Oil sands development contributes polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Athabasca River and its tributaries
- 29 December 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 106 (52), 22346-22351
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0912050106
Abstract
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 μg/L upstream of oil sands development to 0.023 μg/L in winter and to 0.202 μg/L in summer downstream. In the Athabasca, dissolved PAC concentrations were mostly <0.025 μg/L in winter and 0.030 μg/L in summer, except near oil sands upgrading facilities and tailings ponds in winter (0.031–0.083 μg/L) and downstream of new development in summer (0.063–0.135 μg/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 μg/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.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Organic contaminant amplification during snowmeltWater Research, 2008
- CYP1A Induction and Blue Sac Disease in Early Life Stages of White Suckers (Catostomus commersoni) Exposed to Oil SandsJournal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2006
- Assessment of the toxicity of mixtures of copper, 9,10‐phenanthrenequinone, and phenanthrene to Daphnia magna: Evidence for a reactive oxygen mechanismEnvironmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2006
- Defects in cardiac function precede morphological abnormalities in fish embryos exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsToxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2004
- Sources and Significance of Alkane and PAH Hydrocarbons in Canadian Arctic RiversEstuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2002
- Characterizing sediment sources and natural hydrocarbon inputs in the lower Athabasca River, CanadaJournal of Environmental Engineering and Science, 2002
- PAH deposition to snow surfaceEnvironmental Science and Pollution Research, 2001
- Sensitivity of fish embryos to weathered crude oil: Part I. Low‐level exposure during incubation causes malformations, genetic damage, and mortality in larval pacific herring (Clupea pallasi)Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1999
- Predictive models for photoinduced acute toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to Daphnia magna, strauss (cladocera, crustacea)Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1987
- Poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Recent lake sediments—II. Compounds derived from biogenic precursors during early diagenesisGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1980