"Opacity Events" - When Ash (Or Other Toxins) Falls Onto An Unsuspecting Colorado Town - For The 75th Time

Josh Fox from Gasland II, and fracking in Colorado where more and more "opacity events" are being reported, with citizens, kids having to shelter in place.  

Suncor refinery in May this year.

When the ash began falling in Commerce  City on December 11th, no one who saw it covering their cars and the ground had a clue what it was.  But very soon, residents related to each other how it was like trying to breathe in air laced with grit.  This was not surprising given that, subsequently,  car wash attendants, e.g. Vidal Rodriguez, reported having to clean windshields "caked in yellowish white scum".  Well, imagine trying to breath in that crap before it caked?

As reported by Denver news stations on the evening of Dec. 11 there was trouble at the Suncor Energy oil refinery north of Denver.  The Wednesday morning incident triggered a “vapor release alarm,” prompting operators to place one of their units into “safe mode” and announce they’ll launch a full investigation as soon as possible.

Suncor officials called it “an opacity event” in a statement emailed to local officials and posted on the company’s Facebook page. They said the company’s tests showed air quality in surrounding neighborhoods “is within acceptable levels.”

Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, South Adams County Fire Department got a call to investigate a strange odor at Adams City Middle School. People were also reporting they were seeing ash falling from the sky.  The kids at the middle school were told to shelter in place and not come outside.  Meanwhile, photos were being shared by residents all over Commerce City of cars covered by ash, e.g.

Finally, late in the afternoon Suncor Energy admitted the ash was coming from their facility.   What the hell was it? Suncor's PR release - from its Facebook page- is shown below:


One is entitled to ask what this bejabber really means and at least one Denver TV station went to the Colorado Dept. of Public Health (CDPH) to learn more.  The questions and answers  (from CDPH) are given below from the 9 News web page:

We wanted to better explain to people what an operational upset is? 

"Operational upset" is a term used by Suncor - companies usually define it to mean that equipment failed to operate in a normal and expected manner. We do know there was unusual activity, and that's why we are investigating the incident and will be reviewing the activity logs. We will also require Suncor to give us any data they have."

What was in the ash that fell on people's car?

"Suncor has stated that the material is catalyst from one of the units at the refinery. We are conducting an investigation to confirm the details and verify Suncor's statements, but based on the information we have now, it was likely clay-like particulate matter.  We control emissions of particulates like these to protect health and visibility. Excess emission are not acceptable."

Was that dangerous for them to be near? 

"Particulate matter is a pollutant, and it can cause health problems at high levels. Based on the state's best air monitoring data in that area, the particulate matter was not at levels that exceeded the national ambient air quality standards, which are set to protect public health."

Is Suncor working with the state to remedy the problem? 

"The state has ordered Suncor to provide information and data as part of the investigation. So far, Suncor is complying and has been providing updates on the status of the refinery. Right now, the company is keeping the state informed of their activities around this event. Suncor will be held accountable if it violated any laws or regulations. We are requiring a full accounting of what occurred and will pursue appropriate action."

Has this happened before? 

"There have been other incidents and violations at the Commerce City facility, and the Air Pollution Control has fined Suncor before. We are already in he midst of our investigation and enforcement for prior events and violations.."

Just because a fracking-energy company "complies" - let us note- doesn't mean there aren't scores of repeat violations -  many of which are detrimental to human health.  (In 2019 alone, Suncor’s two operations accrued 75 separate permit “upsets,” according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.)  

The history of the fracking industry thus far is an appalling indictment of local and state governments across the country and how little they care about their citizens' health - even in an era of exploding medical costs.  The main fracking chemicals list alone constitutes an eye-opening list of horrors, e.g.

Benzene: a powerful bone-marrow poison (aplastic anemia) associated with leukemia, breast and uterine cancer

- Styrene, which may cause eye and mucous membrane irritation, neurotoxic effects in the central and peripheral nervous systems.

- Toluene, which may cause muscular incoordination, tremors, hearing loss, dizziness, vertigo, emotional instability and delusions, liver and kidney damage, and anemia.

- Xylene, with cancer-causing (mainly in the kidneys, liver) and neurotoxic effects, as well as reproductive abnormalities.

- Methylene chloride, which may cause cancer, liver and kidney damage, central nervous system disorders and COPD.

It was Prof.Tony  Ingraffea  - in Josh Fox's amazing documentary 'Gasland II' who explained in detail the cement failure phenomenon in frack wells.  He emphasized that such failure is a "very well known and at least as long as we've been drilling wells and casing them".  He also took pains to point out  that amongst the thousands of gas wells (including those offshore), there is a probability of 1 in 20 that a given well will immediately show a failure (opening between the well casing and rock), and that means methane migration. It also means anything else stored in the rock, including salts, heavy metals, other deleterious things now have a pathway for escape.

Voila! Enter the particulates vented in the "opacity event" spawned by Suncor in Commerce City.   It is clear many of these are likely  PM  2,  5   which I described in an earlier post, e.g.

A New Pollutant Category Appears ( PM_2,5) And L...

Denver Post investigations into the decline of front range air quality ties the degradation almost entirely to the enhanced presence of  PM  2,  5    triggered by coal fire plant emissions, and fracking operations (releasing "organic volatiles").  Meanwhile, the national scale of destruction of our water, soil, air and human bodies continues as revealed in the excellent monograph, 'The Real Cost of Fracking', by Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald. 


 Among their primary findings (summarized below):


- The irresponsible behavior of the drilling companies and the state environmental regulatory agencies in handling problems occurring after the onset of oil and gas drilling.

-The same human and animal health problems occurred irrespective of the method of drilling, i.e. shallow, or deep vertical drilling with low-volume hydraulic fracturing.)

- Adverse health events had the potential to spread far beyond the immediate drilling-related events. For example, farmers faced with livestock (cattle) losses "felt pressed to send the exposed animals to slaughter".   Thus, the meat, eggs and dairy products produced from such livestock would also be affected, "making it likely these chemicals could appear in food products" made from these animals. 

- For nearly all the cases investigated, "children and animals became like the canaries in the coal mine" - as to revealing toxic effects of the fracking before they befell adults. The reason is that children, being smaller, eat, drink and breathe more air relative to their body weights- so are more affected by any kind of degraded environment. 

And: "While children are sentinels, animals are even more so, for many reasons. When families leave for work the animals are left either in the house, barn or yard, increasing exposure times dramatically."

For many good reasons, then, the "opacity event" that occurred in Commerce City nearly three weeks ago ought to concern us all.