Latest news with #AliénorRougeot
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Canada battles toxic waste crisis as Alberta moves to pump oilsands tailings underground amid health and cost concerns
Alberta is proposing a solution to its mounting oilsands pollution . A panel of public and industry experts, led by Alberta MLA Tany Yao, recommends that companies inject toxic tailings like dirty water, sand, clay, and leftover bitumen deep underground rather than letting them pile up on the surface. Canada's booming oilsands industry has left behind massive lakes of toxic tailings for decades, now totalling over 1.4 trillion litres. These waste ponds have long leaked into ecosystems, threatening Indigenous communities and raising health alarms. Despite past regulations, no company has ever fully cleaned one up, leaving billions in cleanup costs and few solutions. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Infertile Man Visits Orphanage And Hears, 'Hi Daddy.' Then He Realizes His Late Wife's Cruel Lies Crowdy Fan Undo Oilsands pollution is caused by the extraction and processing of bitumen, a form of crude oil found in sands. The oilsands in Alberta are Canada's single-largest source of industrial waste by volume The plan of pumping toxic oilsands is part of an expanding toolkit, a strategy that critics say comes late to a crisis decades in the making. Live Events Canada's tailings ponds, which cover some 270 km², reflect a broader issue: cleanup liability has ballooned to C$130 billion, yet companies have posted barely C$1.4 billion in reclamation security. Also read : Thousands demand an independent Alberta Health risks Legions of studies and lived testimonies like those from Fort Chipewyan, where cancer rates are roughly double Alberta's average, highlight the human cost. Ottawa committed C$12 million in 2024 to a 10-year Indigenous-led health study to evaluate links between oilsands development and illnesses. Simultaneously, Ottawa is reviewing naphthenic acids for classification as federally 'toxic' under CEPA, an assessment due by mid-2025, which could trigger stricter regulation of tailings. Why underground? The committee calls injection 'practical,' emphasising it could ease the surface load while long-term fixes take shape. Deep beneath impermeable rock layers, the risk of leaking into rivers is minimized but not eliminated. Environmental scientist Aliénor Rougeot of Environmental Defence praised the attention but urged caution: 'I don't know that we are at a stage where we could safely inject anything down there,' she told The Canadian Press. Installation hurdles and costs The report warns that large scale underground disposal will require new infrastructure like pipelines, wells, regulatory approvals, and consultation, making it long and expensive. It suggests regulated volume limits to ensure safety. Oilsands tailings carry a toxic mix with around 75 per cent water, g25 per cent sand, plus residual bitumen, dissolved salts, heavy metals (like arsenic and chromium), naphthenic acids, phenols, PAHs, and trace hydrocarbons. These compounds have tainted the Athabasca River in past spills and caused visible fish deformities and bird deaths. Suncor admitted leaking 1,600 m³ per day into the river in 2012. A 2018 joint investigation estimated Alberta's cleanup liability, mostly tailings, at C$130 billion, with only C$1.4 billion secured by companies. The committee also urges sharing recycled wastewater among sites to cut freshwater usage and reduce tailings production. Alberta's Water Management Framework already limits Athabasca River withdrawals to 1.3 percent of low flow levels, but critics say more is needed. What's next? Now Alberta has six months to evaluate these five suggestions, including the underground injection plan, with a formal tailings management strategy due by late 2025. For oil workers, pipeline contractors, and Indigenous people, the decisions in the next half-year will define the region's future.
Global News
14-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Ontario electricity produced with rising percentage of greenhouse-gas-emitting power
Ontario's electricity is now being produced with the highest percentage of greenhouse-gas-emitting power since coal plants were operating in the province. The Independent Electricity System Operator recently posted its 2024 year in review, which contains a breakdown of how much electricity was produced from various sources. It shows that last year 16 per cent of the electricity in Ontario's grid was produced by natural gas, making it 84 per cent emissions free – down from 87 per cent the year before and down from a high of 96 per cent in 2017. The last time Ontario's electricity was produced with at least 16 per cent of emitting power was in 2012, when the province still had coal-fired generation. Nuclear led the way in 2024, with 51 per cent of Ontario's electricity generated by those plants, and about 24 per cent came from hydro power. Story continues below advertisement The percentage of natural gas generation in Ontario's electricity system has been increasing over the past several years. The IESO says gas provides more flexibility than many other sources, and more is being used while some nuclear units undergo refurbishments so the system remains stable. 'Outages to nuclear generation from this work combined with reduced supply from imports also resulted in gas generation's higher contribution to overall output in 2024,' the IESO said in its report. Aliénor Rougeot, climate and energy senior program manager at Environmental Defence, said the need to resort to gas to fill in the gaps was preventable if Ontario had acted sooner to boost renewable energy and battery storage. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think this is one of those key moments that is extremely upsetting and yet super predictable, which is that the energy planning and the poor decisions that get made five, eight years prior to that now are starting to show up in those supply mixes,' she said. Premier Doug Ford cancelled 750 renewable energy contracts shortly after his Progressive Conservatives formed government in 2018, after the former Liberal government had faced widespread anger over long-term contracts with clean power producers at above-market rates. The IESO had been set in 2023 to seek out non-emitting electricity generation to bring more capacity into the system but after Energy Minister Stephen Lecce came into the portfolio in 2024, he announced the procurement would be 'technology agnostic.' Critics said that not only opens the door to natural gas but may favour bringing more of it online. Story continues below advertisement Lecce said the rise in non-emitting electricity generation is 'entirely predictable' due to the ongoing nuclear refurbishments. 'Having said that, we're actually going to have a greener, cleaner grid, getting down to below 99 per cent non-emitting by 2050,' he said. 'So this is part of the journey as we take our non-emitting nuclear units off the grid, because they need to get refurbished for another 40, 50 years.' The government often touts Ontario's clean electricity grid as a top selling point when attracting businesses and investment to the province, and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said he's not sure that at 84 per cent clean it is as attractive as it once was. 'I'm deeply concerned that our grid has gotten 12 per cent dirtier over the last few years, especially when the government itself says that one of the competitive advantages Ontario has in attracting global capital investment is our clean grid,' he said. 'The Ford government is losing that advantage at a time we need to be attracting capital more now than ever.' Lecce said the electricity grid is still a good selling feature and will only get better. 'When we're getting to near 99 per cent, it's an incredible achievement that no industrialized economy can point to,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'We're very proud of the fact that we have one of the cleanest grids today. We'll have an even cleaner grid tomorrow as we get our nuclear fleets back.' In addition to ongoing and planned refurbishments of units at the province's large-scale nuclear plants, construction on the first of four small modular reactors is set to begin this year. The $21-billion project for the four reactors is expected to produce enough power for 1.2 million homes. Stephen Thomas, clean energy manager at the David Suzuki Foundation, said that small modular reactors are one of the most expensive generation options. But natural gas can also be expensive, and the province should be looking more at renewables, he said. 'We think wind and solar are ready for prime time,' he said. 'As we look to the future, we only see the cost of wind, solar and storage coming down over time, and we see the opposite for natural gas. The cost of natural gas is hugely volatile, and it's hard to depend on what the spot price of natural gas might be in 10 years or 20 years.'
