![]() ![]() at 62 per cent, followed by 61 per cent in Southern B.C., 58 per cent in the Fraser Valley, 53 per cent in Metro Vancouver and 52 per cent on Vancouver Island. In the province, support for the project is highest in Northern B.C. The proportion of British Columbians who think the provincial government should stop the project has dropped to 28 per cent from 41 per cent in a June 2019 survey. The original 1,150-kilometre Trans Mountain Pipeline was built in 1953. In B.C., that’s up three percentage points from a similar poll in July 2022, but down two points in Alberta.įour years ago, the federal government approved the Trans Mountain expansion project, which is a twinning of the original pipeline that would run between Strathcona County near Edmonton all the way to Burnaby. found that 54 per cent of British Columbians and 67 per cent of Albertans agree with the decision. It’s now a major residential area,” he noted.A new poll says more than half of British Columbians and two-thirds of Albertans believe the federal government was right to re-approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. “When these tanks were put here in 1953, this was not a residential area at all. He said he has major concerns about the risk of fire and spillover during an earthquake that would threaten residents in the area. Robinson used the press conference to call for an independent analysis of the six 1953-built tanks. “Earthquakes are notorious for producing sloshing of the contents of the tanks … the material begins to slosh almost uncontrollably inside the tank.” That movement exerts an independent force on the tanks “that can cause them to fail if they haven’t been properly designed,” he said. ![]() The geologist underlined the risk the “sloshing” effect could have on the tanks. “It’s maybe, arguably a low-probability event, but the vulnerability, the consequences are enormous,” he said. “There’s nothing there.”Ĭlague said a major earthquake with an epicentre near Vancouver is unlikely. “In no way did they analyze these tanks for failure,” he said. “The report identifies how the probabilities and consequences from tank failures during seismic events are quantified and combined mathematically to establish individual risk contours around Burnaby Terminal, and to assess the adequacy of secondary containment,” the spokesperson wrote.īut Dunnet said that report “represents nothing structural.” The company filed a report to the National Energy Board, detailing its risk assessment undertakings, according to the spokesperson. Trans Mountain – now a Crown corporation after the federal government purchased the existing infrastructure and expansion project from Kinder Morgan – has emergency response technicians, 24/7 monitoring for fires and a sprinkler system, according to its spokesperson. Although tank fires and seismic tank incidents worldwide are extremely rare, our prevention and emergency management programs are an integral part of keeping our terminals operating safely,” the spokesperson wrote. “In 65 years of operation, we’ve never had a storage tank fire or structural incident with one of our tanks. In an emailed statement, a Trans Mountain spokesperson touted the company’s safety record. “The serious risk is right now,” he said. ![]() While many people have raised concerns about the risks associated with the proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline – which would add 14 new tanks to the Burnaby Mountain site – Dunnet said the existing infrastructure already poses a serious safety concern to the 30,000 people who live within two kilometres of the tank farm. They were built to outdated standards without considerations made for lateral pressure from seismic or wind forces, Dunnet said. The six tanks in question were built in 1953 and have moveable roofs that float on top of the oil. While the company has published a report detailing how the tanks walls would withstand the ground-shaking forces during a quake, it does not take into account the force of sloshing oil within the tank. Trans Mountain is defending its emergency preparedness after a politician, engineer, activist and geologist stood outside its Burnaby Mountain tank farm to accuse the pipeline company of potentially endangering thousands of lives in the event of a major earthquake.īurnaby North-Seymour federal NDP candidate Svend Robinson held a press conference Tuesday alongside Simon Fraser University geology professor John Clague, structural engineer Gordon Dunnet and anti-pipeline activist Karl Perrin.ĭunnet said existing Trans Mountain tanks could fail to hold their contents during an earthquake. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |