Pipeline is a time bomb

The Keystone XL pipeline is an environmental disaster waiting to happen, and its benefits do not compensate for the harm and potential for harm it will cause.

Last month, the pipeline developers received approval from Nebraska to build the final leg of the project, which will run through that state to connect with another pre-existing pipeline. The completed pipeline will carry crude oil from tar sands in Canada to U.S. refineries at the Gulf of Mexico.

Compared to conventional oil, crude oil from tar sands produces 17 percent more greenhouse gases and is much more likely to spill or leak for a variety of reasons. Tar sand oil has abrasive materials suspended in its mixture, making it corrosive — especially when sent through pipelines at high speeds. It is 40 to 70 times more viscous than conventional oil and therefore needs to be sent through pipelines at a higher pressure. The corrosive properties and viscosity of tar sand oil make leaks an almost expected part of doing business.

In November, 210,000 gallons of tar sand oil leaked in South Dakota, and before that South Dakota had a 17,000-gallon leak in April 2016.

When tar sand oil leaks, it is also more damaging than a regular oil spill since it can sink to the bottom of water bodies instead of floating. The Keystone pipeline is set to cross 56 rivers and will cut through the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest underground deposits of freshwater.

Completion of the pipeline will only create 50 new permanent jobs, and the tar sand oil is not intended for American consumption but for export. The increase in greenhouse gases and likelihood of oil spills make the Keystone pipeline an unjustified project since Americans will be sacrificing much more than they will be getting in return.

Dulce Cano Zamora,

North Las Vegas