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Tar sands need solid science
Abstract
As Canada exploits its oil sands ever faster, David Schindler calls for industry-independent environmental monitoring to back up better water-quality regulation.
... Principal among these is exploitation of bitumen-rich deposits in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of northeastern Alberta and gold-bearing sulfide deposits in central Northwest Territories (NWT). Bitumen mining began in the late 1960s, but the high cost of producing commercial-grade oil limited growth initially (Schindler, 2010;CAPP, 2020). As the price of conventional oil rose, rapid development of the oil sands occurred leading to ~15.3 billion barrels of oil produced since 1967 (CAPP, 2020). ...
... Contaminant releases to the environment from the large-scale mining developments in northeastern Alberta and central NWT have raised concerns about deterioration of ecosystems located downwind and downstream and risks to human health (Hocking et al., 1978;Schindler, 2010;Jamieson, 2014;Mikisew Cree First Nation, 2014;Palmer et al., 2015;WHC/IUCN, 2017). However, insufficient knowledge of the spatial extent and temporal persistence of contaminant deposition caused by mining activities has been an impediment to full characterization of the concerns and risks. ...
... Expansive remote and protected areas situated between the bitumen mines of the AOSR and gold mines in central NWT support a diversity and abundance of wildlife and the cultural heritage and lifestyles of Indigenous communities. At the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northeastern Alberta, located ~200 km north of Fort McMurray, longstanding concerns persist about far-field transport of contaminants from the large-scale open-pit bitumen mines via atmospheric and fluvial pathways (Timoney and Lee, 2009;Kelly et al., 2010;Schindler, 2010;Mikisew Cree First Nation, 2014;Wood Buffalo National Park, 2019). Concern for pollution of aquatic ecosystems at the PAD by oil sands development threatens a downgrade to Wood Buffalo National Park's (WBNP) UNESCO World Heritage status and is a key consideration of the Federal Action Plan for the park, which encompasses 80% of the PAD (WHC/IUCN, 2017, 2021; Wood Buffalo National Park, 2019). ...
Abundant reserves of metals and oil have spurred large-scale mining developments across northwestern Canada during the past 80 years. Historically, the associated emissions footprint of hazardous metal(loid)s has been difficult to identify, in part, because monitoring records are too short and sparse to have characterized their natural concentrations before mining began. Stratigraphic analysis of lake sediment cores has been employed where concerns of pollution exist to determine pre-disturbance metal(loid) concentrations and quantify the degree of enrichment since mining began. Here, we synthesize the current state of knowledge via systematic re-analysis of temporal variation in sediment metal(loid) concentrations from 51 lakes across four key regions spanning 670 km from bitumen mining in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) to gold mining (Giant and Con mines) at Yellowknife in central Northwest Territories. Our compilation includes upland and floodplain lakes at varying distances from the mines to evaluate dispersal of pollution-indicator metal(loid)s from bitumen (vanadium and nickel) and gold mining (arsenic and antimony) via atmospheric and fluvial pathways. Results demonstrate ‘severe’ enrichment of vanadium and nickel at near-field sites (≤20 km) within the AOSR and ‘severe’ (near-field; ≤ 40 km) to ‘considerable’ (far-field; 40–80 km) enrichment of arsenic and antimony due to gold mining at Yellowknife via atmospheric pathways, but no evidence of enrichment of vanadium or nickel via atmospheric or fluvial pathways at the Peace-Athabasca Delta and Slave River Delta. Findings can be used by decision makers to evaluate risks associated with contaminant dispersal by the large-scale mining activities. In addition, we reflect upon methodological approaches to be considered when evaluating paleolimnological data for evidence of anthropogenic contributions to metal(loid) deposition and advocate for proactive inclusion of paleolimnology in the early design stage of environmental contaminant monitoring programs.
... Some wastes are also stored on-site, whereas others are released into the environment. While the permissible activities are governed by facility-specific Approvals to Operate, the pace of development and the number, scale, and density of individual operations, especially during the 2000s, led to concerns of unanticipated cumulative effects manifesting beyond lease boundaries (Miall, 2013;Schindler, 2010;Schindler, 2013; Table S1). There were also concerns that the existing monitoring was unable to identify these impacts (Miall, 2013;Schindler, 2010;Schindler, 2013). ...
... While the permissible activities are governed by facility-specific Approvals to Operate, the pace of development and the number, scale, and density of individual operations, especially during the 2000s, led to concerns of unanticipated cumulative effects manifesting beyond lease boundaries (Miall, 2013;Schindler, 2010;Schindler, 2013; Table S1). There were also concerns that the existing monitoring was unable to identify these impacts (Miall, 2013;Schindler, 2010;Schindler, 2013). The confidence that the oil sands were being developed responsibly was further eroded and the concerns were amplified after research performed by independent scientists and published in 2009 and 2010 showed an association between contaminant accumulation in snow and proximity to industrial facilities (Kelly et al., 2009(Kelly et al., , 2010Miall, 2013). ...
... Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). The potential occurrence of OSPW outside of containment in surface waters is a primary concern in the region (Hazewinkel & Westcott, 2015;McQueen et al., 2017;Schindler, 2010;Timoney & Lee, 2009). Compliance reporting suggests that infiltration of OSPW into groundwaters adjacent to tailings ponds is common (Fennell & Arciszewski, 2019), and researchers also suggest that OSPW may be present in the interstitial (and upward-flowing) waters in sediments beneath the Athabasca River adjacent to Suncor's (former) Pond 1 (Frank et al., 2014a(Frank et al., , 2014bHewitt et al., 2020). ...
We synthesize the information available from the peer‐reviewed literature on the ecological status of lakes and rivers in the Oil Sands Region (OSR) of Canada. The majority of the research from the OSR has been done in or near the minable region and has examined the concentrations, flux, or enrichment of contaminants of concern (CoCs). Proximity to oil sands facilities and the beginning of commercial activities tends to be associated with greater estimates of CoCs across studies. Research suggests greater measurements of CoCs are typically associated with wind‐blown dust, but other sources also contribute. Exploratory analyses further suggest relationships with facility production and fuel use data. Exceedances of environmental quality guidelines for CoCs are also reported in lake sediments, but there are no indications of toxicity including those within the areas of the greatest atmospheric deposition. Instead, primary production has increased in most lakes over time. Spatial differences are observed in streams, but causal relationships with industrial activity are often confounded by substantial natural influences. Despite this, there may be signals associated with site preparation for new mines, potential persistent differences, and a potential role of petroleum coke used as fuel on some indices of health in fish captured in the Steepbank River. There is also evidence of improvements in the ecological condition of some rivers. Despite the volume of material available, much of the work remains temporally, spatially, or technically isolated. Overcoming the isolation of studies would enhance the utility of information available for the region, but additional recommendations for improving monitoring can be made, such as a shift to site‐specific analyses in streams and further use of industry‐reported data. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... As large-scale mining operations continue to expand across northern Canada, so do concerns about releases of contaminants and their effects on downstream aquatic ecosystems (Schindler and Smol 2006;Smol 2008;Schindler 2010). Comprehensive monitoring programs are needed to inform stakeholders, ensure industrial compliance, and guide environmental stewardship decisions that protect these ecosystems from harmful effects of industrial pollution. ...
... The lack of pre-industrial baseline data has impeded ability of RAMP and other subsequent monitoring programs to detect and quantify the extent to which the industry has increased supply of substances of concern to the Athabasca River and downstream delta. Indeed, these programs have been criticized for their study design and inability to detect trends of contaminant concentration since onset of industrial development (e.g., Dowdeswell et al. 2010;Gosselin et al. 2010;Schindler 2010;Dillon et al. 2011). This has resulted in calls for better monitoring practices for nearly a decade and the emergence of a petition in 2014, led by the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) to the World Heritage Committee (WHC) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to add WBNP to the List of World Heritage in Danger. ...
... Use of floodplain lake sediment cores to establish sector-specific pre-1920 baseline metals concentrations in the PAD Lack of knowledge of the natural range of variation in sediment metals concentrations has long hampered ability to accurately assess for evidence of metals enrichment in the Athabasca River by oil sands operations (Schindler 2010). To address this, paleolimnological approaches were used in this study to establish preindustrial (defined as pre-1920; see Wiklund et al. 2012Wiklund et al. , 2014 baseline sediment metals concentrations from flood-prone lakes in both the Peace and Athabasca sectors of the PAD at the terminus of the Athabasca River. ...
Well-designed monitoring approaches are needed to assess effects of industrial development on downstream aquatic environments and guide environmental stewardship. Here, we develop and apply a monitoring approach to detect potential enrichment of metals concentrations in surficial lake sediments of the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northern Alberta, Canada. Since the ecological integrity of the PAD is strongly tied to river floodwaters that replenish lakes in the delta, and the PAD is located downstream of the Alberta oil sands, concerns have been raised over the potential transport of industry-supplied metals to the PAD via the Athabasca River. Surface sediment samples were collected in September 2017 from 61 lakes across the delta, and again in July 2018 from 20 of the same lakes that had received river floodwaters 2 months earlier, to provide snapshots of metals concentrations (Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) that have recently accumulated in these lakes. To assess for anthropogenic enrichment, surficial sediment metals concentrations were normalized to aluminum and compared to pre-industrial baseline (i.e., reference) metal-aluminum linear relations for the Athabasca and Peace sectors of the PAD developed from pre-1920 measurements in lake sediment cores. Numerical analysis demonstrates no marked enrichment of these metals concentrations above pre-1920 baselines despite strong ability (> 99% power) to detect enrichment of 10%. Measurements of river sediment collected by the Regional Aquatics- and Oil Sands-Monitoring Programs (RAMP/OSM) also did not exceed pre-1920 concentrations. Thus, results presented here show no evidence of substantial oil sands-derived metals enrichment of sediment supplied by the Athabasca River to lakes in the PAD and demonstrate the usefulness of these methods as a monitoring framework.
... Large-scale and long-term environmental monitoring programs, complementing other finer-scale monitoring efforts carried out by project proponents, are foundational to understanding and appropriately managing cumulative effects and for supporting both shorter-and longer-term decisions about land and water resource use and allocation (Dubé 2003(Dubé , 2015Squires and Dubé 2012;Ball et al. 2013a). However, numerous studies and program evaluations have shown that long-term monitoring data are often absent or insufficient in many regions, or so fragmented that its effectiveness for cumulative effects decision support is compromised (Spence et al. 2007;Squires et al. 2009;Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Governments of Canada 2010;Vörösmarty et al. 2010;Schindler 2010;WWF Canada 2017). ...
... However, studies by Kelly et al. (2009Kelly et al. ( , 2010 showed concentrations of heavy metals in the Athabasca River that were at levels up to 30-times higher than what was permitted by existing guidelines, triggering concerns about RAMP and whether there were impacts from oil sands activity that were not being detected. A 2010 joint letter to Prime Minister Harper from multiple First Nations community members, leadership, health professionals, and scientists identifying deformities and tumors in fish, coupled with other high profile events and critiques (Schindler 2010;Miall 2013), further raised national concerns about RAMP's credibility. ...
... This discontinuity has, by many accounts, eroded public trust in commitments to long-term monitoring (Wallace 2013) and in the ability to detect and appropriately manage the impacts of development. More ominously, it has contributed to a culture of uncertainty surrounding the stability of institutional arrangements and support for long-term environmental monitoring to address cumulative effects (Smith 1981;NRBS 1996b;Ayles et al. 2004;Gummer et al. 2006;Schindler 2010;Wallace 2013;Noble et al. 2014). ...
Long-term regional environmental monitoring, coupled with shorter-term and more localized monitoring carried out under regulatory permitting processes, is foundational to identifying, understanding, and effectively managing cumulative environmental effects. However, monitoring programs that emerge to support cumulative effects science are often short-lived initiatives or disconnected from land use planning and regulatory decision making. This paper examines the history and evolution of environmental monitoring in the Lower Athabasca region of Alberta, Canada, and the enabling and constraining influences of institutional arrangements. Methods involved a review of regional-scale monitoring programs based on an analysis of monitoring agency mandates, performance reports, and external program reviews, supplemented by discussions with monitoring program or agency key informants to triangulate results. Results show that monitoring to support cumulative effects understanding in the Lower Athabasca has advanced considerably, especially since the mid-1990s, but its relevance to, and impact on, cumulative effects management and decision making has been stifled by institutional arrangements. Monitoring has been episodic, reflecting shifting priorities and competing mandates; criticized by stakeholders based on concerns about transparency, credibility, influence over decision making; and characterized by short-lived commitments by the agencies involved. This has generated significant uncertainty about the stability of institutional arrangements to support long-term environmental monitoring, and tensions between the need for scientific autonomy for credible science whilst ensuring the pursuit of monitoring questions that are relevant to the day-to-day needs of regulatory decision makers. Regional monitoring programs require, at a minimum, clear vision and agreed-upon monitoring questions that are of scientific and management value, meaningful and balanced stakeholder engagement, and a clear governance process to ensure credibility and influence of monitoring results on decision making.
... Oil sands (tar sands) or, more technically, bituminous sands and shales, are available non-conventional oil deposits, from which significant amounts of oil are refined (Kannel and Gan, 2012;Wang et al., 2015b). Taking the Alberta's oil sands in Canada for instance, over 1 million barrels of oil were produced daily in 2006 and it has been estimated to reach up to 3 million per day by 2020 (Schindler, 2010). In spite of the intermittent variation of oil prices due to different reasons, the study of new sources is increasing (Baffes et al., 2015;Tokic, 2015). ...
... Around 2-5 volumes of water are needed per unit volume of oil for the exploitation of oil or tar sands (Schindler, 2010). The so-called oil sand process-affected waters (OSPWs) ultimately converge into tailing ponds. ...
... The area occupied by these ponds in Alberta was around 130 km 2 in 2009 (Kean, 2009), which denotes the magnitude of the problem. OSPWs have been demonstrated to be toxic and able to cause malformations in aquatic organisms and even affect people downstream the oil sand fields (Schindler, 2010). ...
Although the exploitation of new energy sources like oil sand or shale may efficiently relieve the urgency of energy shortage, it can also have significant environmental adverse impacts since huge volumes of oil-containing wastewaters are produced yearly worldwide due to those activities. Naphthenic acids (NAs) are the main harmful components of the oil shale fracking process and the oil sands process-affected waters (OSPWs), which are reported to be bio-recalcitrant due to their structural complexity and toxicity. Identification techniques, are being continuously improved to deal with the growing analytical needs for the traditional NAs and the emerging ones like oxy-, aromatic and diamondoid NAs. Meanwhile, treatment approaches have been investigated in the past decades addressed to implement technical solutions. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are among the most studied. Different oxidizing agents, like ozone, hydrogen peroxide and persulfate, among other, have been used, giving rise to a diversity of specific techniques. The current work presents an updated overview of those techniques in their application for the abatement of NAs from water.
... Since then, periodic government-led reassessments of environmental conditions at the PAD have reiterated this need but a long-term delta-wide aquatic ecosystem monitoring program has remained elusive, even as concern has grown over environmental degradation of the delta's aquatic ecosystems. This primarily includes observed and recorded drawdown of lake and river water levels, variably attributed to hydroelectric regulation of Peace River flow and climate [32,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45], and the potential for pollution of lakes via transport of substances of concern from upstream oil sands development along the Lower Athabasca River [46][47][48]. In 2014, the MCFN petitioned that WBNP be inscribed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger, in large part because of the threats of industrial activities to the delta's aquatic ecosystems [49]. ...
... Since this stratigraphic discovery, concern has been increasingly expressed about aquatic ecosystem degradation at the PAD by releases of substances of concern from rapidly expanding oil sands development, which led us to identify a new research opportunity -to use analyses of sediment cores from lakes in the PAD to generate 'pre-development' concentration baselines as a valuable reference point for quantifying the enrichment of substances of concern attributable to industrial activities. Indeed, highly critical reviews of regional monitoring programs had identified the absence of knowledge of the range of natural concentrations of these substances of concern before onset of large-scale bitumen mining and processing as a key limitation undermining an ability to evaluate the extent of contamination attributable to oil sands development within the Lower Athabasca River and the PAD [47,83,84]. This recognition led to a recommendation by the Federal Oil Sands Advisory ...
Systematic and sustainable monitoring approaches capable of tracking the status and trends of keystone characteristics are critical for detecting aquatic ecosystem degradation, identifying the influence of multiple potential stressors, informing environmental protection policy and anticipating future change. At remote lake-rich landscapes, ability to implement and maintain long-term monitoring is often challenged by logistical and financial constraints. At the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD; northeastern Alberta, Canada), an internationally recognized remote freshwater landscape threatened by climate change and upstream industrial development (hydroelectric regulation of river flow, oil sands mining and processing), the need for an integrated aquatic ecosystem monitoring program has long been recognized to track changes to the flood regime, water balance, water quality, and contaminant deposition in the abundant shallow lakes. The remoteness and hydrological complexity of the landscape, among other factors, have hindered the implementation of such a program. In recent years, concern over aquatic ecosystem degradation has led to renewed and urgent calls by international and national governance agencies for implementation of a long-term monitoring program. Here, we report on intensive, multi-faceted research performed during 2015-2021 at 60 lakes spanning the delta’s broad hydroecological gradients to develop, evaluate, and apply a framework for integrated assessment of status and trends in water balance, water chemistry and contaminant enrichment. We present the design and approaches used, synthesize the knowledge gained from data collected during the 7-year-long research phase, and provide a foundation for a long-term aquatic ecosystem monitoring program that addresses several recommendations stemming from assessments by UNESCO and key priorities within the Wood Buffalo National Park Action Plan. We suggest the monitoring framework is readily transferable to other remote shallow lake- and pond-rich landscapes threatened by multiple potential stressors.
... The deposits are accompanied by expansive industrial extraction and processing of bitumen through surface mining and in situ techniques. Oil sands development is the predominant human activity in the region and is associated with concerns of undocumented environmental effects and the potential for long-term harm [1,2]. ...
... Much has been learned, including the potential contribution of contaminants of concern (CoCs) from surface mines [3][4][5][6][7] and in situ facilities [8,9] to the ambient environment. However, the OSR is a complex environment with many overlapping anthropogenic and natural stressors [1,2,10]. More specifically, research has clearly shown the influence of OSIA, but the accompanying, overlapping, and potentially interfering effects of other local, regional, and global stressors have also been identified [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. ...
The health of fish is a primary indicator of ecosystem response in the Oil Sands Region of northeastern Alberta. However, industrial activity is accompanied by other stressors, such as the discharge of sewage, municipal activity, forest fires, and natural weathering and erosion of bitumen. To combat the spatial confounding influences, we examined white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) captured in the Athabasca River at sites over time (2011–2019) and included covariates to account for the possible sources of influence. The analyses suggest spatially heterogeneous influences of natural factors on fish, such as discharge and air temperature, but also the influence of sewage phosphorus and precipitation. Among the stressors examined here, precipitation may be the most complex and may include a mixture of sources including inputs from tributaries, urban activity, industrial development, and forest fires. Although suggestive, the attribution of variance and detection of changes are affected by sample sizes in some years; these analyses may have missed effects or misspecified important relationships, especially in males. Despite these limitations, the analyses suggest potential differences may be associated with precipitation and highlight the need to integrate robust information on known and suspected stressors in future monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in the oil sands region and beyond.
... While the watershed is largely intact, there is a growing number of environmental threats which, descending ca. 1500 km from the headwaters, include i) effects of climate change on the hydrology of the watershed, starting with the Athabasca glacier and the annual snow pack (Comeau et al., 2009;DeBeer and Sharp, 2007;Marshall et al., 2011); ii) direct and indirect impacts of logging (Kreutzweiser et al., 2008;Silins et al., 2014); iii) effluent from pulp and paper mills (Wrona et al., 2001;Chambers et al., 2006); iv) drainage waters from coal mining (Casey, 2005); v) agriculture, including inputs of pathogens, nutrients and pesticides (Cessna et al., 2011;Forrest et al., 2011); vi) discharge of municipal wastewaters (Chambers et al., 1997); vii) bituminous sands mining and upgrading as well as in situ thermal extraction (Giesy et al., 2010;Gosselin et al., 2010;Headley et al., 2005;Schindler, 2010Schindler, , 2013Timoney and Lee, 2011;Timoney et al., 2009;Timoney, 2012); and viii) legacy uranium mining and related tailings management areas in the drainage basin of Lake Athabasca (Waite et al., 1988). ...
... While the report contains valuable information about seasonal variations in water quality for major parameters (such as pH, alkalinity, TDS, DOC, and major ions) for the period 2007 to 2012, there is a paucity of reliable concentration data for trace elements (Fiera, 2013). The lack of high quality data for trace elements in a major river system home to tens of billions of dollars of economic development has been strongly criticized (Schindler, 2010) but it is unclear whether the lack of information is the result of the inadequate analytical sensitivity of the methods employed, the low abundance of trace elements in surface water, or both. ...
Water samples were collected on the Athabasca River (AR), upstream and downstream from bitumen mines and upgrading facilities, to identify changes in water quality due to industrial activities in this region of northern Alberta, Canada. Starting upstream of Fort McMurray and proceeding downstream ca. 100 km, waters were collected in duplicate at 13 locations on the main stem of the river, as well as 5 tributary streams, using ultraclean sampling protocols developed for polar snow and ice. To estimate potential bioaccessibility, trace elements of concern (Ag, Cd, Pb, Sb, Tl) were determined in the dissolved fraction (< 0.45 μm) along with metals known for their enrichments in bitumen (V, Ni, Mo, Re) and those found mainly in ionic (Li, Sr) or colloidal forms (Al, Co, Cr, Fe, Ga, Mn, Th, Y). Analyses were performed in the metal-free, ultraclean SWAMP lab using quadrupole and sector-field ICP-MS. Concentrations of Ag, Cd, Pb, Sb and Tl were extremely low, not significantly more abundant downstream of industry and probably reflect “background” values. In contrast, V, Ni, Mo and Re concentrations were all significantly (p < 0.05) greater downstream of industry. However, chloride also increased downstream, due to natural inputs of saline groundwaters and it is unclear whether the increases in V, Ni, Mo and Re are due to natural or anthropogenic inputs to the river. Although it had been claimed that the industrial development of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) is a significant source of Ag, Cd, Pb, Sb and Tl to the river, our study failed to find any evidence to support this. Here we provide a first, robust (accurate and precise) description of baseline values for these trace elements in the AR, and suggest that V, Ni, Mo and Re are more valuable tracers for environmental monitoring and source assessment.
... These include, but are not limited to, extensive changes to land cover, carbon releases, consumptive water use, and dispersal of contaminants (Gosselin et al., 2010;Rooney et al., 2012;Arcszewski et al., 2021;Roberts et al., 2021). Distress over consequences of contaminant emissions for ecosystems and humans has existed for decades at locations proximal to the industry within the Lower Athabasca River watershed and at the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance located~200 km downstream within Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Dowdeswell et al., 2010;Gosselin et al., 2010;Schindler 2010;Mikisew Cree First Nation, 2014;WHC/IUCN, 2017;Independent Environment Consultants, 2018;Wood Buffalo National Park, 2019;WHC/IUCN, 2021). Yet, evaluation of contaminant dispersal requires understanding of natural, predisturbance concentrations to decipher the roles of anthropogenic and natural processes. ...
Exploitation of bitumen-rich deposits in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) by large-scale mining and processing activities has generated widespread concern about the potential for dispersal of harmful contaminants to aquatic ecosystems via fluvial and atmospheric pathways. The release of mercury has received attention because it is a potent neurotoxin for wildlife and humans. However, knowledge of baseline mercury concentration prior to disturbance is required to evaluate the extent to which oil sands development has contributed mercury to aquatic ecosystems. Here, we use stratigraphic analysis of total mercury concentration ([THg]) in radiometrically dated sediment cores from nine floodplain lakes in the AOSR and downstream Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) and two upland lakes in the PAD region to establish pre-1900 baseline [THg] and evaluate if [THg] has become enriched via fluvial and atmospheric pathways since oil sands mining and processing began in 1967. Concentrations of THg in sediment cores from the study lakes range from 0.022–0.096 mg/kg (dry wt.) and are below the Canadian interim sediment quality guidelines for freshwater (0.17 mg/kg). Results demonstrate no enrichment of [THg] above pre-1900 baseline via fluvial pathways at floodplain lakes in the AOSR or PAD. Enrichment of [THg] was detected via atmospheric pathways at upland lakes in the PAD region, but this occurred prior to oil sands development and aligns with long-range transport of emissions from coal combustion and other anthropogenic sources across the northern hemisphere recognized in many other lake sediment records. The inventory of anthropogenic [THg] in the upland lakes in the AOSR is less than at the Experimental Lakes Area of northwestern Ontario (Canada), widely regarded as a “pristine” area. The absence of enrichment of [THg] in lake sediment via fluvial pathways is a critical finding for stakeholders, and we recommend that monitoring at the floodplain lakes be used to inform stewardship as oil sands operators prepare to discharge treated oil sands process waters directly into the Athabasca River upstream of the PAD.
... The analysis of the samples revealed that a wide range of toxic impurities within the snow samples affecting the contaminant intake within the river system. It was also stated that erosion may be ascribed with the spread of the pollutants [90]. ...
During the past decade, there has been sustained interest in papers published on naphthenic acids (NAs) and the broader class of naphthenic acid-fraction compounds (NAFCs) as part of environmental and petroleomic studies. This increase attention in part reflects that NAs and related NAFCs are principal toxicants in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW). Furthermore, NAFCs are of industrial concern because they cause infrastructure scaling and corrosion during petroleum transport and processing. Many analytical strategies have therefore been developed for the detection and characterization of NAFCs, but Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS)-based methods provide powerful molecular-level insights into these complex mixtures. This review focuses on the exceptional utility of ultrahigh resolving power FTMS applications to environmental forensics of NAFCs and crude oils. Highlighted are applications of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and Orbitrap mass spectrometry as ultrahigh resolution methods for (a) molecular-level measurement of environmental occurrence and fate of NAFCs across the Athabasca oil sands region, Canada; (b) improvement of understanding of molecular mechanisms of NAFC-related toxicity in aquatic environments; (c) assessment of treatment outcomes for OSPW; along with (d) compelling data visualizations of organic components in crude oils. Advances in instrumental technology and data processing continue to improve resolution and sensitivity across the mass range. The processing of data generated by these methods can be challenging, but offers unparalleled levels of insight into NAFC composition. Future studies are encouraged to further combine traditional petroleomic data visualization techniques with multivariate ordination methods. Such applications would be particularly useful for matching molecular characteristics with physical properties and with processes, such as toxicity, corrosion, as well as the environmental behaviour and fate of these compounds.
... Ten years have passed since the Federal Oil Sands Advisory Panel's call to establish knowledge of natural background levels of contaminants transported via the Athabasca River from stratigraphic analyses of floodplain lakes within the AOSR (Dowdeswell et al., 2010), yet this remains unknown. Here, concerns about pollution of the Athabasca River have long persisted and have been heightened by evidence of malformations in fish caught downstream of oil sands operations (Schindler, 2010). Higher concentrations of dissolved elements in Athabasca River water have been reported downstream versus upstream of the oil sands operations (Kelly et al., 2010). ...
... Following initial developments in the 1960s, Canada's Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) experienced significant expansion of both open-pit mining and in-situ extraction processes from the 1990s to present, and is predicted to exhibit further expansion in the coming decades (Schindler, 2013). This has given rise to resounding concern for the environment and human health (Culp et al., 2021;Gosselin et al., 2010;National Research Council of Canada NRCAN, 2016;Schindler, 2010). In recognition of the need to address environmental health concerns, regional monitoring programs had been developed with the overall objective to quantify and monitor ecosystems in and around the AOSR as developments expanded . ...
The collection of sentinel fish species for Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) has
provided ancillary fish assemblage surveys on several tributaries in the Athabasca Oil
Sands Region (AOSR) of Alberta, Canada over the last decade. Using available,
comparable data we investigated baseline fish assemblage variability along the Ells
River, a tributary of the Athabasca River experiencing increasing proximity to natural
bitumen deposits and proposed mining development as it approaches confluence with
the mainstem Athabasca. Transect-based electrofishing data from four sites surveyed
in September 2013, 2014 and 2018 showed significant spatiotemporal variability in
assemblages, where spatial variability was greatest in 2013 and temporal variability
was observed in assemblages both upstream (2013 to 2014) and downstream (2014 to
2018) of proposed development. Habitat assessments in 2018 revealed significant
relationships among pH, algae cover and site slope with fish assemblages of the same
year. Due to the complementary nature of assemblage surveys, data challenges
(changing methodologies, sampling effort, and limited ancillary physiochemical data)
have presented limitations to the multivariate approach applied in the study. Moving
forward, employing consistent methods for fish collections and fine-scale habitat
assessments will improve the ability to correlate assemblage variability with changes in
the physical environment. Ultimately, this will aid in developing potential triggers of
change that may be attributed to or confound adjacent, expanding Oil Sands activities.
These findings will also inform monitoring programs on the use of fish assemblages as
indicators of change, potentially providing an alternative to existing biomonitoring
approaches in small streams with small fish populations.
... Northern freshwater ecosystems provide invaluable natural resources and hold cultural and societal significance but are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities (Dudgeon et al., 2006;Schindler, 2010;Schindler and Smol, 2006). To safeguard these ecosystems, evidence-based management decisions need to be guided by monitoring data capable of quantifying the extent of degradation (Roach and Walker, 2017). ...
Study region
Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northeastern Alberta.
Study focus
Potential for downstream delivery of contaminants via Athabasca River floodwaters to lakes of the PAD has raised local to international concern. Here, we quantify enrichment of eight metals (Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) in aquatic biota, relative to sediment-based pre-industrial baselines, via analysis of biofilm-sediment mixtures accrued on artificial substrate samplers deployed during summers of 2017 and 2018 in > 40 lakes. Widespread flooding in the southern portion of the delta in spring 2018 allows for assessment of metal enrichment by Athabasca River floodwaters.
New hydrological insights
River floodwaters are not implicated as a pathway of metal enrichment to biofilm-sediment mixtures in PAD lakes from upstream sources. MANOVA tests revealed no significant difference in residual concentrations of all eight metals in lakes that did not flood versus lakes that flooded during one or both study years. Also, no enrichment was detected for concentrations of biologically inert metals (Be, Cr, Pb) and those related to oil-sands development (Ni, V). Enrichment of Cd, Cu, and Zn at non-flooded lakes, however, suggests uptake of biologically active metals complicates comparisons of organic-rich biofilm-sediment mixtures to sediment-derived baselines for these metals. Results demonstrate that this novel approach could be adopted for lake monitoring within the federal Action Plan.
... During industrial processing, bitumen is extracted using hot caustic solutions and then upgraded at elevated temperatures to recover hydrocarbons (Gosselin et al., 2010). Given the scale of industrial development, there is understandable concern about a broad spectrum of environmental impacts (Giesy et al., 2010;Hodson, 2013;Jordaan, 2012;Schindler, 2010Schindler, , 2014Tenenbaum, 2009;Timoney and Lee, 2009), including direct impacts on air and water from changing land use (Rooney et al., 2012;Schwalb et al., 2015), water use (Sauchyn et al., 2015) and water quality (Alexander et al., 2017;Alexander and Chambers, 2016;Guéguen et al., 2011;Evans and Talbot, 2012;Hebben, 2009;Tondu, 2017), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as releases of N and S compounds (Curtis et al., 2010;Davidson and Spink, 2018;Hazewinkel et al., 2008;McLinden et al., 2012;Percy, 2013;Proemse and Mayer, 2012;Whitfield et al., 2010;Wieder et al., 2016b;Wieder et al., 2016a), generation and release of dusts Phillips-Smith et al., 2017;Wang et al., 2015;Watson et al., 2014;Xing and Du, 2017), and emissions of organic contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Li et al., 2017;Liggio et al., 2016), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Ahad et al., 2014;Ahad et al., 2015;Birks et al., 2017;Evans et al., 2016;Graney et al., 2017;Hall et al., 2012;Hrudey, 2013;Jautzy et al., 2015;Kelly et al., 2009;Kelly et al., 2010;Korosi et al., 2016;Kurek et al., 2013aKurek et al., , 2013bMunkittrick and Arciszewski, 2017;Wania, 2014a, 2014b;Thienpont et al., 2017;Timoney and Lee, 2011;Xu, 2018;Zhang et al., 2016) and naphthenic acids (Headley and McMartin, 2004;Ross et al., 2012). Many of the recent environmental changes described in these publications are taking place at a time when the global climate is also changing which can make it more difficult to distinguish between the different types of driving forces (e.g. ...
The Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) in northern Alberta, Canada, represent one of the largest reserves of hydrocarbons on the planet, yet there is remarkably little published data on the abundance of potentially toxic trace elements (TEs) in this resource. Here, we present the concentrations and review the relevance of 30 TEs in bulk samples of ABS as well as the organic and mineral fraction of representative samples. The distribution of TEs is dichotomous: they occur primarily in the organic fraction (Mo, Ni, Re, V and Se) or almost exclusively in the mineral fraction (virtually all of the other TEs). Except for Mo and Re, TEs in the ABS are depleted relative to the composition of the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), a reference level commonly used in quantifying the extent of contamination by TEs in the environment. Based on the published data available for comparison, TE concentrations in ABS are similar to those of sandstones, well below the average value for shale, and far below the values reported for organic-rich, black shales. The data presented here explains why recent studies of contamination of air, water, soil, plants in this region of northern Alberta, when viewed critically, reveal limited enrichments of chalcophile TEs, relative to crustal abundance. The abundance and distribution of TEs in the ABS also explains why atmospheric transport of TEs is largely restricted to the immediate region (< 50 km) surrounding the open pit bitumen mines, and dispersion patterns resemble those of dust deposition. Based on these findings, most of the chalcophile TEs mobilized by mining are expected to have limited bioaccessibility and bioavailability, simply because they are mainly hosted by silicate minerals with limited solubility at ambient pH.
... 6,7 This program was later criticized for its inability to adequately characterize trends or sources of pollution. 4,8 In response, the 2010 Federal Oil Sands Advisory Panel Report to the Minister of the Environment 9 highlighted the need to design a sampling program capable of distinguishing industrial sources from natural sources of contaminants in the Lower Athabasca River and more rigorous detection of pollution trends over time. Among their recommendations, the report suggested analysis of contaminant concentrations in sediment profiles from floodplain lakes to establish the "natural, pre-development state" of the river (p.31−32). ...
Since 1997, sediment metal concentrations have been monitored in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of the Lower Athabasca River by the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP; 1997–2002), the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSM; 2012–2014), and the Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSM; 2015-present). However, it has remained difficult to differentiate industrial sources from natural sources and quantify the extent of pollution due to inadequate knowledge of predevelopment reference conditions. Here, baselines were constructed using predevelopment (i.e., pre-1967) sediment concentrations of US EPA priority pollutants (Be, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb) and V, an element elevated in bitumen and associated waste materials, normalized to Al concentration in cores from floodplain and upland lakes within the AOSR to characterize the natural range of variability. The Lower Athabasca River sediment metal monitoring data were examined in the context of the predevelopment baselines. Most metals are below the threshold for minimal enrichment (<1.5x baseline) except for chromium (up to 4.8x) in some RAMP samples. The predevelopment baselines for sediment metal concentrations will be of particular importance as the oil sands industry potentially shifts from a no-release policy to the treatment and release of oil sands process waters directly to the Lower Athabasca River.
... Similar petroleumbased job losses are estimated to exceed 100,000 for 2020 in the United States (Oilprice 2020). For the oil sands of Alberta, the third proven global reserve of oil enclaved in the pristine landscapes of the boreal forest, the environmental shift is much needed as the region has suffered decades of poor environmental reputation given the excessive environmental cost and ecological footprint in extracting the bitumen (Schindler 2010). A recent study indicates that post-oil and gas extraction activities, like decommissioning and reclaiming sites such as orphaned wells and pipelines, could create 6,100 shovel-ready jobs in the province of Alberta (Kaddoura et al. 2020). ...
In the face of the global COVID-19 recession, countries are looking at stimulus packages to kick-start their stalled economies. The recovery from this crisis also coincides with a critical opportunity to fight against ecosystem degradation and climate change. In this opinion article, I put in perspective that by investing in ecological restoration, governments do not have to choose between economic priorities and environmental concerns. First, I describe the restoration economy and give real-world examples of how investing in restoration activities can simultaneously ease pressure on the environment and create immediate jobs and revenues. Then I suggest that to obtain political attraction, a successful restoration strategy will require a triple-bottom-line approach to ensure that in addition to environmental objectives, stakeholders integrate socioeconomic outcomes in decision-making. Finally, I conclude that a new economic approach that prioritizes investment in our ecological capital will necessitate transdisciplinary policies to build bridges across the different silos of the economy and the environment.
... Based on these findings, the Alberta Government claims the environmental impacts of oil sands development are so negligible that they should be of little public concern. These conclusions have, however, been challenged by other researchers (e.g., Timoney and Lee, 2009;Rooney et al., 2012;Campbell et al., 2020) whose findings contradict the province's benign claims (Busato and Maccari, 2016) and suggest that public concern is very much warranted (Schindler, 2010). These debates have created divisions within the scientific community and have allowed for the politicization of scientific findings. ...
This paper presents the results of a Cultural Consensus Analysis (CCA) that was conducted to determine the degree to which Indigenous residents of the Peace and Athabasca oil sands regions of Alberta, Canada share cultural knowledge about the associated impacts of oil sands development. We found that 87% (64/75) of respondents believe that oil sands development has contaminated the Peace and Athabasca Rivers, as well as the fish in them. These responses indicate the existence of a cultural truth regarding the negative impacts of oil sands development, with respondents demonstrating a higher than average probability for knowing the culturally correct answer. However, we also found that there was regional variability between Indigenous residents of the two regions, with more respondents from the Peace River region believing fish are safe to eat and scientific information concerning oil sands development to be trustworthy. The results of this study provide a more informed understanding of the variable experiences Indigenous peoples may have with regard to oil sands development in Alberta.
... These actors, including the federal, provincial, and Indigenous governments, industry, universities, and regional associations, have long and complicated histories of interacting with one another (Cronmiller and Noble, 2018). This review focuses on environmental monitoring efforts over the last decade beginning with the well-known Schindler (2010) and Royal Society of Canada (2010) reports. These reports, as well as significant public and Indigenous pressure, are credited with persuading the federal government to launch a Federal Oil Sands Advisory Panel (2010) responsible for the review of the water monitoring approach on the Lower Athabasca River Basin and other connected waterways (Boothe, 2015). ...
This study seeks to gain a better understanding of the implications of Indigenous community-based monitoring (ICBM) for Indigenous governance in resource extractive regions. Using a comprehensive review of the literature and the author team's personal involvement, we review an ICBM program in the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada. We use sustainable self-determination, as a sub-set of Indigenous governance, as a critical theoretical lens to assess outcomes of this program and its role in the broader environmental governance of the oil sands region. To conclude, we propose some recommendations to advance a sustainable self-determination lens for ICBM. As these programs continue to proliferate across the country, now is the time to incorporate such a lens in order to simultaneously support meaningful monitoring of environmental, economic, and social change, while also advancing the resurgence of Indigenous Nations.
... During industrial processing, bitumen is extracted using hot caustic solutions and then upgraded at elevated temperatures to recover hydrocarbons (Gosselin et al., 2010). Given the scale of industrial development, currently producing 165,000 m 3 /day of bitumen from open pit mining (Alberta Energy Regulator, 2015), there is understandable concern about a range of environmental impacts (Giesy et al., 2010;Schindler, 2010Schindler, , 2014, including water consumption and water quality, land use changes, GHG emissions, emissions of oxides of N and S, and emissions of organic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). On top of this growing list of concerns is the on-going worry about emissions of potentially toxic trace elements. ...
Sphagnum moss was collected from 22 ombrotrophic (rain-fed) bogs near open pit mines and upgraders within the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) region of Alberta (AB). Mercury was quantified using two approaches: sector-field ICP-MS of acid digests, and a Direct Mercury Analyser (DMA) for solid samples. Using ICP-MS, the mean Hg concentration in moss from the ABS region (34.7 ± 1.5 µg/kg, n=75) was significantly greater than the control site, Utikuma (26.7 ± 4.0 µg/kg, n=3). Using DMA, the mean Hg concentration in moss from the ABS region (26.2 ± 0.9 µg/kg, n=71) was significantly lower than the control site (28.5 ± 1.3 µg/kg, n=6). These contradictory findings illustrate the challenges associated with comparing the results of two analytical methods, especially given the similarity in Hg concentrations between industrial and background sites, Similar Hg concentrations were also found in Sphagnum moss from two other bogs in AB which are far removed from the ABS region. The Hg concentrations in Sphagnum from the ABS bogs are well below the range found in bog vegetation collected earlier in eastern Canada, and comparable to the lowest values (5th percentile) reported for forest moss collected in 2015 from Norway and Sphagnum moss sampled in 2008 from northern Sweden. Given the rates of Sphagnum accumulation in the ABS region (ca. 215 g/m2/yr), Hg accumulation rates there were 5.8-7.5 µg/m2/yr versus 5.7-6.1 µg/m2/yr at the control site (UTK); these are at the upper limit of the range in pre-anthropogenic rates of Hg accumulation for peat from European bogs. Sphagnum moss is abundant in Canada and found in bogs from coast to coast, offering an opportunity to obtain quantitative information on atmospheric Hg deposition to terrestrial ecosystems from natural as well as anthropogenic sources.
... The rise in oil sands and metal mining activities seen over the last two decades in the northern parts of the neighbouring province of Alberta and in Saskatchewan has sparked considerable public and scientific debates about pollution of the environment (Schindler 2010;Nelson et al. 2015), and several studies have linked increased accumulations of toxicants and disease incidences in wildlife to the extraction of the natural resources in the wider region (Timoney and Lee 2009;Kelly et al. 2010;Raine et al. 2017). Due to health risks related to consumption of contaminated food, Indigenous people are particularly concerned about wildlife health and the associated quality of their diets (Huseman and Short 2012). ...
Industrial activities conducted in Northern Canada have raised concerns among Indigenous communities regarding wildlife contamination and potential consequences for human health. Therefore, an investigation on the chemical (metals/metalloids) and biological (parasite) burden of adult walleye (Sander vitreus) and northern pike (Esox lucius) from Montreal Lake, Saskatchewan, was conducted to assess health risks related to fish consumption. Dissection revealed that both fishes displayed typical parasite communities, with Eubothrium sp. (Cestoda) and Raphidascaris acus (Nematoda) occurring the most frequently. None of the identified parasite species were infectious to humans. Concentrations of most inorganic contaminants in fish muscle were low and both walleye and pike can be considered healthy components of a balanced diet. However, due to slightly elevated mercury concentrations, excessive daily consumption of these fishes is not recommended, as mercury exposure over time may lead to adverse health effects.
... Soil, water and atmosphere are adversely affected, and passing these to plants, animals and human beings during nutrient uptake and ingestion along the food chain. Study has found that rivers flowing through bitumen-rich areas are in themselves subjected to heavy pollution due to long contact between bitumen and the water bodies [1]. Some of the reported rivers include Athabasca and Peace River in Canada and Orinoco River in Venezuela and pitch Lake of Trinidad and Tobago. ...
... EEM-style monitoring in Canada's oil sands region has been even more contentious (Kelly et al. 2009(Kelly et al. , 2010Schindler 2010). The Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP) was an ...
Environmental effects monitoring (EEM) has been traditionally used to evaluate the effects of existing facilities discharging liquid effluents into natural receiving waters in Canada. EEM also has the potential to provide feedback to an ongoing project in an adaptive management context, and can inform the design of future projects. EEM, consequently, can and should also be used to test the predictions of effects related to new projects. Despite EEM's potential for widespread applicability, challenges related to the effective implementation of EEM include the use of appropriate study designs, as well as to the adoption of tiers for increasing or decreasing monitoring intensity. Herein we describe a template for designing and implementing a six‐tiered EEM program that utilizes information from the project‐planning and pre‐development baseline data collection stages to build on forecasts from the initial environmental impact assessment project‐design stage, and feeds into an adaptive management process. Movement between the six EEM tiers is based on the exceedance of Baseline Monitoring Triggers, Forecast Triggers and Management Triggers at various stages in the EEM process. To distinguish these types of triggers, we review the historical development of numeric and narrative triggers as applied to chemical (water and sediment) and biological (plankton, benthos, fish) endpoints. We also provide an overview of historical study design issues and discuss how the six EEM tiers and associated triggers influence the temporal‐spatial experimental design options and how the information gained through EEM could be used in an adaptive management context. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
... Specific attention has been paid to a variety of contaminants within the lower AR particularly in the vicinity of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS). The risks of contamination to the river are direct, e.g. through potential leakage related to tailings ponds (Timoney and Lee, 2011;Ross et al., 2012;Savard et al., 2012;Holden et al., 2004;Moncur et al., 2015;Roy et al., 2016), and indirect via airborne emissions from open pit mines and upgraders (Kelly et al., 2009(Kelly et al., , 2010Giesy et al., 2010;Schindler, 2010Schindler, , 2014Hodson, 2013;Kurek et al., 2013;Bari et al., 2014;Evans et al., 2016;Gu eguen et al., 2016). Many of these risks are summarized in two recent reviews (Alexander and Chambers, 2016;Huang et al., 2016). ...
Employing protocols developed for polar snow and ice, water samples were collected upstream, midstream and downstream of open pit bitumen mines and upgraders along the Lower Athabasca River (AR). The purpose was to: i) estimate the bioaccessibility of trace elements associated with particulate matter in the AR using sequential extraction, and ii) determine whether their forms have been measurably impacted by industrial activities. Of the trace metals known to be enriched in bitumen (V, Ni, Mo and Re), a substantial proportion of V (78-93%) and Ni (35-81%) was found in the residual fraction representing stable minerals. In contrast, Mo and Re were partitioned mainly into more reactive forms (water soluble, acid extractable, reducible and oxidisable). Comparing the non-residual fractions in upstream versus downstream sites, only water soluble Re was significantly (P = 0.005) greater downstream of industry. In respect to the potentially toxic chalcophile elements (Cu, Pb and Tl), no measurable change was observed in Cu and Pb distribution in upstream versus downstream sites. Only residual Tl was found at upstream and midstream sites, whereas a significant proportion of Tl was also present in the reducible fraction in downstream sites. Overall, a greater proportion of trace metals in the residual fraction at midstream sites appears to be due to inputs of atmospheric dust, clearly evident in microscopic images: energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analyses showed that these particles were predominantly silicates, which are assumed to have limited bioaccessibility.
... Although rapidly publishing the findings of monitoring is a key step, effective science communication can increase the impact of the research findings. For example, David Schindler brought several deformed whitefish to a press conference as a dramatic illustration of the risks of contamination from oil sands developments to aquatic ecosystems (Schindler 2010). Robust and independent science can evaluate the consequences of different policy and regulatory interventions. ...
Gaps between environmental science and environmental law may undermine sound environmental decision-making. We link perspectives and insights from science and law to highlight opportunities and challenges at the environmental science–law interface. The objectives of this paper are to assist scientists who wish to conduct and communicate science that informs environmental statutes, regulations, and associated operational policies (OPs), and to ensure the environmental lawyers (and others) working to ensure that these statutes, regulations, and OPs are appropriately informed by scientific evidence. We provide a conceptual model of how different kinds of science-based activities can feed into legislative and policy cycles, ranging from actionable science that can inform decision-making windows to retrospective analyses that can inform future regulations. We identify a series of major gaps and barriers that challenge the successful linking of environmental science and law. These include (1) the different time...
... Oil sands mining in northeast Alberta caused a growing anthropogenic footprint since 1967 (Gosselin et al. 2010;Schindler 2010). On-going land reclamation in this area in the past 25 yr aims to achieve the land capability equivalent to that which existed predisturbance. ...
Adequate supply of micronutrients is essential for plant growth in reclaimed sites in the Athabasca oil sands region. The objectives of this study were to determine boron, iron, manganese, copper, and zinc concentrations in peat–mineral mix (PMM), tailings sand (TS), and overburden (OB) materials and to assess whether lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) planted on PMM over TS and white spruce (Picea glauca) planted on PMM over OB had low foliar micronutrient concentrations. Micronutrient concentrations determined using LiNO3 and Mehlich-3 extractions were different between PMM and TS in the pine sites while only LiNO3 extractable boron was different between PMM and OB in the spruce sites (p < 0.05). Micronutrient concentrations varied in the order of boron > iron > manganese > zinc > copper in all soil layers with concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 39.56 μg g⁻¹. The low foliar concentration of copper in pine and spruce was consistent with low LiNO3 extractable copper in the soil in both the pine and spruce sites. We conclude that the availability of micronutrients such as copper can become a potential limitation for revegetation of white spruce but not lodgepole pine. Further studies on soil management for improving Cu availability in reclamation materials are needed for improving the growth of spruce in reclaimed soils.
... Oil sands development in Alberta is an industry with high consumption of fossil fuels (Ordorica-Garcia et al. 2007), significant land disturbance (Audet et al. 2014;Rooney et al. 2012), and massive generation of solid waste such as stockpiles of petcoke from bitumen upgrading (Scott and Fedorak 2004;Fedorak and Coy 2006;Zhang et al. 2016). The higher amount of greenhouse gas emissions and disturbances on the local air and water quality from the oil sands industry over the conventional crude oil production make the former a focus of debate among scientists and decision makers on whether the crude oil from the oil sands is dirty or not (Schindler 2010). All of the existing methods result in the emission of air pollutants from various operations, including fugitive dust caused by open-pit mining, exhaust gas from heavy equipment, volatilization from tailings, and flue gas emissions during bitumen upgrading procedures. ...
Particulate matter (PM) emissions from the expanded oil sands development in Alberta are becoming a focus among the aerosol science community due to its significant negative impact on the regional air quality and climate change. Open-pit mining, petroleum coke (petcoke) dust, and the transportation of oil sands and waste materials by heavy-duty trucks on unpaved roads, could release PM into the air. Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels by engines and stationary boilers leads to the formation of carbonaceous aerosols. In addition, wildfire and biogenic emissions surrounding the oil sands regions also have the potential to contribute primary PM to the ambient air. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation has been revealed as an important source of PM over nearby and distant areas from oil sands region. This review summarizes the primary PM sources and some secondary aerosol formation mechanisms, which are linked to oil sands development. It also reviews the approaches that can be applied in aerosol source apportionment. Meteorological condition is an important factor that may influence the primary PM emission and secondary aerosol formation in Alberta’s oil sands regions. Current concern should not be limited to the primary emission of atmospheric PM. Secondary formation of aerosols, especially SOA originating from photochemical reaction, should also be taken into consideration. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the sources and amount of PM emissions based on the bottom-up emission inventory approach, investigations on how to reduce the uncertainty in determination of real-world PM emission factors for the variable sources are needed. Long-range transport trajectories of fine PM from Alberta’s oil sands regions remain unknown.
... The residual sand and mineral fines are disposed in the form of vast tailings ponds, which along with their peripheral beaches, generate considerable amounts of dust [5,6]. Given the scale of industrial development, there is growing concern about environmental impacts [7][8][9], including emissions of potentially toxic trace elements. ...
There is on-going concern regarding fugitive emissions of trace elements from mining and upgrading of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) in northern Alberta, Canada, but remarkably few quantitative elemental data about the resource itself exists. By exploring advances in analytical techniques, an inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) method was developed for the determination of trace and ultratrace amounts (<0.1 mg/kg) of several elements of environmental concern (Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Pb, Sb and Tl) in bulk ABS and respective bitumen and mineral fractions as separated materials. Samples (n = 7) averaged 86 ± 4% mineral matter and 12 ± 3% bitumen. High pressure microwave digestion employing HNO3-HBF4 yielded good recoveries (100 ± 20%) for Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Mo, Ni, Pb, Re, Sb, Tl and V in certified reference materials (NIST 1635, NIST 2711). The distribution of elements within the ABS was dichotomous, with V, Ni, Mo and Re predominantly found in the organic fraction (bitumen) and Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Tl predominantly found in the mineral residue. Trace amounts of As and Pb (0.1–2.0 mg/kg), plus ultratrace amounts of Ag, Bi, Cd, Sb and Tl (<0.1 mg/kg) were found in the bitumen. Despite filtration (<0.45 µm), the bitumen fraction also contained trace amounts of lithophile elements (Be, Co, Ga, Sc, Y, Sm, Dy, Th), which suggested that the occurrence of Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Pb, Sb, and Tl in bitumen was associated with ultrafine clays. Our demonstration of a distinct separation of the ABS trace elements into organic (V, Ni, Mo, Re) and mineral fractions (effectively all other trace elements) may have profound consequences regarding emissions of trace elements to the environment from the industrial development of this resource in northern Alberta.
... The Athabasca Oilsands Region (AOSR) has the largest bitumen reserves in the world (Lynam et al., 2015), with development starting in 1967, intensifying during the 1980s, and achieving near exponential growth beginning in the 1990s (Schindler, 2010(Schindler, , 2013. As the industrial footprint in the AOSR expanded, emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants increased (Aherne and Shaw, 2010;Kelly et al., 2010;Kurek et al., Accepted Article www.jlimnol.it ...
As the industrial footprint of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) continues to expand, concern about the potential impacts of pollutants on the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems need to be assessed. An emerging issue is whether recent increases in lake production downwind of the development can be linked to AOSR activities, and/or whether changing climatic conditions are influencing lake nutrient status. To decipher the importance of pollutants, particularly atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr), and the effects of climate change as potential sources of increasing lake production, lakes from both within and outside of the nitrogen deposition zone were analyzed for historical changes in diatom assemblages. Lake sediment cores were collected from a priori defined nitrogen (N) - and phosphorus (P) - limited lakes within and outside the N plume associated with the AOSR. Diatom assemblages were quantified at sub-decadal resolution since ca. 1890 to compare conditions prior to oil
... Development and growth of the Athabasca oil sands industry in northern Alberta, Canada, has been rapid in recent decades [1]. Northern Alberta produces 1.3 million barrels of bitumen per day [2], and oil production is targeted to reach over 3.3 million barrels per day by 2020 [3]. Waste by-products of the oil sands industry are collected in large artificial settling ponds called tailings ponds [4]. ...
In this study, integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) microbial development and degradation efficiency were investigated for oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) remediation. IFAS microbial community was characterized using 454 high-throughput 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing that revealed that the IFAS seed sludge (activated sludge [AS] from the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant [GBWTP]) showed the greatest richness and evenness of bacterial community, as compare to other biomass samples. The Chao 1 value and the Shannon diversity index showed that the bacterial richness and microbial diversity in biofilms were significantly higher than those in flocs in both IFAS systems. Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were dominant phyla in both flocs and biofilms in IFAS reactors. It is also noted that the phyla and class distributions of flocs and biofilms were significantly different. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated that there were substantial differences between OSPW indigenous microbes and flocs and biofilm microbes in IFAS. Overall, a relatively low ozone dose (30 mg/L utilized) combined with IFAS reactor treatment significantly increased the organic contaminants removal. The combined ozonation and IFAS system showed the promise for OSPW treatment.
Adequate and clean water supplies play a huge role in human health and wellness. Therefore, the causes of contamination and pollution of water supplies must be addressed. Mining activities are often considered a threat to surface water bodies due to the huge amount of water involved in their processes and the attendant pollution, which may result in conflicts between the mining communities and company involved. In this research, the social license to operate was proposed as a tool to negotiate and mitigate these conflicts. Some oil sand communities in Nigeria were used as a case study. Reconnaissance survey and a semi-structured interview within the study area were deployed to document the expected impact of the deposit exploration on freshwater in the area. In addition, a comparative literature study to evaluate the use of social license to operate in a similar situation was considered. Our scenario simulations suggest that oil sand mining activities could negatively impact the environment during the three phases of mining activities and if these effects are not proactivity resolved, it may lead to conflicts with host communities. It was proposed that the mining company should secure a social license to operate from the community before carrying out their activities in order to reduce delays and conflicts. The community will grant an informal license to the company. This social license to operate will serve as a tool for communication and negotiations between the two parties where agreements can be reached.
Oil pollution is a serious environmental and natural resource problem. Traditional adsorption materials for oil-water separation have limitations in terms of their preparation cost, reusability, and mechanical properties. Among the conventional adsorption materials, super-hydrophobic/super-lipophilic materials are easily contaminated by oil. In this study, polypropylene (PP) is used as a foam substrate to prepare an open-cell PP foam via hot pressing, supercritical CO2 foaming, and electron beam (EB) irradiation. The impact of EB irradiation dose on the open-cell content of PP foam can lead to cell wall rupture, resulting in an open-cell structure that enhances oil-water separation performance. At an absorbed radiation dose of 200 kGy, the PP foams exhibit optimal oil–water separation performance, cyclic compression stability, heat insulation, and preparation cost. The open-cell content of PP foam is increased to 86.5%, the adsorption capacity for diesel oil is 42.8 g/g, and the adsorption efficiency remains at 99.6% after 100 cycles of oil desorption in a complex pH environment. Meanwhile, cracks and nano-voids simultaneously promote the capillary action of oil, and the oil transport rate is 0.0713 g/(g·s). This study provides a new concept for the preparation of open-cell polymer foams that can meet the demand for high oil-absorption capacity under complex acid-base pH conditions.
Alberta produces 80% of the crude oil extracted in Canada. Canadian resource industry proponents and governments claim to be climate leaders, but Canada produces the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of all G20 countries, and is among the top ten carbon dioxide producers globally. Much of this pollution can be tied back to Alberta’s petro‐economy, an industry whose fossil wealth dates back millions of years to a time when flora and fauna were deposited in the lands and waters that Alberta now claims. Expanding on my earlier work on oil, gas, water, fish, and the Cree legal‐ethical principle of wahkohtowin in Alberta’s fossil‐scapes, this article examines what happens when the weaponised fossil kin of Alberta’s fossil and petro‐deposits are extracted and transformed into waste and pollution that disrupt reciprocal relationalities between human and nonhuman beings in Alberta’s watersheds, landscapes, atmospheres, and beyond.
Oil sands development in the lower Athabasca River watershed has raised considerable public and scientific concern regarding perceived effects on environmental health. To address this issue for tributaries and the mainstem of the Athabasca River in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, the Water Component of the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM) plan produced monitoring assessments for seven integrated themes: atmospheric deposition, tributary water quality, river mainstem water quality, groundwater quality and quantity, water quality and quantity modelling, benthic invertebrate condition, and fish health. Our review integrates and synthesizes the large and diverse datasets assembled in the seven JOSM theme assessments to: (a) evaluate possible environmental effects based on known sources and candidate proximal causes, and (b) determine the importance of cause-of-effect pathways related to contaminant, sediment and nutrient inputs. Although JOSM research identified ecological effects that appear to be associated with contaminant exposure, the source of this exposure is confounded by co-location of, and inability to differentiate between, oil sands operations (principally released by atmospheric emission) and inputs from the natural bitumen outcrops (e.g., erosional material transported by surface and groundwater flows). Nutrient enrichment from treated municipal sewage effluent was the dominant ecological effect observed for the mainstem Athabasca River, associated with increased fish size and changes in invertebrate assemblages, likely because this pollution source is discharged directly into the river. The ecological causal assessment method proved to be a useful tool for better understanding how stressor sources relate to ecological effects through candidate proximate causes. Factors that confound our ability to assess the ecological effects of oil sands development focus on our inability to adequately differentiate between contaminants supplied from natural and anthropogenic contaminant sources. Our causal synthesis identifies options for changes in future monitoring to better anticipate and detect degradation in the ecosystem health of the lower Athabasca River and its tributaries.
Sediment quality monitoring is commonly used to assess for river pollution by industrial activities, but requires knowledge of pre-disturbance conditions. This has long been a critical knowledge gap for assessing pollution of the Lower Athabasca River within the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) because sediment quality monitoring started 30 years after mining operations began in 1967. Here, we analyze oil-sands pollution indicator metals vanadium (V) and nickel (Ni) in sediment cores from five Athabasca River floodplain lakes spanning from 17 km upstream to 58 km downstream of central oil sands operations. These data are used to define pre-development baseline (i.e., reference) concentrations and assess for enrichment in sediment deposited after 1967. Measurements of organic and inorganic matter content were used to differentiate periods of strong and weaker Athabasca River influence in the sediment records, as needed to discern pathways of metal deposition. Numerical analyses reveal that post-1967 V and Ni enrichment factors have remained below the 1.5 threshold for ‘minimal enrichment’ (sensu Birch, 2017) in stratigraphic intervals of strong river influence in the floodplain lakes. Thus, concentrations of V and Ni carried by Athabasca River sediment have not become measurably enriched since onset of oil sands development, as demonstrated by our before-after study design with >99.99% power to detect a 10% increase above pre-development baselines. At the closest lake (<1 km) to oil sands operations, however, enrichment factors for V and Ni increased to 2.1 and 1.5, respectively, in the mid-1980s and have remained at this level when river influence was weaker, indicating contamination via atmospheric transport. Localized enrichment within the oil sands region via atmospheric pathways is a greater concern for ecosystems and society than local and far-field transport by fluvial pathways.
Wild berries (bearberry, blueberry, cranberry, dogwood, gooseberry, pin cherry, raspberry and rose hips) collected from lands reclaimed after open-pit bitumen mining, were analyzed for a wide range of trace elements (TEs) using ICP-QMS. The range in Al concentrations (8–247 mg/kg) indicates that the dust contents of the berries are highly variable; this is seen also with other conservative, lithophile elements. Comparing TE concentrations with those of Al reveals two main types of geochemical behaviours: TEs which vary almost exclusively with dust inputs, and TEs which are largely independent of them. Micronutrients such as Cu, Zn, Ni and Mo are unaffected by dust; these elements are dominated by plant uptake from the substrate. Potentially toxic light metals are either dominated by dust inputs (Li) or independent of them (Be). The same is true of potentially toxic heavy metals: Pb is strongly correlated with Al (r = 0.901, n = 31) whereas Tl is not (r = 0.329, n = 19). In respect to elements enriched in bitumen (V, Ni and Mo), V in the berries is proportional to Al (r = 0.969, n = 31) whereas Ni and Mo are not (r = 0.040 and 0.027, respectively; n = 31); their concentrations in the berries are dictated by root uptake. Comparing the Pb/Y and V/Y ratios to the corresponding values for the Upper Continental Crust shows that neither element is enriched in the berries. Data for berries from remote locations and commercial growers help to place the results obtained from reclaimed lands into perspective. For example, the greatest concentrations of Mn, Cd, Ni and Mo, were found in berries from rural and remote locations.
Im folgenden Kapitel werden, ausgehend von dem eben dargelegten Verständnis der Kritikalität und von dem Konzept unternehmerischer Rohstoffstrategien, die historischen Erfahrungen mit dem Umgang mit der Kritikalität von Rohstoffen analysiert und empirisch untersucht.
In the United States, the oil industry produces over 15 billion barrels of wastewater contaminated with crude oil microdroplets annually. Current methods are ineffective for the removal of these microdroplets at the variable pH conditions commonly found in wastewater. Here, an innovative surface-engineered sponge (SEnS) that synergistically combines surface chemistry, charge and roughness, provides a solution to this problem. Overbroad pH conditions, the SEnS rapidly adsorbed oil microdroplets with 95–99% removal efficiency, predominantly facilitated by Lifshitz–van der Waals forces. At the optimum pH, 92% of the oil was adsorbed within 10 min. The oil was subsequently recovered by solvent extraction under ambient conditions, and the cleaned SEnS was reused for oil microdroplets adsorption ten times. The combined efficacy and reusability can enable large-scale removal and recovery of crude oil microdroplets from wastewater.
The 2019 Critical Review by Brook et al. (2019) summarized much work by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), but discussants in Altshuler et al. (2019) found it lacking in terms of the publications and reports examined and referenced. A more complete bibliography of relevant work is compiled here with a brief guide to resources that might facilitate future efforts to critically examine oil sand extraction processes, emissions, control measures, and effects on local, regional, and global environments.
Billions of tones of thick waste streams with highly concentrated colloidal suspensions from different origins have been accumulated worldwide, exampled as over 220 km2 mature fine tailings (MFT) from oil sands production in north Alberta. Current treatment technologies are limited by slow yet insufficient water release and sludge consolidation. Herein, a self-healing composite hydrogel system is designed to convert concentrated aqueous colloidal suspensions (e.g., MFT with colloidal solid content > 30 wt%) into a dynamic double-crosslinked network for rapid dewatering and consolidation. The resultant composite hydrogel demonstrates an excellent dewatering performance that over 50% of water could be rapidly released within 30 min by vacuum filtration. Furthermore, the formed infinite crosslinked network with self-healing ability can effectively trap fine particles of all sizes and capture small flocs during mechanical mixing, thereby enabling a low solid content at ppm level in the release water. This new strategy outperforms all the previously reported treatment methods: under mechanical compression, over 80% of water is removed from the MFT, thereby generating a stackable material with >70 wt% solids within an hour. These results demonstrate a highly effective approach and provide insights into the development of advanced materials to tackle the challenging environmental slurry issues.
We review literature about Canada’s oil sands, pertaining to Indigenous Peoples. We draw on a range of recent published and unpublished sources. We find that social science research on oil sands extraction has been inadequate, even as the region has undergone transformation. Available research suggests that Indigenous communities feel resigned to further loss of their subsistence landbase. Due to the rapid pace of expansion, emergent issues and questions exist that cannot be readily synthesized. Decision-makers are not specialists in Indigenous issues or social impacts, and are not always supported by experts within their organizations. There is a need to review the qualifications of some social science consultants who work on impact assessment and consultation. The most vulnerable Indigenous people and communities face worrying health risks and evident pollution as they lose access to special places and preferred sources of food and water, entailing loss of cultural, spiritual, and familial connections.
There is increasing environmental concern regarding the emission of selenium (Se) from mining and upgrading of bitumen extracted from the Athabasca bituminous sands (ABS) in northern Alberta, Canada. However, there remains a lack of high quality analytical data for Se in this massive hydrocarbon reserve. Accurate analytical determinations of Se in bitumen from ABS are an important first step toward understanding its potential to be emitted to the environment. This has been a challenge due to the low abundance of Se combined with the preponderance of entrained mineral material (sand, clay) and the generally inadequate sensitivity of analytical methods used in the past. To overcome these issues, samples of ABS ores (McMurray Formation) underwent a toluene extraction procedure under ultra-clean lab conditions to separate bitumen from mineral particles. Separated bitumen, residual mineral material, and bulk ores were then subjected to acid-digestion and analysis using inductively coupled plasma sector-field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) as well as hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (HG-AFS). Unlike many other potentially toxic trace elements (Ag, As, Be, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, Tl and Zn) which exist almost exclusively in the mineral fraction, Se was found primarily (ca. 80%) in the organic (bitumen) fraction. Sulphur was determined in the same acid digests using both ICP-SFMS and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and it too, was found almost exclusively in the bitumen fraction. Despite the limited number of samples available to our study, the positive, linear correlation between Se and S concentrations in bitumen suggests that S concentrations can be used as a guide to estimate their Se content. Given that Se is found mainly in the organic fraction of the ABS, there is considerable potential for mobilization of this element during upgrading and refining. The analytical methods successfully employed here have sufficient sensitivity to support studies of Se contamination of environmental media in the ABS region.
Snowpacks in the Alberta Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of Canada contain elevated loadings of methylmercury (MeHg; a neurotoxin that biomagnifies through foodwebs) due to oil sands related activities. At sites ranging from 0-134 km from the major AOSR upgrading facilities, we examined sources of MeHg by quantifying potential rates of MeHg production in snowpacks and melted snow using mercury stable isotope tracer experiments, as well as quantifying concentrations of MeHg on particles in snowpacks (pMeHg). At four sites, methylation rate constants were low in snowpacks (km=0.001–0.004 d⁻¹) and non-detectable in melted snow, except at one site (km=0.0007 d⁻¹). The ratio of methylation to demethylation varied between 0.3-1.5, suggesting that the two processes are in balance and that in situ production is unlikely an important net source of MeHg to AOSR snowpacks. pMeHg concentrations increased linearly with distance from the upgraders (R²=0.71, p<0.0001), however, snowpack total particle and pMeHg loadings decreased exponentially over this same distance (R²=0.49, p=0.0002; R²=0.56, p<0.0001). Thus, at near-field sites, total MeHg loadings in snowpacks were high due to high particle loadings, even though particles originating from industrial activities were not MeHg rich compared to those at remote sites. More research is required to identify the industrial sources of snowpack particles in the AOSR.
Responses to chemical and physical stressors are commonly expected among organisms residing near the Athabasca oil sands. Physiological effects have been observed in fishes during field studies; but further effects associated with development are not clear or consistent among species. For instance, data from a fish fence in 2009 show declines in the relative abundances of some species, including Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). In contrast, increases were seen in white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). This divergence suggests incomplete understanding of the status of fishes residing near the oil sands. However, an important challenge limiting understanding is the lack of reliable baseline or reference data. To overcome this challenge, we used iterative normal ranges and a historical data set (electrofishing surveys done from 1987 to 2014) to determine if changes have occurred in fishes captured in the lower Athabasca River. These analyses revealed clear increases in the lengths of white sucker and wal...
Human disturbance can alter predation rates to prey in various ways. Predators can use human disturbance to facilitate hunting, thereby increasing exposure to prey. Conversely, when predators avoid human disturbance and prey do not, prey refugia are generated. Because the direction and magnitude of such effects are not always predictable, it is important to examine if and how predation rates vary with human disturbance. Alberta's Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) is a region of boreal forest characterized by extensive human disturbance and is home to moose (Alces alces) and wolf (Canis lupus) populations. We examined whether the wolf predation rate of moose varies with human disturbance in the AOSR. We compared the distribution of wolf kills of moose to a spatial index of moose density in uplands and wetlands, near and far from rivers, mines and facilities, and at high and low densities of linear features near human habitation. Moose were killed closer to mines and rivers and at lower densities of linear features than expected by random. When compared to the relative availability of habitats, more kills of moose occurred in upland forest than in wetlands. However, when compared to the relative density of moose, kills only increased with decreasing distance to mines and rivers. We conclude that predation rates of moose have increased near human disturbance in AOSR because the mining footprint has removed habitat causing changes to the intensity of wolf use of areas near the boundary of mines. We discuss possibility of sink habitat near mining features and whether that is expected to reduce moose population density across AOSR.
Environmental controls were traditionally considered as sole determinants of community assembly for freshwater bioassessment studies, whereas potential importance of dispersal processes and spatial scale have received limited attention. We conducted a bioassessment of lakes across northeast Alberta, Canada using crustacean zooplankton to develop a framework for evaluating if and how atmospheric emissions from the nearby Athabasca Oil Sands Region could impact their community assemblages. We quantified the effects of environmental gradients and spatially contingent dispersal processes for determining zooplankton community composition of 97 lakes at two spatial scales (regional and sub-regional) using constrained ordination, spatial modeling and variance partitioning techniques. Our findings indicated that effects of both environmental gradients and dispersal processes on species composition were scale-dependent. Zooplankton community composition was significantly correlated to environmental parameters that are directly and indirectly sensitive to industrial deposition including nitrate, sulphate, dissolved organic carbon, base cation, chloride, trace metal concentrations and predation regime, indicating their potential to track future environmental impacts. The relative importance of these environmental predictors varied with spatial scale, yet unraveling the effects of natural environmental heterogeneity vs. industrial deposition on this scale-dependency was not possible due to lack of regional baseline information. Dispersal processes were not important in shaping zooplankton communities at the sub-regional scale, but had limited, yet significant influence on species composition at the regional scale, emphasizing the need for cautious interpretation of broad-scale community patterns. Beyond establishing crucial regional baselines, our study highlights the necessity for explicit incorporation of dispersal effects and spatial scale in bioassessment of lakes across landscapes.
Mountaintop removal coal mining (MTM) is a form of surface mining where ridges and mountain tops are removed with explosives to access underlying coal seams. The crushed rock material is subsequently deposited in headwater valley fills (VF). We examined how this added water storage potential affects streamflow using a paired watershed approach consisting of two sets of mined and unmined watersheds in West Virginia. The mined watersheds exported 7–11% more water than the reference watersheds, primarily due to higher and more sustained baseflows. The mined watersheds exported only ~1/3 of their streamflow during storms, while the reference watersheds exported ~2/3 of their annual water yield during runoff events. Mined watersheds with valley fills appear to store precipitation for considerable periods of time and steadily export this alkaline and saline water even during the dry periods of the year. As a result, MTMVFs in a mixed mined/unmined watershed contributed disproportionately to streamflow during baseflow periods (up to >90% of flow). Because MTMVFs have both elevated summer baseflows and continuously high concentrations of total dissolved solids, their regional impact on water quantity and quality will be most extreme and most widespread during low flow periods.
Several limnological and paleolimnological investigations have linked enhanced atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to nutrient enrichment and increased primary production. The Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northeast Alberta, Canada is a significant source of N emissions, particularly since development intensified during the 1990s, and recent paleolimnological investigations provide evidence of increased lake production in adjacent areas subject to enhanced N deposition. The AOSR, however, has also experienced atmospheric warming since ca. AD 1900, and therefore the relative effects of nutrient deposition and climate changes on lake production remain unclear. We undertook a factorial-design paleolimnological assessment of 16 lakes in northwest Saskatchewan to quantify changes in abundance and species composition of scaled chrysophytes over the past 100 years. Study sites included both N-limited and P-limited lakes within control regions, as well as lakes that receive enhanced N deposition from the AOSR. We hypothesized that a change in algal communities within N-limited AOSR-impacted lakes, without concurrent changes in the other lake groups, would suggest AOSR-derived N as a driver of enhanced primary production. Instead, marked increases in concentrations of scaled chrysophytes, mainly Mallomonas crassisquama, occurred in the recent sediments in cores from all four lake groups (N-limited vs. P-limited, impacted vs. control), suggesting that regional climate change rather than N deposition was the paramount process enhancing chrysophyte production. Because chrysophyte abundances tended to be higher in deep, lower-pH lakes, and chrysophyte time series were fit best by lake-specific generalized additive models, we infer that climate effects may have been mediated by additional catchment and/or lake-specific processes.
Human and ecosystem health concerns for arsenic (As) in the lower Athabasca River downstream of Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) mining (Alberta, Canada) prompted an investigation to determine its forms in surface and groundwater upstream and downstream of industry. Dissolved As species, together with total and particulate As, were used to evaluate the potential bioavailability of As in water as well as to decipher inputs from natural geological processes and ABS mining and upgrading activities. Water samples were collected from the river in October at 13 locations in 2014 and 19 locations in 2015, spanning up to 125 km. Additional samples were collected from groundwater, tributaries and springs. “Dissolved” (<0.45 μm) As was consistently low in the Athabasca River (average 0.37 ± 0.01 and 0.34 ± 0.01 μg L⁻¹ in 2014 and 2015, respectively) as well as tributaries and springs (<1 μg L⁻¹), with As(V) as the predominant form. The average total As concentration was higher in 2014 (12.7 ± 2.8 μg L⁻¹) than 2015 (3.3 ± 0.65 μg L⁻¹) with nearly all As associated with suspended solids (>0.45 μm). In 2014, when total As concentrations were greater, a significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed with thorium in particles > 0.45 μm, suggesting that mineral material is an important source of As. Naturally saline groundwater contained low dissolved As (<2 μg L⁻¹) and did not appear to be a significant source to the river. Arsenic in shallow groundwater near a tailings pond exceeded 50 μg L⁻¹ predominantly as As(III) warranting further investigation.
There are numerous types of trace metals may contained in the soil. Trace metals are the metallic chemical elements that have a relatively high density and it is toxic and poisons at high concentration. The objective of this study is to determine and analyze the amount of trace metals that present in the soil and banana samples around Lante and Kola Shele garden areas in Arba Minch town, Ethiopia, and to determine which trace metals have higher amounts of concentration in Lante and Kola Shele farming surface area and also to compare it with environmental protection agency (EPA) compost standard. Some trace metals under analysis were iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and nickel (Ni) by using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). High level of iron obtained in both Kola Shele and Lante soil, but it has very less or almost null transition effect on to the banana plant growing in these soils.
The extent to which pollution from tar sands industrial activities in northeastern Alberta, Canada affects ecosystem and human health is a matter of growing concern that is exacerbated by uncertainty. In this paper we determine whether physical and ecological changes that result from tar sands industrial activities are detectable. We analyze a diverse set of environmental data on water and sediment chemistry, contaminants in wildlife, air emissions, pollution incidents, traditional ecological observations, human health, and landscape changes from the Athabasca Tar Sands region, Canada. Increases in contaminants in water, sediment, and fishes downstream of industrial sources; significant air emissions and major pollution incidents; and the loss of 65,040 ha of boreal ecosystems are documented. Present levels of some contaminants pose an ecosystem or human health risk. The effects of these pollutants on ecosystem and public health deserve immediate and systematic study. Projected tripling of tar sands activities over the next decade may result in unacceptably large and unforeseen impacts to biodiversity, ecosystem function, and public health. The attention of the world's scientific community is urgently needed.
We show that the oil sands industry releases the 13 elements considered priority pollutants (PPE) under the US Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act, via air and water, to the Athabasca River and its watershed. In the 2008 snowpack, all PPE except selenium were greater near oil sands developments than at more remote sites. Bitumen upgraders and local oil sands development were sources of airborne emissions. Concentrations of mercury, nickel, and thallium in winter and all 13 PPE in summer were greater in tributaries with watersheds more disturbed by development than in less disturbed watersheds. In the Athabasca River during summer, concentrations of all PPE were greater near developed areas than upstream of development. At sites downstream of development and within the Athabasca Delta, concentrations of all PPE except beryllium and selenium remained greater than upstream of development. Concentrations of some PPE at one location in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan were also greater than concentration in the Athabasca River upstream of development. Canada's or Alberta's guidelines for the protection of aquatic life were exceeded for seven PPE-cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc-in melted snow and/or water collected near or downstream of development.
For over a decade, the contribution of oil sands mining and processing to the pollution of the Athabasca River has been controversial. We show that the oil sands development is a greater source of contamination than previously realized. In 2008, within 50 km of oil sands upgrading facilities, the loading to the snowpack of airborne particulates was 11,400 T over 4 months and included 391 kg of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), equivalent to 600 T of bitumen, while 168 kg of dissolved PAC was also deposited. Dissolved PAC concentrations in tributaries to the Athabasca increased from 0.009 microg/L upstream of oil sands development to 0.023 microg/L in winter and to 0.202 microg/L in summer downstream. In the Athabasca, dissolved PAC concentrations were mostly <0.025 microg/L in winter and 0.030 microg/L in summer, except near oil sands upgrading facilities and tailings ponds in winter (0.031-0.083 microg/L) and downstream of new development in summer (0.063-0.135 microg/L). In the Athabasca and its tributaries, development within the past 2 years was related to elevated dissolved PAC concentrations that were likely toxic to fish embryos. In melted snow, dissolved PAC concentrations were up to 4.8 microg/L, thus, spring snowmelt and washout during rain events are important unknowns. These results indicate that major changes are needed to the way that environmental impacts of oil sands development are monitored and managed.
Novel approaches addressing aquatic cumulative effects over broad temporal and spatial scales are required to track changes and assist with sustainable watershed management. Cumulative effects assessment (CEA) requires the assessment of changes due to multiple stressors both spatially and temporally. The province of Alberta, Canada, is currently experiencing significant economic growth as well as increasing awareness of water dependencies. There has been an increasing level of industrial, urban, and other land-use related development (pulp and paper mills, oil sands developments, agriculture, and urban development) within the Athabasca River basin. Much of the historical water quantity and quality data for this basin have not been integrated or analyzed from headwaters to mouth, which affects development of a holistic, watershed-scale CEA. The main objectives of this study were 1) to quantify spatial and temporal changes in water quantity and quality over the entire Athabasca River mainstem across historical (1966–1976) and current day (1996–2006) time periods and 2) to evaluate the significance of any changes relative to existing benchmarks (e.g., water quality guidelines). Data were collected from several federal, provincial, and nongovernment sources. A 14% to 30% decrease in discharge was observed during the low flow period in the second time period in the lower 3 river reaches with the greatest decrease occurring at the mouth of the river. Dissolved Na, sulfate, chloride, and total P concentrations in the second time period were greater than, and in some cases double, the 90th percentiles calculated from the first time period in the lower part of the river. Our results show that significant changes have occurred in both water quantity and quality between the historical and current day Athabasca River basin. It is known that, in addition to climatic changes, rivers which undergo increased agricultural, urban, and industrial development can experience significant changes in water quantity and quality due to increased water use, discharge of effluents, and surface run-off. Using the results from this study, we can begin to quantify dominant natural and man-made stressors affecting the Athabasca River basin as well as place the magnitude of any local changes into an appropriate context relative to trends in temporal and spatial variability.
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of natural oil sands on the early developmental stages of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and to determine whether biochemical responses in this species were similar to native fish caught in the Athabasca Oil Sands area. Early life stage (ELS) sediment toxicity tests were conducted using controls, reference sediments, natural oil sands, and industrially contaminated (wastewater pond) sediments collected from sites along the Athabasca River, Alberta (Canada). Eggs and larvae were observed for mortality, hatching, deformities, growth, and cytochrome P-4501A (CYP1A) activity using immunohistochemistry. E-Nat-, S-Nat-, and wastewater pond sediment-exposed groups showed significant premature hatching, reduced growth, and exposure-dependent increases in ELS mortality and larval malformations relative to controls. The most common larval deformities included edemas (pericardial, yolk sac, and subepidermal), hemorrhages, and spinal defects. Juveniles exposed to oil sands and wastewater pond sediments (96 h) demonstrated significantly increased 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity (30- to 50-fold) as compared to controls. Reference sediment-exposed groups and water controls demonstrated reliable embryo and larval survival, minimal malformations, and negligible CYP1A staining. These observed signs of blue sac disease (ELS mortality, malformations, growth reductions, CYP1A activity induction) may produce deleterious reproductive effects in natural fish populations exposed to oil sands mixtures.
Exposure of the early life stages of fish to oil sands constituents is associated with mortality and larval malformations such as edemas, hemorrhages, and skeletal, craniofacial, and eye defects. In fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) larvae, indices of total eye pathology increased significantly following oil sands exposure. Structural, cytoplasmic, inflammatory, and degenerative eye alterations included poor retinal differentiation, microphthalmia, optic fissures, dysphasic retinas and lenses, inflammatory infiltrates, retinal epithelial lifting, and necrotic foci. Cytochrome P-4501A (CYP1A) was expressed in ocular (retina, lens) and kidney endothelial tissues, as indicated by immunohistochemistry. Although the kinetics of exposure-response curves for mortality and CYP1A expression were similar in both species, species differences in the magnitude and sensitivity of the responses were observed. Oil sands were twofold more toxic to fathead minnows (TPAH LC50 = 47-330 microg/g) than to white sucker (TPAH LC50 = 95-860 microg/g) larvae. For both species, larval mortality was significantly related to CYP1A protein concentrations in kidneys, and severity of these effects rose with oil sands exposure. The relationships among eye damage, mortality, and CYP1A indices warrants further investigation, and may lead to the use of CYP1A induction as an indicator of adverse effects rather than just contaminant exposure.
Oil Sands Regional Aquatic Monitoring Program (RAMP) Scientific Peer Review of the Five Year Report
- G B Ayles
- GB Ayles