An ornage sludge with a petrochemical odour near the Turner Valley Gas Plant is alarming residents about the safety of the Sheep River. A resident contacted Roxanne Walsh, a member of the Turner Valley Gas Plant for a Safe, Historic Site committee, on Thursday, July 28 and Walsh checked it out the following day.
"I noticed a very strong, intense smell of petrochemicals and upon closer investigation noticed this thick orange sludge and an orange-tinted foam," Walsh said.
She also noticed signs of the material going into the Sheep River. She phoned the Alberta Environment emergency number that night and was advised that they would notify the Monitored Contaminated Site Group, which she hasn't heard back from yet.
Alberta Environment took sames Saturday, July 30, advising the results weould be available later this week.
While at the site on Sunday, July 31, a community development employee from the gas plant told Walsh the sludge was just rust.
"Rust doesn't smell like hydrocarbons," Walsh said.
She also noticed that a nearby tree appears wilted and has black spots covering the leaves.
"That's a clear indication that that's not a happy tree," she said.
Walsh said further indications that the sludge is toxic come from her own personal experiment when she first investigated July 29. She scooped some of the sludge into a cup and held it to her nose. "I noticed there was a slight burning sensation fo rthe rest of the evening," Walsh said, noting she can't verify the sensation was caused by the sludge. The committee is still waiting to hear if further testing will be conducted on the river.
On July 7, the committee spoke with Dr. Roger Saint-Fort, an environmental chemist and instructor at Mount Royal College in the department of chemistry, biology and environmental sciences.
He raised several concerns about the testing, including that sediment from the site hasn't been tested for hydrocarbons and heavy metals. He also noted tha the different types of mercury are lumped together in the tests. Methyl mercury is the type which causes the most concern, as the cumulative effect on the human body can be dangerous. Saint-Fort suggested that tests need to be done for amines and sulfolane. Sufolane is sometimes added to sour gas to make it useful and it's unknown if sufolane was used on the site. Saint-Fort also said that fish and plants should be studied to see if they contain hydrocarbons. Only July 8 the committee sent a letter to Gary Mar, Minister of Community Development, requesting that these tests be conducted, and haven't yet received a response.

To view Alber Environment's report, visit: www3.gov.ab.ca/env/water/reports/index.cfm