Preliminary characterization and source assessment of PAHs in tributary sediments of the Athabasca River, Canada

Headley, John V.; Akre, Christine; Conly, F. Malcolm; Peru, Kerry M.; Dickson, Leslie C

doi:10.1006/enfo.2001.0064

Cited by 90 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Such material could be deposited in those wetlands after being carried downstream. In support of this contention, it has been reported that sediments in several small streams in the Athabasca oil sands area have PAH patterns characteristic of an oil sands source (Headley et al 2001;Akre et al 2004). …”

Section: Pah Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Extraction of PAH in sediments PAH analysis followed methods described by Headley et al (2001). Two grams of sample were spiked with 1 ml of a surrogate standard mix (containing 1 μg/ml each of 2-fluorobiphenyl and p-terphenyl-d 14 in Each sample was then shake-extracted with dichloromethane and the decanted dichloromethane was treated with a pH 12 sodium hydroxide solution (0.02 M) to extract the base/neutral analytes, including PAHs.…”

Section: Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These trends were evident in experimental, oil sands and reference wetlands. The dominance of alkylated over parent PAHs is indicative of a petrogenic source, typically associated with oil deposits (Steinhauer and Boehm 1992;Yunker et al 2002;Sauer and Uhler 1994;Headley et al 2002) and is a pattern that has been observed throughout much of the Athabasca oil sands area (Headley et al 2001;Akre et al 2004). In experimental and oil sands ponds the petrogenic source was most likely unrecovered bitumen from the mining and/or extraction processes.…”

Section: Pah Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophenes in wetland sediments and aquatic insects in the oil sands area of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

Wayland

Headley

Peru

et al. 2007

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An immense volume of tailings and tailings water is accumulating in tailings ponds located on mine leases in the oil sands area of Alberta, Canada. Oil sands mining companies have proposed to use tailings- and tailings water-amended lakes and wetlands as part of their mine remediation plans. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are substances of concern in oil sands tailings and tailings water. In this study, we determined concentrations of PAHs in sediments, insect larvae and adult insects collected in or adjacent to three groups of wetlands: experimental wetlands to which tailings or tailings water had been purposely added, oil sands wetlands that were located on the mine leases but which had not been experimentally manipulated and reference wetlands located near the mine leases. Alkylated PAHs dominated the PAH profile in all types of samples in the three categories of wetlands. Median and maximum PAH concentrations, especially alkylated PAH concentrations, tended to be higher in sediments and insect larvae in experimental wetlands than in the other types of wetlands. Such was not the case for adult insects, which contained higher than expected levels of PAHs in the three types of ponds. Overlap in PAH concentrations in larvae among pond types suggests that any increase in PAH levels resulting from the addition of tailings and tailings water to wetlands would be modest. Biota-sediment accumulation factors were higher for alkylated PAHs than for their parent counterparts and were lower in experimental wetlands than in oil sands and reference wetlands. Research is needed to examine factors that affect the bioavailability of PAHs in oil sands tailings- or tailings water-amended wetlands.

show abstract

Section: Pah Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Laboratory Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pah Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophenes in wetland sediments and aquatic insects in the oil sands area of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

Wayland

Headley

Peru

et al. 2007

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is well established that contaminants, including PAHs (a contaminant of relevance to the Athabasca oil sands area), possess a high affinity for sediments, particularly the cohesive fraction (e.g., Ghosh et al 2000;Headley et al 2001;Maruya et al 1996). While the results presented here were generated from sediment (<200 μm) collected at the confluence of the Muskeg River and Athabasca River, they are applicable to the general fine sediment material that can be eroded within the watersheds of the Athabasca oil sands area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Erosion characteristics and floc strength of Athabasca River cohesive sediments: towards managing sediment-related issues

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose This research aims to investigate: (1) the evolutional sequence of erosion of cohesive sediments entering the Athabasca River, (2) the influence of consolidation/ biostabilization time on bed sediment stability, and (3) the implication of these results on contaminant transport within the Athabasca River. Materials and methods A 5-m annular flume was used to generate bed shear to assess cohesive sediment dynamics for eroded beds with consolidation/biostabilization periods (CBs) of 1, 3, and 7 days. Additional laser particle sizing, image analysis, densitometry, and microbial analysis were employed to further the analysis with respect to bed erosion and eroded floc characteristics. Results and discussion The critical bed shear stress for erosion increased from 0.16 (1-day CB) to 0.26 Pa (7-day CB) with an inverse relationship observed for both suspended sediment concentration and erosion rate with respect to CBs. The 7-day CB yielded the largest eroded flocs that initially have high organic content but were quickly broken up with increasing shear. The strongest eroded floc population occurred for the 3-day CB. Eroded flocs were found to be of an open matrix with high water content and low density. Flocs contained a mixture of clay and silt particles, microbes, algae, diatoms, and secreted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Counts of bacteria were observed to decrease with CBs while an increase in the algal community is suggested with time.Conclusions Consolidation was believed to have limited effect on erosion while biostabilization was the main controlling factor. Increasing biostabilization with time resulted in a more stable surficial layer with a reduced erosion rate relative to less biostabilized beds. The highly biostabilized bed (7-day CB), however, yielded the largest flocs which broke up easily compared to those eroded from 1-and 3-day CBs. It is believed that the EPS produced by the sediment biological community is the main component of the bed and flocs that is responsible for the observed stability results.

show abstract

“…Unfortunately, due to inadequate monitoring, in the Athabasca River the correspondence between depositional areas for contaminants and fish habitat is still poorly known. Older studies show that concentrations of contaminants in tributary sediments are much higher than in the main stem Athabasca River, which is not surprising given the large upstream areas of the main stem where sediments are not from petroliferous deposits (Headley et al 2001). Tributaries are key regional fishery spawning areas Machniak and Bond 1979) and also the areas where watershed disturbance from mining is highest, making them the most likely sites of industrially caused biological effects.…”

Section: Polycyclic Aromatic Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geoscience of Climate and Energy 12. Water Quality Issues in the Oil Sands Region of the Lower Athabasca River, Alberta

Schindler

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

I summarize the controversies about industrial pollutants in freshwaters near the oil sands industrial area of Alberta, the inadequacies in environmental monitoring that have led to widespread misconceptions, and recent attempts to correct the problems. Adequate data are available to show that mercury, other trace metals, and polycyclic aromatic compounds are being added by industry to the Athabasca river system and its watershed, although the relative contributions of industrial development and natural sources remain in question. Recent improvements in water monitoring by Environment Canada show promise of resolving the controversies, although independent governance for Canada’s and Alberta’s water monitoring programs in the lower Athabasca River will be necessary to rebuild public confidence in the data and their interpretation by government and industry. I document one success story in the Athabasca River: the elimination of dioxins from pulp mills in the mid-1990s has caused a consumption advisory for fish in the river to be repealed.SOMMAIREJe présente ci-dessous un résumé des controverses concernant les polluants industriels dans les eaux douces à proximité de la zone industrielle des sables bitumineux de l'Alberta, des lacunes dans la surveillance des milieux de vie à l’origine d’idées fausses répandues, et de récentes tentatives visant à corriger les problèmes. Des données adéquates démontrent que l’industrie ajoute du mercure et d'autres métaux traces ainsi que des composés aromatiques polycycliques dans le système fluvial de la rivière Athabasca et dans son bassin versant, bien que les contributions relatives provenant de ces activités industrielles et de sources naturelles demeurent toujours en litige. De récentes améliorations apportées au contrôle des eaux par Environnement Canada permettent d’espérer une résolution des controverses, mais l’application d’une gouvernance indépendante des programmes de contrôle de l'eau de l'Alberta du Canada dans la partie inférieure du fleuve Athabasca sera nécessaire pour rétablir la confiance de la population à l’égard des données présentées et de leur interprétation par le gouvernement et l'industrie. Je décrie l’histoire d’une intervention réussie dans la rivière Athabasca, soit l'élimination de dioxines provenant des usines de pâte du milieu des années 1990 et qui a abouti à l’abrogation d’un avis de limitation de la consommation de poisson dans la rivière.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2013.40.012

show abstract

Preliminary characterization and source assessment of PAHs in tributary sediments of the Athabasca River, Canada

Cited by 90 publications

References 11 publications

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophenes in wetland sediments and aquatic insects in the oil sands area of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophenes in wetland sediments and aquatic insects in the oil sands area of Northeastern Alberta, Canada

Erosion characteristics and floc strength of Athabasca River cohesive sediments: towards managing sediment-related issues

Geoscience of Climate and Energy 12. Water Quality Issues in the Oil Sands Region of the Lower Athabasca River, Alberta

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About