Overturned Gas Tanker In Ne Calgary

[scorpiondeathlock]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/200...l-franklin.html

 

Just wondering what the enviromental effects from this incident would be if any gas got into the storm drains then into the river.

[headscan]

My understanding is that none made it to the river.

[DonAndersen]

scorpiondeathlock,

 

From what I gathered from last nights new story by Global was that none of the gasoline reached the Bow River. A couple of things must be born in mind:

1] Gasoline contains 1>3% of benzene

2] Benzene is very toxic to fish

3] Most residents of Calgary weren't here when Esso and British American had refineries along the Bow. Each used "flow through" cooling resulting in regular leakage of gasoline + other hydrocarbons into the Bow due to failure of exchanger components. The Bow River fish were uneatable and few were killed due to the smell as soon as they warmed up. There were lots of fish in the Bow - I know - I fished it. C&R was practiced.

 

Is there a risk due to benzene spill - Yes - is this one contained - looks like it.

 

What is scary is the risk of explosion. There was an incident in Rocky some years ago where a truck hauling hydrocarbon condensate drained part it's load into the sewage system over night in the industrial area. Trans Alta office had a floor drain in the furnace room where the P trap had gone dry. The vapors rose into the furnace room and exploded. Blew manhole covers all over the east side of town. thankfully, no one was hurt. I regularly dump a gallon of water down the basement P traps just for that reason.

 

 

 

Below is a cut/copy/paste from various benzene sites for your info.

 

catch ya'

 

 

Don

 

 

 

Benzene was used in the past as a solvent in inks, rubber, lacquers, and paint removers. Today, it is used mainly in closed processes to synthesize organic chemicals. Gasoline in some countries contains a high concentration of benzene (as high as 30%); the U.S. average is 1-3%. Workers who remove or clean underground storage tanks may be exposed to significant levels. Gasoline in North America now contains about 1% benzene.

 

Benzene (C6H6) is a clear, colourless to light yellow

liquid that is highly volatile. A constituent (2%) of

gasoline, benzene contributes to gasoline odour

 

Estimates of acute toxicity (24- to 96-h LC50) of benzene

to freshwater fish range from 4.6 mg×L-1 for emergent fry

of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) to 476 mg×L-1

for eggs of coho salmon (O. kisutch) (Moles et al. 1979).

Acute toxicity values (24- to 96-h LC50) for invertebrates

ranged from 10 mg×L-1

[hydroman]

The fresh water aquatic criteria (includes fish, plants, insects and all that live in the aquatic environment) for benzene in Alberta is 0.69 parts per million which is 0.000069% benzene. It does not take gasoline to impact a freshwater environment.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

The fresh water aquatic criteria (includes fish, plants, insects and all that live in the aquatic environment) for benzene in Alberta is 0.69 parts per million which is 0.000069% benzene. It does not take gasoline to impact a freshwater environment.

 

tire rubber is also very toxic. It breaks down under UV. I did trout fry toxicity testing on the rubber chip in playgrounds and the leachate from rubber roofs.

 

Very toxic stuff... Imagine what all the ground down rubber does to the water...