Burnaby residents opposed to Kinder Morgan's pipeline expansion are holding a meeting to inform the public about the company's plan to more than double oil shipments from Alberta to Burnaby.

"If you live in Burnaby, you are either directly affected by this proposed pipeline expansion or you know somebody who is," said Mary Hatch of Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion in a press release.

Kinder Morgan is planning to twin the Trans Mountain pipeline, increasing capacity from 300,000 barrels of oil per day to 750,000. The line was built in the 1950s and transports various types of oil products, including diluted bitumen, a blend of solid petroleum and condensate. The residents' group stated that bitumen poses an increased risk in the event of an oil spill because the condensate evaporates and the bitumen sinks to the ocean or river floor.

"We want to see the threat of toxic spills reduced, not increased," said Karl Perrin, a member of the group. "Hosting a town hall meeting allows us to get some very knowledgeable people in front of concerned Burnaby residents."

The group also raised concerns about increased tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet and Kinder Morgan's plan to double capacity at the tank farm on Burnaby Mountain, as well as higher temperatures and pressures required to ship the diluted bitumen. Roughly a third of Kinder Morgan's current shipments is bitumen diluted with condensate or synthetic crude, but the company can't say how much it plans to move through the lines in the future if the expansion plan is approved. Kinder Morgan's engineering director Michael Davies likened the transport of diluted bitumen to other forms of heavy crude.

"We haven't seen any unusual corrosion or have had and other problems with

diluted bitumen," Davies said. "At pipeline temperature, it's not more acidic or corrosive than conventional crude oil."

The first town hall meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. at Confederation Seniors' Centre, at 4585 Albert St. Speakers will include Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart, Mayor Derek Corrigan, Mary Hatch from the residents' group, and Ben West and Sven Biggs from the Wilderness Committee and Tanker Free B.C.

BROKE was recently formed by local residents, some of whom were directly affected by the 2007 Kinder Morgan pipeline spill.