A senior official from Enbridge says that a brand new report from the U.S. supports its previous position on the inherent safety of moving diluted oil sands bitumen at high speeds through its Line 9 pipeline, from Sarnia, Ontario to Montreal.   NRC (National Research Council) has found no evidence of chemical or physical properties in diluted bitumen to make it more likely than other crude oils to cause a release from Enbridge’s pipelines.

Paul Morden, Sun Media, writes:

Enbridge spokesperson Ken Hall said the report supports what the company has said since announcing plans to seek approval to reverse the pipeline.

He added other studies have drawn the same conclusion about the risk from bitumen.

The council, part of a group of private non-profit institutions that advise the U.S. government on science, technology and health policy, reviewed pipeline leak statistics and consulted experts on pipeline failure mechanisms, and solicited comments from the public.

“There is nothing extraordinary about pipeline shipments of diluted bitumen to make them more likely than other crude oils to cause releases,” said Mark Barteau, chemical engineering professor at the University of Michigan, and chair of the committee that wrote the report.

Hall said Enbridge is sharing the report with municipal politicians along the route of Line 9 who have asked questions about the safety of moving oil sands bitumen.

“We’re hoping that it will go some length to satisfy people’s interest in this, and also to alleviate their concerns.”

Originally built in 1970, Line 9 was designed to send oil eastward from Sarnia to Montreal until the direction was reversed in the late 1990’s, to carry the then cheaper offshore oil to the west.   Enbridge received permission and approval to return Line 9 to its original direction of flow for the sections from Hamilton to Montreal and is now waiting for approval for the remainder.

Via The Observer