Foss says diluted bitumen spill impacts particularly severe, lasting for New Hampshire
"The changes in hydraulics and internal pressures associated with reversing flow in a pipeline, particularly one that crosses multiple hills and valleys, can increase the risk of a spill," said Director of Conservation Carol Foss of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire explained in a recent press conference. "While any discharge of crude oil into the North Country environment would be a disaster, impacts of a dilbit spill would be particularly severe and lasting.
"Dilbit behaves quite differently from conventional heavy crude oil when spilled," she explained. "Once released from the confines of a pipe, light hydrocarbons – used to thin bitumen enough to make it flow – evaporate into the air, creating toxic fumes that jeopardize public health. The heavy bitumen can then sink in water, coating river bottoms, smothering aquatic life, and making cleanup very costly and difficult."