Re: “Fearmongers spread tanker misinformation,” Jan. 11.

Too bad the writer, confused by “so-called environmental experts,” wasn’t able to take in any of the presentations at the Enbridge hearings. He would have heard a few facts that might have curdled his blood. Here is a small sampling:

• Hecate Strait, where Enbridge’s planned 225 huge supertankers would travel, is classified by Environment Canada as the fourth most dangerous body of water in the world. Storm-force winds at times generate waves eight metres and higher.

• Diluted bitumen, the product being transported, is extremely toxic, and carcinogenic.

• Just one major oilspill would cost an estimated $9.6 billion to clean up, and there is never a complete clean-up. Shore and sea animals are still being poisoned by the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989. A major oil spill would forever damage B.C.’s $50-billion coastal economy.

• Janet Holder, Enbridge executive vice-president, is on record as saying that Enbridge would be responsible for only a fraction of a spill clean-up; the rest would be the responsibility of the Canadian taxpayers.

This project, which would bring benefits to a few wealthy shareholders, carries huge risks for the rest of us, and for the survival of our coast. Fearful? You bet I am!

Susan Gage

Victoria

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