The fracked crude oil Tesoro-Savage wants to transport through Vancouver and our port contains a significant amount of dangerous chemicals, left over from fracking. In the fracking process, some of the chemicals used are dangerous to human health and are not removed from the crude oil.
The problem for the Port of Vancouver, EFSEC, and us, is that we don’t know of all the chemicals in the fracked crude oil, and we can’t find out. The chemicals used for fracking are considered “proprietary,” and their use and disclosure are protected by the “Halliburton loophole.”
Without knowing the characteristics of all of the chemicals used, there is no way to design and evaluate the mechanical apparatus and the procedures necessary to handle, store, and transfer this crude oil and the chemicals in it. Emergency plans? Not possible.
We can’t make the oil companies give up their lists of chemicals, but we can say no to this facility, and we should.
