This document discusses potential seismic and corrosion risks associated with Enbridge's Line 9 pipeline. It notes that eastern Canada experiences an earthquake every 5 days on average in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone. Earthquakes can damage pipelines through compression, cracking, bending or shear. Welds made with oxy-acetylene are more prone to breaking than electric arc welds. The document also discusses two types of bacteria, Spingomonas and Pseudomonas, that have been found to degrade plastic and questions whether they could contribute to issues with polyethylene tape coatings on pipelines by causing tears leading to corrosion. It cites the 2010 Kalamazoo oil spill as an example where corrosion fatigue cracks grew under disbonded polyethylene tape.

1. Enbridge Line 9 Risks
By Louisette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower Ave.
Waterloo Ont.
N2V 2L2
butterflybluelu@rogers.com

2. Seisemic Risks & Pipeline Welds

3. Seismic Risks of Eastern Canada
http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/zones/eastcan-eng.php

4. Earthquakes & Oil Pipes
Pipeline damages from earthquakes can result in compression or
wrinkling, joint weld cracking or separation, bending or shear from
localized wrinkling and tension. Joints made with oxy-acetelyne welds
break 100 times more than those with electric arc welded joints.
Source: USGS, The Shake Out Scenario Supplemental Study
http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_ShakeOut_Scenario_Supplemental_Study.html?id=7PU1A6N3ZOAC&redir_esc=y

5. An earthquake occurs in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone
every five days on average.
http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/zones/eastcan-eng.php

6. Western Quebec Zone earthquakes include:
1732, an earthquake estimated at 5.8 on the Richter scale
shook Montreal, causing significant damage.
1935, the area of Temiscaming was shaken by an earthquake of
magnitude 6.2.
1944, an earthquake of magnitude 5.6, located between
Cornwall, Ontario and Massena, N.Y., caused damage
evaluated at two million dollars of the time.
1990, an earthquake of magnitude 5 took place near Mont-
Laurier, Quebec.
1996 and 1997, two earthquakes of magnitude 4.4 and 4.3
occurred near Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec.

7. A REVIEW OF NBCC 2005 SEISMIC HAZARD RESULTS FOR CANADA - THE INTERFACE
TO THE GROUND AND PROGNOSIS FOR URBAN RISK MITIGATION
John Adams and Stephen Halchuk
Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada,

8. Problems with Polyethylene “PE” tape

9. In May 2008, 16 year old
Canadian boy named Daniel
Burd from Waterloo Collegiate
Institute found and isolated two
naturally occurring bacterium,
Spingomonas and
Pseudomonas, that literally eats
plastic.
He stored Spingomonas and
Pseudomonas at 37 degree
Celsius with plastic and in six
weeks time, 43% of the plastic
was consumed.
Spingomonas and Pseudomonas Eat Plastic

10. Spingomonas and Pseudomonas
naturally occurs in Canadian soil and water.
Enbridge pipelines travel across farmlands and waterways. These
areas are suitable for Spingomonas and Pseudomonas because the
bacterias thrives off nitrates in these locations.
Warmer weather and longer growing seasons associated with climate
change may serve to increase the presence of these bacterium in the
natural environment.

11. Example of a PE tape issue;
Kalamazoo Michigan Enbridge Oil Spill, 2010
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determines
that the probable cause of the pipeline rupture was corrosion
fatigue cracks that grew and coalesced from crack and
corrosion defects under dis-bonded polyethylene tape coating,
producing a substantial crude oil release that went undetected
by the control centre for over 17 hours.

12. Questions:
Is there any data to either prove or disprove the roll that
Spingomonas and Pseudomonas may play in regards to
“tenting” issues regarding PE tape which can result in tears
leading to corrosion issues?
Is it reasonable to predict the lifespan of the oil pipes or PE tape
in the absence of this data?