Feature: Environmentalists warn about dangers of oil sands mining in T&T

Oil Sands mining in Alberta, Canada

Environmentalists in Trinidad & Tobago have serious concerns about the possibility that the country could soon be extracting oil from tar sands in south Trinidad. The government believes it can recover about two billion barrels of oil from the tar sands at La Brea.

Oil sands mining is a lucrative business in Canada, accounting for billions of dollars in revenue. The province of Alberta is home to the world's largest oil sands deposits.

However Canada has earned an international environmental black eye for its oil sands, considered to be "dirty" and extremely harmful.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar met with her Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, at the recent Summit of the Americas to talk about oil sands and the possible use of Canadian expertise in local exploration.

Kyle De Lima of an organisation called Earthwise Ltd has said if the government goes ahead with exploring for oil from the oil sands people of south Trinidad could experience serious health and water problems.

De Lima spoke about the matter at a seminar on Thursday in Chaguanas. He said Earthwise plans to educate people through the media on the environmental and health risks of tar-sand mining.

He explained that the mining process involves large amounts of fresh water, which creates the risk that the potable water reserves could be quickly depleted unless a desalination plant is established to provide the necessary amounts of water.

The additional problem is that the water used in the separation process becomes heavily contaminated and pollutes the environment because it is not easy to dispose of it.

Mcdonald Stainsby, a Canadian activist noted that Canada produces around 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and four times as much toxic water. He said Canadian tar-sand production also produce high levels of greenhouse gases.

Stainsby, who runs the website oilsandstruth.org, has worked as an activist against tar sand for the past five years. He said the refining process produces heavy metals and similar poisonous substances. In addition, the landscape is denuded and mining companies have to build huge retention ponds for the toxic water.

Read more about TAR SANDS mining