Subsurface disposal related to in situ oil sands projects

The Basin Analysis Group of the Alberta Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Oil Sands Research and Terrain Sciences Departments, all of the Alberta Research Council, has been active in research and development of techniques for determining the environmental safety of non-radioactive liquid deep waste disposal for half a decade. Studies have been carried out under contract with Alberta Environment, Environment Canada, the Alberta Special Waste Management Corporation and the private sector, to a total value of more than $2 million. The multi-disciplinary team assembled for these studies has more than a quarter of a century of experience in some disciplines, specifically hydrochemistry and hydrodynamics, required for deep waste disposal studies. The team is believed to be unique in Alberta, and probably Canada, and is currently developing additional capabilities to allow it to evaluate the types of problems now being formulated by those responsible for the safe disposal of hazardous wastes. Although most effort to date has been focused on deep waste disposal additional expertise within the Alberta Geological Survey and the Terrain Sciences Department is available to allow resolution of shallow waste disposal problems.

This workshop is designed to outline the capabilities, research results, and future directions of research of this team, with specific reference to the Cold Lake region of Alberta. Enquiries regarding availability for contract work or general information should be addressed to the undersigned.