Fluid Spills: Impacts and Cleanup

When fluids escape

Fluids are useful because they flow. But that same property makes them hard to control when something goes wrong. A cracked pipeline, a train derailment, a sinking boat or a leaking tank can release oil, fuel or chemicals that flow into soil, rivers and lakes, and then spread.

In this lesson you'll use what you know about density, viscosity and temperature to understand spills, and you'll weigh their impacts on people and the environment.

Fluid properties decide how a spill behaves

• Density. Most crude oils and fuels are less dense than water, so they float and spread into a thin layer on the surface. But some heavy oils, such as diluted bitumen, can sink once the lighter fluid mixed into them evaporates and they pick up sand and mud. Sunken oil is much harder to find and remove.
• Viscosity. Light, runny fuels (like gasoline) spread quickly and partly evaporate into the air. Thick, viscous oils spread more slowly but stick to rocks, plants and animals and are hard to wash off.
• Temperature. Cold water makes oil more viscous, and it slows down evaporation and the natural breakdown of oil by microbes. In Canada's North, ice can trap oil underneath, where it is very hard to reach.
• Flow of the water. A fast river carries a spill downstream quickly, sometimes many kilometres in a day, so communities downstream may have little warning.

Impacts on the environment

• Birds: oil soaks into feathers, which then can't keep out water or hold in warmth, so birds can die of cold.
• Fish, shellfish and plants: oil and fuel can poison them, coat them, or cut off oxygen.
• Shorelines and wetlands: oil sticks to rocks, sand and roots and can remain for years.
• Drinking water: a spill upstream can force towns to shut their water intakes.

Impacts on people and communities

Spills affect jobs in fishing and tourism, drinking water, health, and the cost of cleanup. For First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, the impacts can be especially deep:

• Many communities harvest fish, game, plants and medicines from the land and water. A spill can make these foods unsafe, which harms food sovereignty, health and the passing on of knowledge to young people.
• Lands and waters are tied to culture, ceremony and identity. Damage to them is not only an economic loss.
• Some communities are remote, so emergency crews and equipment take longer to arrive, and buying replacement food or water is very expensive.
• Indigenous Nations have rights to their lands and waters, and many say they must be part of decisions about pipelines, shipping and cleanup.

Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities run Guardian and monitoring programs, where community members watch over lands and waters, test water and wildlife, and respond to problems, using both Indigenous knowledge and Western science.

Two Canadian examples

The North Saskatchewan River (2016). In July 2016, a Husky Energy pipeline near Maidstone, Saskatchewan, leaked about 225,000 litres of heavy oil mixed with a lighter fluid. Some of it reached the North Saskatchewan River. Floating booms did not fully contain it, and the cities of North Battleford and Prince Albert had to shut their water intakes and find other water supplies. First Nations along the river raised concerns about fishing, harvesting and ceremonies. The company was later fined.

The English–Wabigoon River (1960s and today). In the 1960s, a chemical plant at a paper mill in Dryden, Ontario, released mercury, a liquid metal, into the English–Wabigoon River system. Mercury built up in fish downstream. Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, which relied on fish for food and on fishing and guiding for jobs, have lived with the health, economic and cultural effects for generations. Community members have spent decades pressing governments for cleanup, health care and compensation. This case shows that some spills and releases have impacts that last far longer than any cleanup crew.