| Title | Isotopic analyses fingerprint sources of polycyclic aromatic compound-bearing dust in Athabasca oil sands region snowpack |
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| Author | Ahad, J M E ;
Pakdel, H; Labarre, T; Cooke, C A; Gammon, P R; Savard, M M |
| Source | Environmental Science & Technology (ES & T) vol. 55, issue 9, 2021 p. 5887-5897, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c08339  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2021 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20200581 |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Province | Alberta |
| Area | Canada |
| Subjects | fossil fuels; Science and Technology; oil sands |
| Illustrations | tables; diagrams; charts |
| Program | Environmental Geoscience
Sources |
| Released | 2021 04 15 |
| Abstract | Fugitive dust associated with surface mining activities is one of the principal vectors for transport of airborne contaminants in Canada's Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). Effective environmental
management requires quantitative identification of the sources of this dust. Using natural abundance radiocarbon (?14C) and dual (d13C, d2H) compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA), this study investigated the sources of dust and particulate-bound
polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) deposited in AOSR lake snowpack. Lower ?14C values, higher particulate and PAC loadings, and lower d13C values for phenanthrene and C1-alkylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes (C1-Phen) at sites closer to the mining
operations indicated unprocessed oil sand and/or petroleum coke (petcoke - a byproduct of bitumen upgrading) as major sources of anthropogenic fugitive dust. However, a Bayesian isotopic mixing model that incorporated both d13C and d2H could
discriminate petcoke from oil sand, and determined that petcoke comprised between 44 and 95% (95% credibility intervals) of a C1-Phen isomer at lakes <25 km from the heart of the mining operations, making it by far the most abundant source. This
study is the first to demonstrate the potential of CSIA to provide accurate PAC source apportionment in snowpack and reveals that petcoke rather than oil sand is the main source of mining-related particulate PACs deposited directly to AOSR lakes.
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| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Fugitive dust associated with surface mining activities is one of the principal vectors for transport of airborne contaminants such as polycyclic
aromatic compounds (PACs) in Alberta's Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). Effective environmental management requires quantitative identification of the sources of this dust. Using state-of-the-art analytical capabilities available at the
GSC-Québec's Delta-Lab, this study investigated the sources of dust and particulate-bound PACs deposited in snowpack covering AOSR lakes. This study demonstrated that petroleum coke (a by-product of bitumen upgrading) is by far the most important
source of mining-related PACs deposited directly to AOSR lakes. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 327831 |
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