Advances in science and applications of air pollution monitoring: A case study on oil sands monitoring targeting ecosystem protection

Abstract

The potential environmental impact of air pollutants emitted from the oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada, has received considerable attention. The mining and processing of bitumen to produce synthetic crude oil, and the waste products associated with this activity, lead to significant emissions of gaseous and particle air pollutants. Deposition of pollutants occurs locally (i.e., near the sources) and also potentially at distances downwind, depending upon each pollutant's chemical and physical properties and meteorological conditions. The Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSM) was initiated in 2012 by the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta to enhance or improve monitoring of pollutants and their potential impacts. In support of JOSM, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) undertook a significant research effort via three components: the Air, Water, and Wildlife components, which were implemented to better estimate baseline conditions related to levels of pollutants in the air and water, amounts of deposition, and exposures experienced by the biota. The criteria air contaminants (e.g., nitrogen oxides [NO x ], sulfur dioxide [SO 2 ], volatile organic compounds [VOCs], particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm [PM 2.5 ]) and their secondary atmospheric products were of interest, as well as toxic compounds, particularly polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), trace metals, and mercury (Hg). This critical review discusses the challenges of assessing ecosystem impacts and summarizes the major results of these efforts through approximately 2018. Focus is on the emissions to the air and the findings from the Air Component of the ECCC research and linkages to observations of contaminant levels in the surface waters in the region, in aquatic species, as well as in terrestrial and avian species. The existing evidence of impact on these species is briefly discussed, as is the potential for some of them to serve as sentinel species for the ongoing monitoring needed to better understand potential effects, their potential causes, and to detect future changes. Quantification of the atmospheric emissions of multiple pollutants needs to be improved, as does an understanding of the processes influencing fugitive emissions and local and regional deposition patterns. The influence of multiple stressors on biota exposure and response, from natural bitumen and forest fires to climate change, complicates the current ability to attribute effects to air emissions from the industry. However, there is growing evidence of the impact of current levels of PACs on some species, pointing to the need to improve the ability to predict PAC exposures and the key emission source involved. Although this critical review attempts to integrate some of the findings across the components, in terms of ECCC activities, increased coordination or integration of air, water, and wildlife research would enhance deeper scientific understanding. Improved understanding is needed in order to guide the development of longterm mon...

Improving Insights on Air Pollutant Mixtures and Their Origins by Enhancing Local Monitoring in an Area of Intensive Resource Development

“…Oil Sands (OS) development surrounds Fort McKay (FM) and over the past few decades, mining and upgrading of the extensive bitumen resource has increased and with it the potential for detrimental health and environmental effects. 2 This includes air quality impacts on FM, 3 such as visible plumes from numerous stacks, frequent odor events, 4 and dust. Due to regulatory requirements and concerns raised by residents (e.g., refs 5 and 6), in 1983 a routine air quality monitoring network was established for the community and the OS region, 7 operated by the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA).…”

Evaluating Lower Athabasca River Sediment Metal Concentrations from Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring Programs Using Predevelopment Baselines

“…Monitoring programs that have succeeded RAMP, including the Canada-Alberta Joint Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSM, 2012–2014) and the Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSM, 2015-present), continue to be challenged to detect and quantify the extent of pollution of the Lower Athabasca River caused by the oil sands industry. , Current releases of contaminants to the river from industrial operations occur primarily through the airborne deposition of particulate contaminants from stack emissions and fugitive dust related to open pit mining and related activities such as building infrastructure (e.g., roads), transport, and storage of petroleum coke (petcoke). ,− Contaminants are aerially deposited directly onto waterbodies in the AOSR and accumulate in the snowpack during winter months, the latter providing an influx of contaminants to the river during spring snowmelt. ,,− Predevelopment baseline data are crucial to interpret aquatic monitoring data for evidence of pollution, because rapid growth of industrial activity during 1997–2020 renders monitoring data collected during this period potentially inappropriate for use as baseline. This situation is further confounded because the river flows through the naturally bitumen-rich McMurray Formation where riverbank erosion and groundwater mixing provide natural inputs of contaminants, including trace elements (metals, metalloids) and PACs, to the Lower Athabasca River and its watershed. ,− …”

Advances in science and applications in air pollution monitoring: A case study on oil sands monitoring targeting ecosystem protection

“…The 2019 Critical Review (CR) by Brook et al (2019) summarizes research done by Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC) related to ambient concentrations and ecosystem effects in Canada's Oil Sands Region (OSR) of northern Alberta. Herein, expert discussants provide additional perspectives and information on the topic.…”

“…The online supplement (Watson, Altshuler, and Chow 2019) to this Discussion identifies more than 850 resources that address oil sand processes, emissions, effects, and environmental controls in Alberta's OSR and other parts of the world. Brook et al (2019) offer a response to this Discussion as an online supplement.…”