Oil Sands Contaminants: Editor’s Response

History of environmental contamination by oil sands extraction.

T he extraction and processing of Canada’s massive oil sands in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta have been marked by an ongoing controversy about the nature and extent of associated environmental impacts. Impacts include habitat destruction and fragmentation by surface mining and tailings disposal, depletion of water resources, greenhouse gas and chemical emissions, and the impacts of e...

Oil Sands Contaminants

Alberta Oil Sands Development and Odour Issues

Fort McKay is an Aboriginal community located in the midst of oil sand development in North East Alberta. Increasing emissions of key air contaminants from oil sands industry are monitored and regulated by provincial government. Though industrial odours have long been a cause of complaint in the region, to date odours have not been monitored or regulated by provincial governments, creating esca...

Next-generation sequencing of microbial communities in the Athabasca River and its tributaries in relation to oil sands mining activities.

The Athabasca oil sands deposit is the largest reservoir of crude bitumen in the world. Recently, the soaring demand for oil and the availability of modern bitumen extraction technology have heightened exploitation of this reservoir and the potential unintended consequences of pollution in the Athabasca River. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential impacts of oil ...

Characterization of the boron, lithium, and strontium isotopic variations of oil sands process-affected water in Alberta, Canada

Oil sands operations in Alberta, Canada generate large volumes (> 840×10m) of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) that contains contaminants that are toxic to aquatic life. OSPW is stored in open tailings ponds and leakage from the ponds presents a potential long-term environmental risk. However, the presence of naturally occurring saline water in the oil sands region in Alberta presents a ...