On October 16, 2018 investigative journalists Robert Cribb (Toronto Star), Patti Sonntag & Michael Wrobel (Institute for Investigative Journalism at Concordia University) and P.W. Elliott (University of Regina) published an alarming story about senior officials in the Saskatchewan government hiding serious air pollution issues from affected residents and not enforcing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) regulations. As a result, people in southeastern Saskatchewan are being exposed to “off the charts” levels of the toxic and corrosive gas that is affecting their health and damaging their property. The H2S comes from sour gas escaping from improperly maintained oil facilities. H2S is very toxic, and deadly in high concentrations.
Global News reported “Provincial air quality standards have been breached hundreds of times since 2014, but those living nearby — including the Gervais family — were not warned and oil companies responsible for some of the emissions have faced no charges or fines.”
The residents would still be in the dark if it wasn’t for independent research done by scientists from Harvard and Northeastern University who are working with the journalists.
The government is simply not enforcing the regulations and they are not informing residents when air quality deteriorates to harmful levels. None of the oil companies that are breaking the rules have been fined, charged or shut down, even when there are repeated violations and extreme H2S levels approaching ten times the legal limit.
The Global News story quotes a former ministry staffer, saying “If you’re an inspector who issues a fine, you don’t keep working there. And there simply aren’t the resources to issue fines … There are so few inspectors left.”
For the whole story see No fines. No public warning. And an ‘off the chart’ air quality indicator in Saskatchewan’s oil & gas country
What has this got to do with Fortune Minerals?
If the Fortune Minerals metals processing plant gets built, Langham and area residents will have to rely on provincial regulators’ willingness and capacity to protect the Dalmeny aquifer from pollution from leaks and spills, and to protect our health if/when the wind blows harmful chemical dust from the plant site.
See also
- Is Saskatchewan ignoring the potentially deadly gas from oil wells?
- Fear and money breed silence in Saskatchewan
- Fox guarding the hen house
- Why Langham?
Fortune Minerals: Toxic Time-bomb 
. . . . . follow the money!
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