Oil and chemical spill tracking

Spills of oil and chemicals into freshwater and ocean environments have killed fish, degraded habitat, and led to closures of commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries. Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program is positioned to collect data at the scene of a spill and collaborate with various organizations and First Nations to understand the impact of a spill. 

Tracker will host a number of rugged analytical instruments, and enable the measurement of several contaminants in the field, including coliform bacteria, nutrients, metals, pesticides, and tracers of wastewater effluent.
Photo by Peter Ross.
Two sockeye salmon swimming in a river.
Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Spills happen

Spills originate from all manner of accidents. The 2005 train derailment that spilled caustic soda into the Cheakamus River that killed 500,000 fish, The 2015 spill of 3,000 L of Bunker C oil from the MV Marathassa into English Bay. The 2020 fire aboard the MV ZIM Kingston in Juan de Fuca Strait that resulted in the loss of 104 mixed cargo shipping containers into the ocean. Each and every accident is bad news, and threatens the health of fish and whales, and contributes to the degradation of their habitats.

Being prepared is key

Given the sudden and unpredictable nature of oil and chemical spills, our oil and chemical spill response work entails being agile and available for support to First Nations, government agencies, and industry during a major spill. We are developing science protocols, and acquiring sampling kits, field equipment, and safety gear, and are poised to deploy our team to the scene of a spill. 

Being prepared on all fronts is key to limiting the damage from a spill. We recognize that with spills, it’s not a matter of if, but when. Research and monitoring to confirm the origin of the spill, track the fate of the spilled product, and monitor the recovery of ecosystem components routinely fails to be a priority. We will deploy expert capacity where and when needed, and work to prevent harm to valued ecosystem components.

Two people working together to collect water samples in a farm field with the mountains in the background.
Photo by Alex Harris.
https://www.raincoast.org/reports/flood

Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) Floods of 2021

The catastrophic floods of late 2021 in southern British Columbia (Canada) and neighbouring Washington State (USA) destroyed homes, farms and businesses, with excess water spilling debris, animal carcasses and diesel fuel into historically productive fish habitat. 

We assembled a team to assess water quality in the former Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) area of the Fraser Valley over a seven-week period after the floods. We collected water samples from 11 surface water sites and four groundwater sites for comprehensive contaminant analysis and a subsequent risk-based evaluation. We measured 379 analytes (chemical components and bacteria), including 262 anthropogenic contaminants. We examined excess nutrients, metals, fecal coliform, hydrocarbons, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, perfluorinated compounds, sucralose, and tire-related chemicals.

Read the report

Recent articles

A fishing boat in the ocean with mountains in the background.

Conservationists slam DFO for chum impacts in commercial fishery

Three BC salmon conservation groups are concerned that 1.37 million pounds of chum salmon have been discarded as by-catch in pink salmon fisheries. CFAX interviews Raincoast biologist Misty MacDuffee…
A fishing boat in the ocean with mountains in the background.

Conservationists point finger at DFO over thrown back chum salmon

By Alan S. Hale – The Northern View August 18, 2011 The Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust are not putting most of the blame on the fishermen who are actually breaking the rules, but instead are pointing the finger at the DFO…
Closeup of the face of a gray wolf

‘Verified’ livestock losses in decline as province adopts open-season policy on wolves

Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun Paul Paquet, senior scientist for Raincoast, argues there is a vast discrepancy between government policy and solid information on wolves…
A fishing boat in the ocean with mountains in the background.

NGOs slam Canada’s salmon management

Three Canadian environmental groups say Canada is mismanaging the British Columbia chum salmon fishery by requiring massive amounts of discards…
A grizzly bear with a fish in its mouth.

Chum salmon discards in the Great Bear Rainforest

Commercial fisheries targeting pink salmon on BC’s north coast have discarded over 1.37 million pounds of chum salmon as by-catch. Many of these fish are from depleted stocks…
An oil tanker at rest off the BC coast.

The Enbridge pipeline: Northern Gateway to what?

The recent chatter from energy industry spokespersons about the need to formulate a national energy strategy is simply code for developing an export strategy for Alberta’s tar sands…
Heavy equipment lays an oil pipe in the ground

The Enbridge pipeline: Northern Gateway to what?

By Chris Genovali, Special to The Vancouver Sun August 12, 2011 Conflating the interests of the shareholders and investors of energy giants such as Enbridge with those of the Canadian people has become the central talking point for the promoters of Alberta’s tar sands…
Two men are kneeling down in the woods.

First Nations combine science with legacy of conservation

By Anne Casselman, Scientific American For the Heiltsuk First Nation, science is proving to be one of the most powerful tools at their disposal as far as asserting their tradition of safeguarding natural resources for, as their elders put it, their children yet to come…