I was recently at the Suncor oil sands processing site in Fort
McMurray, Alberta (Canada), and driving by (what I think are) the
tailings ponds, I noticed they have many metal "scarecrows" (shaped as
little men) scattered around the pond.

Someone joked to me that if birds were to land on these ponds they
would surely die. So first I wanted to find out if these really are
"scarecrows". If not, what is their purpose? If so, what is in these
ponds that may be dangerous?

In either case, I would like to know what the composition of the
tailings pond is.

hi synerjen,
It's very likely that these metallic men are in fact "scarecrows" -
their job being to prevent geese from settling and causing damage to
the area. There is considerable expense involved in cleaning up after
"resident" geese. It seems these metallic men act as a first line of
defence preventing geese from settling, and the tailing ponds appear
to contain Goose repellant.
----------------------------------
 
"Geese prefer to land on water and walk up onto adjacent grassy areas
to feed and rest. Fences, hedge rows and other physical barriers may
control geese movement between water and lawn areas. All fences should
completely enclose the site with no breaks for geese to sneak through.
To be effective, fences need only to be about two feet tall and
solidly constructed..."
(Fencing -page 5)
 
"TP-40 is a liquid formulation for use on non-fishbearing bodies of
water at landfills, tailing ponds and commercial/industrial
impoundments."
(Goose repellants -page 6, 1c)
 
Source --
Ways to reduce damage to your property caused by the Canada Goose
http://www.upperdublin.org/pdf/parks/goose.pdf
----------------------------------
 
I found another reference to repellants beings used in tailing ponds:
"...This product [Goose Blocker] may be used to discourage ducks and
geese (Family Anatidae) from using non-fishbearing bodies of water
(tailing ponds, commercial or industrial water impoundments) and
temporary pools of standing water located at or near airports and
reduce use of turf areas by Canada geese (Branta canadensis)..."
(Directions for use)
 

"GOOSE BLOCKER is a biodegradable, wash off-resistant goose and duck
repellent formulated to repel the entry to and foraging of water fowl
on desirable grass areas."
(General Information)
 
The active ingredient in "Goose Blocker" is Methyl Anthranilate (MA)
methyl-2-aminobenzoate.
 
Source - 
http://www.precisionlab.com/turf/turf_goose.html
----------------------------------
 
Search terms used:
[ "metal scarecrows" inurl:ca ]
[ tailing ponds oil ]
[ "tailing ponds" scarecrows ]
[ "goose repellant" "tailing ponds" ]
----------------------------------
 
I hope this helps!
-Jack

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Request for Answer Clarification by synerjen-ga on 03 May 2003 15:28 PDT

Thanks Jack, it didn't occur to me that geese would be such a problem
up there!

I am interested though particularly in the tailings ponds in Fort
McMurray. I found a paper that mentions the composition of the
tailings ponds of the major sites there
(http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/sample/w01-129.pdf).

Judging from Table 1, are there health risks from coming in contact
with these ponds? (For example, is it a big deal that it is slightly
caustic?) I guess what I am looking for are sites that mention any
concerns with these ponds.

Let me know if these ends up being too much work for the price I've
set.

Thanks!
synerjen

btw, I also found that fine tails are "acutely toxic for aquatic
organisms due to the presence of a number of organic compounds such as
naphthenic acids" (http://www.rr.ualberta.ca/oilsands/FAQs.htm#ft).

---

Clarification of Answer by jackburton-ga on 06 May 2003 04:09 PDT

hi synerjen,
I have found references indicating that there are health concerns to
do with these tailing ponds, however they are more to do with the
cumulative impact of tailing pond emissions containing volotile
organic chemicals (VOC) and odorous chemicals...
---------------------------------
"VOCs are released from Suncor's Oil Sands operations, primarily from
its tailings ponds, from it Sarnia Refinery, through releases during
the refining, storage, and distribution of hydrocarbons, and from the
company's Natural Gas division, from glycol dehydrators, used to
remove water from raw natural gas. The largest single VOC released by
Suncor is Benzene. The International Agency for Research on Cancer
classifies benzene as carcinogenic to humans. It is also classified as
a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act..."
(last paragraph - page 14)
Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)
http://mjra-jsi.com/downloads/MJRA-Profile-SuncorEnergy-2002.pdf (137
KB)
---------------------------------
Regional Sustainable for the Athabasca Oil Sands Area Development
Strategy
(see Page 30 - Effects of Emissions from Tailing Ponds)
http://www.gov.ab.ca/env/regions/neb/rsds/rsds_final.pdf (868KB)
---------------------------------
Oil Sands Industry Update
(see 3.1.6 Environment)
http://www.alberta-canada.com/oandg/pdf/oilsands_oct2002-2.pdf (271KB)
---------------------------------
I hope this helps!
--Jack

After clarification, I got the answer I was looking for - Thanks!