Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Scientists Confirm Oil From English Bay Spill Reached Several Vancouver Beaches

The Canadian Press, 17 Jul, 2015 06:33 PM
  • Scientists Confirm Oil From English Bay Spill Reached Several Vancouver Beaches
VANCOUVER — Scientists have conclusively linked oil that washed up along numerous Vancouver beaches with the grain container ship that leaked bunker fuel in English Bay in April.
 
Testing by researchers from the Vancouver Aquarium also shows that the fuel may have harmed aquatic organisms and wildlife in the water and along the shores.
 
Peter Ross of the Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Research Program and his team did a detailed forensic analysis of the oil from the MV Marathassa, looking at more than 100 hydrocarbons that create a unique so-called fingerprint.
 
The team then compared that information to samples of water, sediment and shellfish taken from beaches around Vancouver in the days following the spill, and found the link.
 
"We were able to fingerprint and identify the Marathassa as the source of these oiled shorelines," Ross said.
 
"Marathassa bunker fuel was unique. We have never seen that kind of a profile before in our coastal sediment here in British Columbia. Very unique, very powerful signature."
 
The results prove the oil reached several shores in Vancouver including New Brighton Beach about 12 kilometres away from the spill down the Burrard Inlet.  
 
"For us, to be able to document where the oil went and to confirm that, we start to get a better picture of the likely impacts of this oil spill on valued marine life," Ross said. 
 
 
Samples taken from Second Beach in Stanley Park and English Bay Beach also showed higher hydrocarbon levels than guidelines recommend, indicating that animals and sea life may have been harmed by the spill.
 
There may be negative impacts on a specie's reproduction or growth, or higher mortality rates, Ross said.
 
The aquarium team was the first to take water and sediment samples after a malfunction on the ship set off a spill of about 2,700 litres of bunker fuel on April 8.
 
"Somebody had to do this," he said. "You can't simply look at some oil on the shoreline of a very busy working harbour and just assume that it came from that spill."
 
Ross said he would like to see a program that regularly monitors hydrocarbons in coastal waters in order to make it easier to show the impact of spills when they happen, and trace where spilled oil came from.

MORE National ARTICLES

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Downplays Oil Price Concerns After Iran Nuclear Deal

QUEBEC — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley downplayed concerns Tuesday that the province's energy sector may suffer if the Iranian nuclear deal leads to a drop in global crude prices.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley Downplays Oil Price Concerns After Iran Nuclear Deal

Sentencing Hearing Continues In Via Rail Terror Case In Toronto

Sentencing Hearing Continues In Via Rail Terror Case In Toronto
TORONTO — A sentencing hearing continues today for two men convicted of terrorism in a case involving a plot to derail a passenger train travelling between Canada and the U.S.

Sentencing Hearing Continues In Via Rail Terror Case In Toronto

Speedy Manoeuvres Sink Cigar Boat In Okanagan Lake, Raise Possibility Of Leak

Speedy Manoeuvres Sink Cigar Boat In Okanagan Lake, Raise Possibility Of Leak
KELOWNA, B.C. — Transport Canada will have to send a recovery crew to Okanagan Lake, off West Kelowna, B.C., to raise a sunken cigar boat.

Speedy Manoeuvres Sink Cigar Boat In Okanagan Lake, Raise Possibility Of Leak

Health Canada Spends $1.5Million To Re-Air Ads On Prescription Drugs And Pot

OTTAWA — Health Canada is spending $1.5 million to air recycled ads on prescription drugs and pot in the run-up to the fall federal election.

Health Canada Spends $1.5Million To Re-Air Ads On Prescription Drugs And Pot

Feds Collect More Than Half Of Bad Employment Insurance Claims Over Eight Years Of Tory Rule

Feds Collect More Than Half Of Bad Employment Insurance Claims Over Eight Years Of Tory Rule
OTTAWA — Freshly released figures show the government aims to recoup up to $377.6 million in fraudulent employment insurance benefits paid out during the life of the Conservative government.

Feds Collect More Than Half Of Bad Employment Insurance Claims Over Eight Years Of Tory Rule

Othman Ayed Hamdan, Arrested On Terror Charges Makes Court Appearance In A Fort St. John Courtroom

Othman Ayed Hamdan, Arrested On Terror Charges Makes Court Appearance In A Fort St. John Courtroom
Othman Ayed Hamdan, 33, wore a long-sleeved black T-shirt Monday when he appeared in a Fort St. John courtroom via video conference.

Othman Ayed Hamdan, Arrested On Terror Charges Makes Court Appearance In A Fort St. John Courtroom