Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased in northern Alberta, Canada, due to industrial development in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). However, the sources, summertime deposition fluxes and associated spatial patterns are poorly characterized, and the ma...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1114526 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 |
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ftunivveronairis:oai:iris.univr.it:11562/1114526 2024-04-21T08:02:08+00:00 Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. 2023 STAMPA https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1114526 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001125151100001 volume:182 firstpage:1 lastpage:11 numberofpages:11 journal:ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1114526 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85178054515 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Sphagnum moss atmospheric deposition chemical mass balance receptor model fine tailings petroleum coke info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2023 ftunivveronairis https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 2024-03-25T16:23:58Z Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased in northern Alberta, Canada, due to industrial development in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). However, the sources, summertime deposition fluxes and associated spatial patterns are poorly characterized, and the magnitude of contamination has not been directly contrasted with comparable measurements around large Canadian cities. PAHs were measured in Sphagnum moss collected from 30 bogs in the AOSR and compared with reference moss collected from various remote, rural and near-urban sites in Alberta and Ontario. At all 39 locations, strong correlations between depositional fluxes of PAHs and accumulation rates of ash (n = 117, r = 0.877, p < 0.001) implied that the main source of PAHs to moss was atmospheric deposition of particles. Average PAH concentrations at near-field AOSR sites (mean [SD], 62.4 [24.3] ng g-1) were significantly higher than at far-field AOSR sites (44.9 [20.8] ng g-1; p = 0.038) or the 7 reference sites in Alberta (20.6 [3.5] ng g-1; p < 0.001). In fact, average PAH concentrations across the entire AOSR (7,850 km2) were approximately twice as high as in London, ONT, or near petroleum upgrading and major traffic corridors in Edmonton, AB. A chemical mass balance model estimated that both delayed petcoke (33% of PAHs) and fine tailings (38% of PAHs) were the major sources of PAHs in the AOSR. Over the 2015 summer growing season, we estimate that 101 - 110 kg of PAHs (on 14,300 - 17,300 tonnes of PAH-containing dusts) were deposited to the AOSR within a 50 km radius of surface mining. Given that the highest PAH deposition was to the northern quadrant of the AOSR, which includes the First Nations community of Fort MacKay, further dust control measures should be considered to protect human and environmental health in the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Università degli Studi di Verona: Catalogo dei Prodotti della Ricerca (IRIS) Environment International 182 108335 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Università degli Studi di Verona: Catalogo dei Prodotti della Ricerca (IRIS) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivveronairis |
language |
English |
topic |
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Sphagnum moss atmospheric deposition chemical mass balance receptor model fine tailings petroleum coke |
spellingShingle |
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Sphagnum moss atmospheric deposition chemical mass balance receptor model fine tailings petroleum coke Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
topic_facet |
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Sphagnum moss atmospheric deposition chemical mass balance receptor model fine tailings petroleum coke |
description |
Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased in northern Alberta, Canada, due to industrial development in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). However, the sources, summertime deposition fluxes and associated spatial patterns are poorly characterized, and the magnitude of contamination has not been directly contrasted with comparable measurements around large Canadian cities. PAHs were measured in Sphagnum moss collected from 30 bogs in the AOSR and compared with reference moss collected from various remote, rural and near-urban sites in Alberta and Ontario. At all 39 locations, strong correlations between depositional fluxes of PAHs and accumulation rates of ash (n = 117, r = 0.877, p < 0.001) implied that the main source of PAHs to moss was atmospheric deposition of particles. Average PAH concentrations at near-field AOSR sites (mean [SD], 62.4 [24.3] ng g-1) were significantly higher than at far-field AOSR sites (44.9 [20.8] ng g-1; p = 0.038) or the 7 reference sites in Alberta (20.6 [3.5] ng g-1; p < 0.001). In fact, average PAH concentrations across the entire AOSR (7,850 km2) were approximately twice as high as in London, ONT, or near petroleum upgrading and major traffic corridors in Edmonton, AB. A chemical mass balance model estimated that both delayed petcoke (33% of PAHs) and fine tailings (38% of PAHs) were the major sources of PAHs in the AOSR. Over the 2015 summer growing season, we estimate that 101 - 110 kg of PAHs (on 14,300 - 17,300 tonnes of PAH-containing dusts) were deposited to the AOSR within a 50 km radius of surface mining. Given that the highest PAH deposition was to the northern quadrant of the AOSR, which includes the First Nations community of Fort MacKay, further dust control measures should be considered to protect human and environmental health in the region. |
author2 |
Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. |
author_facet |
Zhang, Yifeng Shotyk, William Pelletier, Rick Zaccone, Claudio Noernberg, Tommy Mullan-Boudreau, Gillian Martin, Jonathan W. |
author_sort |
Zhang, Yifeng |
title |
Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
title_short |
Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
title_full |
Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
title_fullStr |
Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sources, Spatial-Distributions and Fluxes of PAH-Contaminated Dusts in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region |
title_sort |
sources, spatial-distributions and fluxes of pah-contaminated dusts in the athabasca oil sands region |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1114526 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001125151100001 volume:182 firstpage:1 lastpage:11 numberofpages:11 journal:ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1114526 doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85178054515 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108335 |
container_title |
Environment International |
container_volume |
182 |
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108335 |
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1796942338994470912 |