Is the Canadian Crud too dangerous to extract, transport and use?
Extracting the sludge in Canada isn't really the danger, except for the environment and the animals and their habitat that are killed and destroyed. But, it is after the extraction of the tar that the process of mixing the tar with Naphta begins.
The Canadian Tar Sands oil isn't really oil. It is a mixture of 50% tar and 50% natpha. It is the naptha that explodes. Has anyone ever seen a road explode into flames with vapor rising off it? Of course not. But, open a can of paint thinner and without any exposure to any aspect of the liquid the vapor will cause an addiction to those that find it a preferred aromatic odor. It is that vapor that explodes regardless of whether the mixture is found in pipelines or tank cars.
Wichita, Kansas, June 26, 2008 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) (click here) today released a case study and safety video
safety video on the July 2007 explosion and fire at the Barton Solvents
distribution facility in Valley Center, Kansas. The CSB found the most
likely cause of the explosion -- involving what is known as a
nonconductive flammable liquid -- was a static spark resulting from a
loosely-linked level-measuring float within the tank. The spark ignited
the air-vapor mixture inside the tank as it was being filled.
Nonconductive flammable liquids can accumulate and maintain static electrical energy which discharges more slowly than from more conductive liquids. In addition, some of these liquids can form ignitable vapor-air mixtures inside storage tanks which can explode if a spark occurs....
...The July 17, 2007 explosion and fire led to the evacuation of 6,000 residents. Eleven residents and one firefighter sought medical attention. Fire destroyed the facility. CSB investigators found that on the day of the accident a tanker-trailer arrived to transfer Varnish Maker's and Painter's Naphtha (VM&P Naphtha) into a storage tank. The CSB determined that the transfer equipment from the truck tanker to the storage tank likely was properly bonded and grounded to prevent the generation of static electricity. However, the CSB found, the float device inside the 15,000 gallon storage tank presented a hidden danger.
Extracting the sludge in Canada isn't really the danger, except for the environment and the animals and their habitat that are killed and destroyed. But, it is after the extraction of the tar that the process of mixing the tar with Naphta begins.
The Canadian Tar Sands oil isn't really oil. It is a mixture of 50% tar and 50% natpha. It is the naptha that explodes. Has anyone ever seen a road explode into flames with vapor rising off it? Of course not. But, open a can of paint thinner and without any exposure to any aspect of the liquid the vapor will cause an addiction to those that find it a preferred aromatic odor. It is that vapor that explodes regardless of whether the mixture is found in pipelines or tank cars.
Nonconductive flammable liquids can accumulate and maintain static electrical energy which discharges more slowly than from more conductive liquids. In addition, some of these liquids can form ignitable vapor-air mixtures inside storage tanks which can explode if a spark occurs....
...The July 17, 2007 explosion and fire led to the evacuation of 6,000 residents. Eleven residents and one firefighter sought medical attention. Fire destroyed the facility. CSB investigators found that on the day of the accident a tanker-trailer arrived to transfer Varnish Maker's and Painter's Naphtha (VM&P Naphtha) into a storage tank. The CSB determined that the transfer equipment from the truck tanker to the storage tank likely was properly bonded and grounded to prevent the generation of static electricity. However, the CSB found, the float device inside the 15,000 gallon storage tank presented a hidden danger.
