Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta?
The extent to which Alberta oil sands mining and upgrading operations have enhanced delivery of bitumen-derived contaminants via the Athabasca River and atmosphere to the Peace-Athabasca Delta (200 km to the north) is a pivotal question that has generated national and international concern. Accounts...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f16b33d7cdfd4d0984af999f507ac014 2023-05-15T15:26:01+02:00 Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? Roland I Hall Brent B Wolfe Johan A Wiklund Thomas W D Edwards Andrea J Farwell D George Dixon 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 https://doaj.org/article/f16b33d7cdfd4d0984af999f507ac014 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3458813?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 https://doaj.org/article/f16b33d7cdfd4d0984af999f507ac014 PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e46089 (2012) Medicine R Science Q article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 2022-12-31T06:14:48Z The extent to which Alberta oil sands mining and upgrading operations have enhanced delivery of bitumen-derived contaminants via the Athabasca River and atmosphere to the Peace-Athabasca Delta (200 km to the north) is a pivotal question that has generated national and international concern. Accounts of rare health disorders in residents of Fort Chipewyan and deformed fish in downstream ecosystems provided impetus for several recent expert-panel assessments regarding the societal and environmental consequences of this multi-billion-dollar industry. Deciphering relative contributions of natural versus industrial processes on downstream supply of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) has been identified as a critical knowledge gap. But, this remains a formidable scientific challenge because loading from natural processes remains unknown. And, industrial activity occurs in the same locations as the natural bitumen deposits, which potentially confounds contemporary upstream-downstream comparisons of contaminant levels.Based on analyses of lake sediment cores, we provide evidence that the Athabasca Delta has been a natural repository of PACs carried by the Athabasca River for at least the past two centuries. We detect no measureable increase in the concentration and proportion of river-transported bitumen-associated indicator PACs in sediments deposited in a flood-prone lake since onset of oil sands development. Results also reveal no evidence that industrial activity has contributed measurably to sedimentary concentration of PACs supplied by atmospheric transport.Findings suggest that natural erosion of exposed bitumen in banks of the Athabasca River and its tributaries is a major process delivering PACs to the Athabasca Delta, and the spring freshet is a key period for contaminant mobilization and transport. This baseline environmental information is essential for informed management of natural resources and human-health concerns by provincial and federal regulatory agencies and industry, and for designing effective ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Athabasca River Chipewyan Fort Chipewyan Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Athabasca River Fort Chipewyan ENVELOPE(-111.121,-111.121,58.722,58.722) Peace-Athabasca Delta ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) PLoS ONE 7 9 e46089 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Roland I Hall Brent B Wolfe Johan A Wiklund Thomas W D Edwards Andrea J Farwell D George Dixon Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
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Medicine R Science Q |
description |
The extent to which Alberta oil sands mining and upgrading operations have enhanced delivery of bitumen-derived contaminants via the Athabasca River and atmosphere to the Peace-Athabasca Delta (200 km to the north) is a pivotal question that has generated national and international concern. Accounts of rare health disorders in residents of Fort Chipewyan and deformed fish in downstream ecosystems provided impetus for several recent expert-panel assessments regarding the societal and environmental consequences of this multi-billion-dollar industry. Deciphering relative contributions of natural versus industrial processes on downstream supply of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) has been identified as a critical knowledge gap. But, this remains a formidable scientific challenge because loading from natural processes remains unknown. And, industrial activity occurs in the same locations as the natural bitumen deposits, which potentially confounds contemporary upstream-downstream comparisons of contaminant levels.Based on analyses of lake sediment cores, we provide evidence that the Athabasca Delta has been a natural repository of PACs carried by the Athabasca River for at least the past two centuries. We detect no measureable increase in the concentration and proportion of river-transported bitumen-associated indicator PACs in sediments deposited in a flood-prone lake since onset of oil sands development. Results also reveal no evidence that industrial activity has contributed measurably to sedimentary concentration of PACs supplied by atmospheric transport.Findings suggest that natural erosion of exposed bitumen in banks of the Athabasca River and its tributaries is a major process delivering PACs to the Athabasca Delta, and the spring freshet is a key period for contaminant mobilization and transport. This baseline environmental information is essential for informed management of natural resources and human-health concerns by provincial and federal regulatory agencies and industry, and for designing effective ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Roland I Hall Brent B Wolfe Johan A Wiklund Thomas W D Edwards Andrea J Farwell D George Dixon |
author_facet |
Roland I Hall Brent B Wolfe Johan A Wiklund Thomas W D Edwards Andrea J Farwell D George Dixon |
author_sort |
Roland I Hall |
title |
Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
title_short |
Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
title_full |
Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
title_fullStr |
Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Has Alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta? |
title_sort |
has alberta oil sands development altered delivery of polycyclic aromatic compounds to the peace-athabasca delta? |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 https://doaj.org/article/f16b33d7cdfd4d0984af999f507ac014 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-111.121,-111.121,58.722,58.722) ENVELOPE(-111.502,-111.502,58.667,58.667) |
geographic |
Athabasca River Fort Chipewyan Peace-Athabasca Delta |
geographic_facet |
Athabasca River Fort Chipewyan Peace-Athabasca Delta |
genre |
Athabasca River Chipewyan Fort Chipewyan |
genre_facet |
Athabasca River Chipewyan Fort Chipewyan |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e46089 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3458813?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 https://doaj.org/article/f16b33d7cdfd4d0984af999f507ac014 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046089 |
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PLoS ONE |
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7 |
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e46089 |
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