Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in caribou, moose, and wolf scat samples from three areas of the Alberta oil sands (original) (raw)
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Environmental geochemistry and health, 2016
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are released to the environment from oil sands operations and from natural sources in Alberta, Canada. Concentrations of 16 USEPA priority PAHs were measured in tissues of fishes collected from three locations on the Athabasca River in Alberta and two downstream locations on the Slave River in the Northwest Territories, Canada. A total of 425 individual fish were collected including 89 goldeye (Hiodon alosoides), 93 whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), 104 northern pike/jackfish (Esox lucius), 96 walleye (Sander vitreus) and 43 burbot/loche mariah/mariah (Lota lota). Fish were sampled during the summer and fall of 2011 and spring of 2012. Dorsal muscle of fishes from upstream reaches of the Athabasca River, close to oil sands extraction and upgrading activities, contained greater concentrations of individual PAHs than concentrations in muscle of fishes from further downstream in the Slave River. Concentrations of the sum of USEPA indicator PAHs...
Environmental science & technology, 2016
Oil sands mining has been linked to increasing atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR), but known sources cannot explain the quantity of PAHs in environmental samples. PAHs were measured in living Sphagnum moss (24 sites, n=68), in sectioned peat cores (4 sites, n=161), and snow (7 sites, n=19) from ombrotrophic bogs in the AOSR. Prospective source samples were also analyzed, including petroleum coke (petcoke, from both delayed and fluid coking), fine tailings, oil sands ore and naturally exposed bitumen. Average PAH concentrations in near-field moss (199 ng/g, n=11) were significantly higher (p=0.035) than in far-field moss (118 ng/g, n=13), and increasing temporal trends were detected in 3 peat cores collected closest to industrial activity. A chemical mass balance model estimated that delayed petcoke was the major source of PAHs to living moss, and among three peat cores the contribution to PAHs from delayed petco...
Pah Measurements in Air in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
Environmental science & technology, 2015
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) measurements were conducted by Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) at four community ambient Air quality Monitoring Stations (AMS) in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in Northeastern Alberta, Canada. The 2012 and 2013 mean concentrations of a subset of the 22 PAH species were 9.5, 8.4, 8.8 and 32 ng m(-3) at AMS 1 (Fort McKay), AMS 6 (residential Fort McMurray), AMS 7 (downtown Fort McMurray) and AMS 14 (Anzac), respectively. The average PAH concentrations in Fort McKay and Fort McMurray were in the range of rural and semirural areas but peak values reflect an industrial emission influence. At these stations PAHs were generally associated with NO, NO2, PM2.5, and SO2, indicating the emissions from combustion sources such as industrial stacks, vehicles, residential heating and forest fires whereas the PAH concentrations at AMS 14 (~35 km south of Fort McMurray) were more characteristic of urban areas with a unique pattern: eight of...
Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 2016
Oil sands activities north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, have intensified in recent years with a concomitant debate as to their environmental impacts. The Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program and its successor, the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM), are the primary aquatic programs monitoring this industry. Here we examine sediment data (collected by Ekman grabs) to investigate trends and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), supplementing these data with sediment core studies. Total PAH (ΣPAH) concentrations were highest at Shipyard Lake (6038 ± 2679 ng/g) in the development center and lower at Isadore's Lake (1660 ± 777 ng/g) to the north; both lakes are in the Athabasca River Valley and lie below the developments. ΣPAH concentrations were lower (622-930 ng/g) in upland lakes (Kearl, McClelland) located further away from the developments. ΣPAH concentrations increased at Shipyard Lake (2001-2014) and the Ells River mouth (1998-...