Greenpeace activists obstruct Syncrude tar sands operation

Shortly after 11:00 a.m today, 11 Greenpeace activists entered the site and erected a triangular banner over the end of one of the pipes, depicting a skull and crossbones which hung above the pipe’s opening, giving the illusion of toxic water gushing from the “mouth” of the skull. Two other activists deployed a massive banner along the bank of the tailings pond, reading “World’s Dirtiest Oil: Stop the Tar Sands.” A third team inched their way out along the seven metre pipe to the opening, which hung 17 metres above the tailings pond, to attempt to block it and prevent further contamination of Alberta’s environment. They tried to block one of the pipes but were unable to due to the thickness of the lip of the pipe and enormous water pressure. Before they were able to attempt the block on a second pipe, they were intercepted by Syncrude security and held until the RCMP could arrive onsite.

“Big oil companies are pillaging Alberta’s natural resources, robbing freshwater from the Athabasca River to make giant lakes of toxic sludge that are killing wildlife and poisoning local communities,” said Mike Hudema, a tar sands campaigner with Greenpeace. “Today we brought our message to the perpetrators of this environmental crime – it’s time to put the brakes to the tar sands.”

The tar sands are the largest user of ground water in Alberta. Current projects are licensed to remove more than 450 million cubic metres of water from the Athabasca River each year, equivalent to about two and a half times the water the City of Calgary uses annually. Additionally, elevated levels of rare cancers and auto-immune diseases have been plaguing and killing members of downstream communities like Fort Chipewyan, diseases which have been linked to the industrial pollution from the tar sands.

“For dozens of Alberta communities, the Athabasca River is their lifeline and when it is threatened, the health and the way of life of those communities is put at risk,” said Greenpeace Tar Sands Campaigner Heather Milton-Lightening. “Our activists feel that the risk these communities face daily is far more significant than the risk we took today. If the government refuses to stand up for their rights, we will.”

Greenpeace is calling for no new approvals on tar sands projects as a first step; the introduction of legislation to ensure that no new tailings ponds are built or expanded; that all existing ponds be cleaned up and fully reclaimed; and that stiffer penalties be implemented for oil companies that fail to meet imposed environmental regulations. In March of this year, 500 ducks landed on the very same Syncrude tailings pond, despite clear environmental regulations that required Syncrude to have appropriate wildlife deterrents in place.

Note to editors:

Greenpeace climate coordinator Dave Martin is available for comment from inside the operation. He can be reached at (416) 627-5004.

High-resolution photos and video will be available at: www.greenpeace.ca/gallery

For more information, please contact:

Jessica Wilson, Media and Public Relations Officer, 778-228-5404
Mike Hudema, Tar Sands Campaigner, 780-504-5601
Heather Milton-Lightening, Tar Sands Campaigner, 780-504-5567