Fish tainting in the Alberta oil sands region: a review of current knowledge

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle L. Tolton ◽  
Rozlyn F. Young ◽  
Wendy V. Wismer ◽  
Phillip M. Fedorak
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Oil Sands Mining ◽  
The Media ◽  
Northeastern Alberta ◽  
Tailings Ponds

The Athabasca oil sands in northeastern Alberta, Canada represent the second largest petroleum reserve in the world. The process of extracting bitumen from the oil sands uses huge volumes of water, drawn from sources in the Athabasca River basin, and numerous mining companies operate adjacent to the river. Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) from open pit mining is placed in large settling basins or tailings ponds that have the potential to leak. The goal is to eventually reclaim the tailings ponds to become functional ecosystems. Natural outcrops of oil sands in contact with surface waters also occur, and there are anecdotal reports in the media that fish caught near the Athabasca oil sands have an unusual flavor or odor. Several analytical and sensory studies have been undertaken to address this issue. Two major questions related to fish tainting arise: (1) Do the current oil sands mining, extraction and upgrading processes cause fish tainting in surrounding waters? (2) What is the tainting potential for fish that become established in reclaimed waters in the future? This review examines the types of compounds in OSPW that might contribute to tainting and the sensory science literature available related to fish tainting and the oil sands.

scholarly journals Quantification of methane sources in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta by aircraft mass balance

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 7361-7378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabour Baray ◽  
Andrea Darlington ◽  
Mark Gordon ◽  
Katherine L. Hayden ◽  
Amy Leithead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region ◽  
Major Surface ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Abstract. Aircraft-based measurements of methane (CH4) and other air pollutants in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) were made during a summer intensive field campaign between 13 August and 7 September 2013 in support of the Joint Canada–Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring. Chemical signatures were used to identify CH4 sources from tailings ponds (BTEX VOCs), open pit surface mines (NOy and rBC) and elevated plumes from bitumen upgrading facilities (SO2 and NOy). Emission rates of CH4 were determined for the five primary surface mining facilities in the region using two mass-balance methods. Emission rates from source categories within each facility were estimated when plumes from the sources were spatially separable. Tailings ponds accounted for 45 % of total CH4 emissions measured from the major surface mining facilities in the region, while emissions from operations in the open pit mines accounted for ∼ 50 %. The average open pit surface mining emission rates ranged from 1.2 to 2.8 t of CH4 h−1 for different facilities in the AOSR. Amongst the 19 tailings ponds, Mildred Lake Settling Basin, the oldest pond in the region, was found to be responsible for the majority of tailings ponds emissions of CH4 (> 70 %). The sum of measured emission rates of CH4 from the five major facilities, 19.2 ± 1.1 t CH4 h−1, was similar to a single mass-balance determination of CH4 from all major sources in the AOSR determined from a single flight downwind of the facilities, 23.7 ± 3.7 t CH4 h−1. The measured hourly CH4 emission rate from all facilities in the AOSR is 48 ± 8 % higher than that extracted for 2013 from the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, a legislated facility-reported emissions inventory, converted to hourly units. The measured emissions correspond to an emissions rate of 0.17 ± 0.01 Tg CH4 yr−1 if the emissions are assumed as temporally constant, which is an uncertain assumption. The emission rates reported here are relevant for the summer season. In the future, effort should be devoted to measurements in different seasons to further our understanding of the seasonal parameters impacting fugitive emissions of CH4 and to allow for better estimates of annual emissions and year-to-year variability.

scholarly journals Moose refugia from predation by wolves near mines in the Athabasca oil sands

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Neilson ◽  
Stan Boutin
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Model ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Areas near human disturbance may become prey refugia when predators avoid human activities more than their prey leading to decreased predation rates and/or increased prey population growth. Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) is home to moose (Alces alces) and wolf (Canis lupus) populations and is characterized by extensive human disturbance including open pit mines, tailings ponds and industrial facilities. We examined the extent to which moose could be released from predation near Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands due to wolf avoidance of mining infrastructure. Using moose and wolves GPS telemetry, we compared the use of natural habitats and distance to mining features to the availability of these variables. We split mining features into high human-use facilities and low human-use pit mines and tailings ponds. We binned distance to mining features variables into distance buffers covering the range of moose home range diameters resulting in buffers of < 2.5 km, 2.5-5 km and 5-10 km. Moose models included an interaction between distance to mining features buffers and the distribution of wolves to assess whether moose exposure to wolves varies with proximity to human activity. We compared a habitat model including forest cover type, streams and rivers to a disturbance model using AIC. The model fitting habitat and distance to facilities was top-ranked for both species. Moose selection for areas near facilities was higher than wolves. Wolves avoided areas within 10 and 5 km of facilities but exhibited an equivocal response within 2.5 km. Moose exposure to wolves increased with distance to mines indicating that use of areas in proximity to human disturbance releases moose from predation by wolves. Human induced prey refugia could increase moose population growth and increase human-moose conflict. Additionally, moose dispersal out of the refuge areas could produce subsequent increases in the wolf population.

scholarly journals Principal component analysis of summertime ground site measurements in the Athabasca oil sands: Sources of IVOCs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis W. Tokarek ◽  
Charles A. Odame-Ankrah ◽  
Jennifer A. Huo ◽  
Robert McLaren ◽  
Alex K. Y. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Mass Spectrometer ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands

Abstract. In this paper, measurements of air pollutants made at a ground site near Fort McKay in the Athabasca oil sands region as part of a multi-platform campaign in the summer of 2013 are presented. The observations included measurements of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by a gas chromatograph &amp;ndash ion trap mass spectrometer (GC-ITMS). This instrument observed a large, analytically unresolved hydrocarbon peak (with retention index between 1100 and 1700) associated with intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs). However, the activities or processes that contribute to the release of these IVOCs in the oil sands region remain unclear. Principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation was applied to elucidate major source types impacting the sampling site in the summer of 2013. The analysis included 28 variables, including concentrations of total odd nitrogen (NOy), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), total reduced sulfur compounds (TRS), speciated monoterpenes (including α- and β-pinene and limonene), particle volume calculated from measured size distributions of particles less than 10 µm and 1 µm in diameter (PM10-1 and PM1), particle-surface bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAH), and aerosol mass spectrometer composition measurements, including refractory black carbon (rBC) and organic aerosol components. The PCA was complemented by bivariate polar plots showing the joint wind speed and direction dependence of air pollutant concentrations to illustrate the spatial distribution of sources in the area. Using the 95 % cumulative percentage of variance criterion, ten components were identified and categorized by source type. These included emissions by wet tailings ponds, vegetation, open pit mining operations, upgrader facilities, and surface dust. Three components correlated with IVOCs, with the largest associated with surface mining and is likely caused by the unearthing and processing of raw bitumen.

scholarly journals Moose refugia from predation by wolves near mines in the Athabasca oil sands

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Neilson ◽  
Stan Boutin
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Model ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Areas near human disturbance may become prey refugia when predators avoid human activities more than their prey leading to decreased predation rates and/or increased prey population growth. Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) is home to moose (Alces alces) and wolf (Canis lupus) populations and is characterized by extensive human disturbance including open pit mines, tailings ponds and industrial facilities. We examined the extent to which moose could be released from predation near Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands due to wolf avoidance of mining infrastructure. Using moose and wolves GPS telemetry, we compared the use of natural habitats and distance to mining features to the availability of these variables. We split mining features into high human-use facilities and low human-use pit mines and tailings ponds. We binned distance to mining features variables into distance buffers covering the range of moose home range diameters resulting in buffers of < 2.5 km, 2.5-5 km and 5-10 km. Moose models included an interaction between distance to mining features buffers and the distribution of wolves to assess whether moose exposure to wolves varies with proximity to human activity. We compared a habitat model including forest cover type, streams and rivers to a disturbance model using AIC. The model fitting habitat and distance to facilities was top-ranked for both species. Moose selection for areas near facilities was higher than wolves. Wolves avoided areas within 10 and 5 km of facilities but exhibited an equivocal response within 2.5 km. Moose exposure to wolves increased with distance to mines indicating that use of areas in proximity to human disturbance releases moose from predation by wolves. Human induced prey refugia could increase moose population growth and increase human-moose conflict. Additionally, moose dispersal out of the refuge areas could produce subsequent increases in the wolf population.

scholarly journals Temperature, Precipitation, and Lightning Modification in the Vicinity of the Athabasca Oil Sands

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (32) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Brown ◽  
Gerhard W. Reuter ◽  
Thomas K. Flesch
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Open Pit Mines ◽  
Lightning Strikes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Abstract The Athabasca oil sands development in northeast Alberta, Canada, has disturbed more than 500 km2 of boreal forest through surface mining and tailings ponds development. In this paper, the authors compare the time series of temperatures and precipitation measured over oil sands and non–oil sands locations from 1994 to 2010. In addition, they analyzed the distribution of lightning strikes from 1999 to 2010. The oil sands development has not affected the number of lightning strikes or precipitation amounts but has affected the temperature regime. Over the past 17 years, the summer overnight minimum temperatures near the oil sands have increased by about 1.2°C compared to the regional average. The authors speculate that this is caused by a combination of the industrial addition of waste heat to the atmosphere above the oil sands and changing the surface type from boreal forest to open pit mines with tailings ponds.

scholarly journals Principal component analysis of summertime ground site measurements in the Athabasca oil sands with a focus on analytically unresolved intermediate-volatility organic compounds

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 17819-17841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis W. Tokarek ◽  
Charles A. Odame-Ankrah ◽  
Jennifer A. Huo ◽  
Robert McLaren ◽  
Alex K. Y. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Mass Spectrometer ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Open Pit Mining ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands

Abstract. In this paper, measurements of air pollutants made at a ground site near Fort McKay in the Athabasca oil sands region as part of a multi-platform campaign in the summer of 2013 are presented. The observations included measurements of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by a gas chromatograph–ion trap mass spectrometer (GC-ITMS). This instrument observed a large, analytically unresolved hydrocarbon peak (with a retention index between 1100 and 1700) associated with intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs). However, the activities or processes that contribute to the release of these IVOCs in the oil sands region remain unclear. Principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was applied to elucidate major source types impacting the sampling site in the summer of 2013. The analysis included 28 variables, including concentrations of total odd nitrogen (NOy), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), total reduced-sulfur compounds (TRSs), speciated monoterpenes (including α- and β-pinene and limonene), particle volume calculated from measured size distributions of particles less than 10 and 1 µm in diameter (PM10−1 and PM1), particle-surface-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pPAHs), and aerosol mass spectrometer composition measurements, including refractory black carbon (rBC) and organic aerosol components. The PCA was complemented by bivariate polar plots showing the joint wind speed and direction dependence of air pollutant concentrations to illustrate the spatial distribution of sources in the area. Using the 95 % cumulative percentage of variance criterion, 10 components were identified and categorized by source type. These included emissions by wet tailing ponds, vegetation, open pit mining operations, upgrader facilities, and surface dust. Three components correlated with IVOCs, with the largest associated with surface mining and likely caused by the unearthing and processing of raw bitumen.

scholarly journals Quantification of Methane Sources in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta by Aircraft Mass-Balance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabour Baray ◽  
Andrea Darlington ◽  
Mark Gordon ◽  
Katherine L. Hayden ◽  
Amy Leithead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands Region ◽  
Major Surface ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Abstract. Aircraft-based measurements of methane (CH4) and other air pollutants in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) were made during a summer intensive field campaign between August 13 and September 7 2013, in support of the Joint Canada–Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring. Chemical signatures were used to identify CH4 sources from tailings ponds (BTEX VOC's), open-pit surface mines (NOy and rBC) and elevated plumes from bitumen upgrading facilities (SO2 and NOy). Emission rates of CH4 were determined for the five primary surface mining facilities in the region using two mass balance methods. Emission rates from source categories within each facility were estimated when plumes from the sources were spatially separable. Tailings ponds accounted for 45 % of total CH4 emissions measured from the major surface mining facilities in the region while emissions from operations in the open pit mines accounted for ~ 50 %. The average open pit surface mining emission rates ranged from 1.2 to 2.8 tonnes of CH4 hr−1 for different facilities in the AOSR. Amongst the 19 tailings ponds, Mildred Lake Settling Basin, the oldest pond in the region, was found to be responsible for the majority of tailings ponds emissions of CH4 (> 70 %). The sum of measured emission rates of CH4 from the five major facilities, 19.2 ± 1.1 tonnes CH4 hr−1, was similar to a single mass balance determination of CH4 from all major sources in the AOSR determined from a single flight downwind of the facilities, 23.7 ± 3.7 tonnes CH4 hr−1. The measured hourly CH4 emission rate from all facilities in the AOSR is 48 ± 8 % higher than that extracted for 2013 from the Canadian Green House Gas Reporting Program, a legislated facility-reported Emissions Inventory, converted to hourly units. The measured emissions correspond to an emissions rate of 0.17 ± 0.01 Tg CH4 yr−1, if the emissions are assumed temporally constant, an uncertain assumption. The emission rates reported here are relevant for the summer season. In future, effort should be devoted to measurements in different seasons to further our understanding of seasonal parameters impacting fugitive emissions of CH4 and to allow better estimates of annual emissions and year to year variability.

scholarly journals Predicting Bird Oiling Events at Oil Sands Tailings Ponds and Assessing the Importance of Alternate Waterbodies for Waterfowl: a Preliminary Assessment

2006 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Ronconi
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Spring Migration ◽  
Stopover Sites ◽  
Rainy Weather ◽  
Oil Sands Mining ◽  
Northeastern Alberta ◽  
Tailings Ponds

Tailings ponds are an integral part of oil sands mining development in northeastern Alberta, but waterfowl and shorebirds often land in these ponds during spring migration where they may become covered with oil. For decades, managers have developed and implemented methods for deterring birds from landing in these ponds, yet no deterrent strategy is fully effective. Therefore, to enhance deterrence strategies, it will be important to understand the environmental conditions that influence bird use of tailings ponds. This study quantified waterfowl flights over, and use of, tailings ponds and compared this use to waterfowl activity at natural waterbodies in the region over a single spring migration period. Results suggest that waterfowl are most likely to land on tailings ponds before lakes have thawed, after which migratory ducks appeared mainly to use natural waterbodies for migratory stopover sites. Very high numbers of waterfowl were observed on one waterbody, Kearl Lake, suggesting that this lake may be of greater importance to spring staging waterfowl than previously thought. A small sample of birds oiled at tailings ponds were examined in relation to spring weather conditions. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the probability of birds being oiled tended to increase with precipitation levels. Results of this study suggest that (1) preservation of natural waterbodies may play an important role in minimizing bird use of tailings ponds, and (2) future bird deterrence efforts should especially aim to deter birds during rainy weather conditions when birds may be more likely to become oiled. These results were from a small sample size, are preliminary in nature, and should be interpreted with caution. A concerted and careful effort to collect and thoroughly analyze long-term records of oiled birds may reveal important environmental effects predicting bird oiling events.

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