Oil sands development contributes polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Athabasca River and its tributaries

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2009-12, Vol.106 (52), p.22346-22351
• Main Authors: Kelly, Erin N, Short, Jeffrey W, Schindler, David W, Hodson, Peter V, Ma, Mingsheng, Kwan, Alvin K, Fortin, Barbra L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alberta; Animals; Atrial premature complexes; Biological Sciences; Bitumens; Contamination; Environmental impact; Fishes - embryology; Fresh Water - analysis; Fuel Oils - analysis; Fuel Oils - toxicity; Oil sands; Particulate matter; Pollution; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - toxicity; River deltas; Rivers; Seasons; Silicon Dioxide; Snow - chemistry; Streams; Summer; Tributaries; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Winter
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0912050106

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