VICTORIA –A new report released Tuesday re-confirms that the risk of putting a tar sands pipeline through British Columbia poses far too big of a risk to the environment and our economy, say the New Democrats.

“The pipeline would carry over 500,000 barrels of raw tar sands crude each day. The pipeline goes over mountains, across farmland, over the Fraser and Skeena rivers, and straight through the Great Bear Rainforest to the Pacific where it will be picked up by supertankers trying to navigate our inland coastal waters,” said New Democrat environment critic Rob Fleming. “The opportunities for disaster are many, and the B.C. Liberals should re-assure British Columbians that it will not go through.”

According to Pipeline and Tanker Trouble: The Impacts to British Columbia’s Communities, Rivers, and Pacific Coastline from Tar Sands Oil Transport, co-written by the Pembina Institute, Natural Resources Defence Council and Living Oceans Society, the transportation of tar sands bitumen poses an even larger risk than conventional oil.

Diluted bitumen is more likely to cause corrosion in the pipeline as well as in the tankers, is heavier than water and therefore harder to clean up, and can threaten human health as it contains toxins such as benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and n-hexane, which can affect the human central nervous system.

Fleming said there have been many disasters in the oil industry recently, and this report clearly spells out how the tar sands pipeline project is high risk.

“British Columbians don’t want to see rivers and lakes killed, fisheries destroyed or towns and farmland contaminated,” said Fleming. “While Alberta oil companies have a lot to gain, the small benefits to British Columbia are far outweighed by the enormous risk to our northern industries, fisheries, communities and ecology.”

Fleming said the report highlights an incident in Michigan last year where another Enbridge tar sands pipeline ruptured, dumping three million litres of crude into the Kalamazoo River. The area and surrounding wetlands are expected to be contaminated for many years.

“There is a reason why First Nations oppose the pipeline and associated tanker traffic. There’s a reason why the Union of B.C. Municipalities voted against it. There’s a reason why British Columbians are against it,” said Fleming.

Fleming said that the report also underlines the need for a commitment from the B.C. Liberals to put pressure on the federal government to create a meaningful national plan on climate change.

The report can be found here.