March 3, 2008 Horse owners insist sour gas leak harmed animals Edmonton - The Thurston Gang's rodeo horses are still listless four months after they were exposed to sour gas on  the family's farm, and their owners are frustrated by what they consider a lame response by the Energy Resources  Conservation Board. The Thurston Gang, featuring sons Wyatt, Zeke and Sam, are trick riders who have twice won the Specialty Act of the  Year in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. Last October, the family's ranch near Big Valley was exposed to a gas leak from a sour oil facility owned by Bearspaw  Petroleum Ltd. The facility is about two kilometers from the ranch. Sour oil contains some hydrogen sulphide, a  poisonous gas. Lynda Thurston, 44, said the family's 12 horses still haven't recovered. "They have no energy. They have problems with  their lung capacity." Their cattle, too, are losing weight. And Thurston wonders about the health of her children. On the day of the leak,  everyone in the family had sore eyes and throats. One son, whose asthma was virtually dormant before the leak, began coughing constantly - so much so that his school  complained - and he had to be put on a third medication because the other two didn't work. Thurston said the family tried a formal dispute resolution process with the company and a third-party mediator, but  nothing came of it, so they withdrew from the process. They did so after just two meetings, said Detlef Ostermann, a Bearspaw director. They had agreed the next meeting  would be scheduled after board staff finished a report calculating how the sour gas would have dispersed, and what  its concentration likely would have been at the farm. Instead of scheduling another meeting, the Thurstons sent a fax  to Bearspaw the day after the company received the report, saying they were withdrawing from the process, Ostermann said. "We are a little bit stunned about the development, to be quite honest," he added. At the mediated meetings, the Thurstons had asked for an air monitor for their farm and for proper testing of their  animals. The family has already paid $1,000 for veterinary tests that showed one horse had signs of an inflammation in its  lungs, she said. "People are led to believe there is a process out there and the (board) is out there to solve problems, but so far no  problems have been solved," Thurston said. Board spokesman Bob Curran said the company was asked to alter its flare stack at the facility to minimize the risk of  a future release. But Ostermann said the company upgraded the stack voluntarily before being asked to do so. Curran also said the board takes a step back once the dispute resolution process begins. The company would have to agree  to provide the animal testing and the air monitor, he said. "Unless there's a real demonstrated need for an air monitor, we don't usually get involved in that." Ostermann said the company had twice offered the Thurstons a hand-held monitor, but that was rejected.

Copyright:  Alberta Equestrian Federation

5/12/2008 : 2:54:30 AM