EDMONTON – Researchers are excited over a recently concluded air-quality study that traces the path of pollutants primarily emanating from oilsands operations for the first time.
Combining forces for four years with senior scientists from Canada, the United States and Europe, staff from the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association found 23 per cent of the airborne contaminants in the region are spread through upgraders and combustion, 19 per cent are contained in sand carried by the wind from the edge of tailings ponds, 15 per cent are scattered by dust kicked up on roads and in limestone quarries, 15 per cent are contained within materials used during processing, and 15 per cent are produced by human activities associated with the rapidly growing City of Fort McMurray.
Results of the study, completed in 2012, are contained in a book called Alberta Oil Sands: Energy, Industry and the Environment newly published by the firm Elsevier in Oxford, England.
“What we wanted to do was measure at key points along the air pathway to better understand where (contaminants) came from and how they actually travelled,” said Kevin Percy, executive director of the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association, an independent non-profit organization that has monitored air quality in the oilsands since 1997. “We have been out there doing practical, highly credible work to get ahead of the curve so appropriate action can be taken if it is needed.
“We want to be able to detect a change before it impacts the environment.”
The study found the highest level of contaminants within 20 kilometres of industrial sites, and that pollution levels declined rapidly beyond that radius.
Measuring for a wide range of contaminants, researchers studied lichens growing on jack pine and black spruce to evaluate emissions and get a clearer picture of the relative health of air quality in the region. Although none of the contaminants found exceeded national standards, the scientists routinely found polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of PAH in coarse particles and dust connected to mining operations.
“PAHs are of concern due to their direct health effects and their effects through the food chain,” the study says.
Sulphur, nitrogen, trace metals and volatile organic compounds and gaseous mercury were also discovered through the research, although gaseous mercury concentrations were similar to average concentrations elsewhere in Canada.
The authors also found nitrogen in critical loads in the boreal forest in the mid-northern oilsands, which the study notes can alter the composition of other matter, act as a fertilizer to speed growth, possibly followed in extreme cases by ecosystem collapse from general nutrient imbalances.
University of Alberta scientist David Schindler, who has discovered PAHs in snow along the banks of the Athabasca River, called the study a model of what monitoring should do – thorough and sensitive enough that the information can be used to improve environmental management.
The study follows on the heels of research unveiled by the National Academy of Science in the U.S. that found PAHs in a handful of lakes in the oilsand region, one as far north as 90 km from the nearest development.
While the PAH levels were not beyond Canadian standards, scientists from Queen’s University and Environment Canada said increasing levels would be exacerbated by a predicted increase in development in the oilsands.
Percy said that the Wood Buffalo study was conducted to provide information to help industry and government assess environmental damage and that it was presented without spin.
“When it comes to future ramifications, I would agree with them,” Percy said of the researchers from Queen’s and Environment Canada. “Air emissions are indeed going to become an issue. If they got much beyond the range now, I would be concerned.
“Certainly the pace of development will continue to be quite rapid.”
Comments