Large Canola Oil Spill Threatens Birds in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia; Spill May Be 50 Tons

North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 2/11/2000

February 14, 2000 - 12:15 AM ----- While the cooking oil isn't poisonous to birds, it soaks their feathers, making them very heavy and no longer waterproof. Within hours, the birds can die from hypothermia.

This is the third time in two years that birds in Burrard Inlet have been threatened by large canola oil spills.

"It's only six weeks since we finished cleaning up after the last one. It is so unnecessary," said Bob Gordon, spokesman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The latest spill occurred at Neptune Bulk Terminal in North Vancouver.

Environment Canada suspects the canola leaked from a pipe carrying the oil from a pumping station to the Mauritian-registered tanker Poti.

They estimate the spill could be as much as 50 tons.

Environment Canada is still considering charges in a 200-ton spill that killed 2,000 birds last November.

In February, 1998, 200 birds died after a canola spill at Coal Harbor.

http://chemsafety.gov/circ/post.cfm?incident_id=4667

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 14, 2000

Answers

link

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), February 14, 2000.

Why are all pipelines situated next to a stream, river or nature preserve? Yes, yes it just seems that way. But it does sound like a broken record.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), February 14, 2000.

50 tons sounds so "small", yes?

Why do the PR people allways use the number that sounds the smallest?

50 tons is 100,000 lbs. Figure oil weighs 5 lbs a gallon conservativly. We are talking 20,000 gallons of oil here, not a small spill, you wouldn't think.

You know, over the past few months, this mother earth has witnessed countless spills of both oil and sewage, how much more can it possibly take?

Revelation 11:18 "...and to bring to ruin, those ruining the earth."

I can't wait, can you?

-- Electman (vrepair1@tampabay.rr.com), February 14, 2000.