Fugitive Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from a Tailings Pond in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta

• Main Authors: Samar G. Moussa (1702951), Ralf M. Staebler (2235019), Yuan You (1506436), Amy Leithead (2526214), Meguel A. Yousif (11437300), Peter Brickell (11437303), James Beck (3286095), Zhimei Jiang (9641368), John Liggio (1646548), Shao-Meng Li (1646551), Sumi N. Wren (1279566), Jeffrey R. Brook (9641374), Andrea Darlington (4665424), Stewart G. Cober (9641371)
• Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1753
• Subjects: Biophysics; Pharmacology; Ecology; Sociology; Science Policy; Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified; volatile organic compounds; voc pollution events; nearby first nations; chemical mass balance; total voc emissions; vocs including alkanes; total fugitive emissions; oil sands region; cmb results indicate; alberta tailings ponds; suncor pond 2; total mass; results indicate; oil sands; fugitive emissions; tailings ponds; tailings pond; pond 2; 2 higher; vocs measured; suncor ’; receptor model; micrometeorological methods; metis community; knowledge gap; fort mckay; flux tower; field study; estimate emissions; emission source; containing organics; Canada; Tower The; First Nations; Metis
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c02325.s001

Tailings ponds in the oil sands (OS) region in Alberta, Canada, have been associated with fugitive emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants to the atmosphere. However, the contribution of tailings ponds to the total fugitive emissions of VOCs from OS operations remains uncertain. To address this knowledge gap, a field study was conducted in the summer of 2017 at Suncor’s Pond 2/3 to estimate emissions of a suite of pollutants including 68 VOCs using a combination of micrometeorological methods and measurements from a flux tower. The results indicate that in 2017, Pond 2/3 was an emission source of 3322 ± 727 tons of VOCs including alkanes, aromatics, and oxygenated and sulfur-containing organics. While the total VOC emissions were approximately a factor of 2 higher than those reported by Suncor, the individual VOC species emissions varied by up to a factor of 12. A chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model was used to estimate the contribution of the tailings pond to VOC pollution events in a nearby First Nations and Metis community in Fort McKay. CMB results indicate that Suncor Pond 2/3 contributed up to 57% to the total mass of VOCs measured at Fort McKay, reinforcing the importance of accurate VOC emission estimation methods for tailings ponds.