Toxic Alberta: Oilsands Most Destructive Project on Earth

Canada’s Tar Sands: "The Most Destructive Project on Earth"





Source: TarSandsNews

Tar Sands' Toxic Leakage: Tar Sands operations in Alberta leak more than 4 billion litres of contaminated tailings water every year. New Tar Sands projects could expand the leakage to more than 25 billion litres within a decade. Those are the key findings from Environmental Defence’s latest Tar Sands report: 11 Million Litres a Day: The Tar Sands’ Leaking Legacy.

Tailings ponds are known to contain dozens of toxic contaminants like heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and naphthenic acids. Naphthenic acids in particular break down very slowly and therefore pose a long-term threat to the groundwater of the region.