Forest health effects due to atmospheric deposition: Findings from long-term forest health monitoring in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

Incorporating Industrial and Climatic Covariates into Analyses of Fish Health Indicators Measured in a Stream in Canada’s Oil Sands Region

Industrial and other human activities in Canada’s oil sands region (OSR) influence the environment. However, these impacts can be challenging to separate from natural stresses in flowing waters by comparing upstream reference sites to downstream exposure locations. For example, health indicators of lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) compared between locations in the Ells River (Upper and Lower) in 2013 to 2015 and 2018 demonstrated statistical differences. To further examine the potential sources of variation in fish, we also analyzed data at sites over time. When fish captured in 2018 were compared to pooled reference years (2013–2015), results indicated multiple differences in fish, but most of the differences disappeared when environmental covariates were included in the Elastic Net (EN) regularized regression models. However, when industrial covariates were included separately in the EN, the large differences in 2018 also disappeared, also suggesting the potential influence of these covariables on the health of fish. Further ENs incorporating both environmental and industrial covariates along with other variables which may describe industrial and natural influences, such as spring or summer precipitation and summer wind speeds and distance-based penalty factors, also support some of the suspected and potential mechanisms of impact. Further exploratory analyses simulating changes from zero and the mean (industrial) activity levels using the regression equations respectively suggest effects exceeding established critical effect sizes (CES) for fish measurements may already be present or effects may occur with small future changes in some industrial activities. Additional simulations also suggest that changing regional hydrological and thermal regimes in the future may also cause changes in fish measurements exceeding the CESs. The results of this study suggest the wide applicability of the approach for monitoring the health of fish in the OSR and beyond. The results also suggest follow-up work required to further evaluate the veracity of the suggested relationships identified in this analysis.

A re-analysis and review of elemental and polycyclic aromatic compound deposition in snow and lake sediments from Canada's Oil Sands Region integrating industrial performance and climatic variables

Much of the research from Canada's oil sands region (OSR) shows contaminants of concern (CoCs) throughout the ambient environment surrounding the industrial facilities. While there are some well-established sources of the CoCs, there is also spatial and temporal variability suggesting activity intensity, changes in technology, types and amounts of fuels combusted at the facilities, and climate may affect the results of deposition studies. This study re-analysed published data on the deposition of elements and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in snow and the sediments of some lakes by incorporating production data from facilities and climate. Using the Elastic Net (EN) regularized regression, variables describing potential associations between facility-specific activity and climate on the deposition of CoCs were identified. Among the selected variables, the combustion of delayed petroleum coke at the Suncor Basemine was associated with the deposition of CoCs, including elements in snow and in some lakes. Similarly, combustion of petroleum coke at Syncrude Mildred Lake was also identified in some models. In both cases, the effects of petroluem coke combustion are likely associated with the emission and deposition of fly ash. The mass of stored petroleum coke was not selected in snow CoC models, but the speed of the wind was a common driver for PACs. However, the mass of stockpiled petcoke was more closely associated with both elements and PACs in lake sediments. While the potential influence of other variables on the occurrence of CoCs in the OSR was also identified, including the production of crude bitumen and synthetic crude, the use of process and natural gases, temperature, and precipitation, these analyses support much of the earlier work and provides additional nuance. While more work is required, these results suggest facility-specific production and climatic data can be coupled with existing approaches to improve the identification of sources of CoCs in Canada's OSR and practices associated with their release.

A decadal synthesis of atmospheric emissions, ambient air quality, and deposition in the oil sands region

This review is part of a series synthesizing peer-reviewed literature from the past decade on environmental monitoring in the oil sands region (OSR) of northeastern Alberta. It focuses on atmospheric emissions, air quality, and deposition in and downwind of the OSR. Most published monitoring and research activities were concentrated in the surface-mineable region in the Athabasca OSR. Substantial progress has been made in understanding oil sands (OS)-related emission sources using multiple approaches: airborne measurements, satellite measurements, source emission testing, deterministic modeling, and source apportionment modeling. These approaches generally yield consistent results, indicating OS-related sources are regional contributors to nearly all air pollutants. Most pollutants exhibit enhanced air concentrations within ~20 km of surface-mining activities, with some enhanced >100 km downwind. Some pollutants (e.g., sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides) undergo transformations as they are transported through the atmosphere. Deposition rates of OS-related substances primarily emitted as fugitive dust are enhanced within ~30 km of surface-mining activities, whereas gaseous and fine particulate emissions have a more diffuse deposition enhancement pattern extending hundreds of kilometers downwind. In general, air quality guidelines are not exceeded, although these single-pollutant thresholds are not comprehensive indicators of air quality. Odor events have occurred in communities near OS industrial activities, although it can be difficult to attribute events to specific pollutants or sources. Nitrogen, sulfur, polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), and base cations from OS sources occur in the environment, but explicit and deleterious responses of organisms to these pollutants are not as apparent across all study environments; details of biological monitoring are discussed further in other papers in this special series. However, modeling of critical load exceedances suggests that, at continued emission levels, ecological change may occur in future. Knowledge gaps and recommendations for future work to address these gaps are also presented. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:333-360. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

A synthetic review of terrestrial biological research from the Alberta oil sands region: 10 years of published literature

In the past decade, a large volume of peer-reviewed papers has examined the potential impacts of oil and gas resource extraction in the Canadian oil sands (OS). A large proportion focuses on terrestrial biology: wildlife, birds, and vegetation. We provide a qualitative synthesis of the condition of the environment in the oil sands region (OSR) from 2009 to 2020 to identify gaps and progress cumulative effects assessments. Our objectives were to (1) qualitatively synthesize and critically review knowledge from the OSR; (2) identify consistent trends and generalizable conclusions; and (3) pinpoint gaps in need of greater monitoring or research effort. We visualize knowledge and terrestrial monitoring foci by allocating papers to a conceptual model for the OS. Despite a recent increase in publications, focus has remained concentrated on a few key stressors, especially landscape disturbance, and a few taxa of interest. Stressor and response monitoring is well represented, but direct monitoring of pathways (linkages between stressors and responses) is limited. Important knowledge gaps include understanding effects at multiple spatial scales, mammal health effects monitoring, focused monitoring of local resources important to Indigenous communities, and geospatial coverage and availability, including higher attribute resolution in human footprint, comprehensive land cover mapping, and up-to-date LiDAR coverage. Causal attribution based on spatial proximity to operations or spatial orientation of monitoring in the region is common but may be limited in the strength of inference that it provides. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:388-406. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

An integrated knowledge synthesis of regional ambient monitoring in Canada's oil sands

The desire to document and understand the cumulative implications of oil sands (OS) development in the ambient environment of northeastern Alberta has motivated increased investment and release of information in the past decade. Here, we summarize the knowledge presented in the theme-based review papers in this special series, including air, surface water, terrestrial biology, and Indigenous community-based monitoring in order to (1) consolidate knowledge gained to date, (2) highlight key commonalities and gaps, and (3) leverage this knowledge to assess the state of integration in environmental monitoring efforts in the OS region and suggest next steps. Among air, water, and land studies, the individual reviews identified a clear focus on describing stressors, including primarily (1) contaminant emission, transport, transformation, deposition, and exposure, and (2) landscape disturbance. These emphases are generally partitioned by theme; air and water studies focus heavily on chemical stressors, whereas terrestrial monitoring focuses on biological change and landscape disturbance. Causal attribution is often stated as a high priority objective across all themes. However, studies often rely on spatial proximity to attribute cause to industrial activity, leaving causal attribution potentially confounded by spatial covariance of both OS- and non-OS-related stressors in the region, and by the complexity of interacting pathways between sources of environmental change and ecological receptors. Geospatial and modeling approaches are common across themes and may represent clear integration opportunities, particularly to help inform investigation-of-cause, but are not a replacement for robust field monitoring designs. Cumulative effects assessment remains a common focus of regional monitoring, but is limited in the peer-reviewed literature, potentially reflecting a lack of integration among monitoring efforts beyond narrow integrated interpretations of results. Addressing this requires greater emphasis on a priori integrated data collection and integrated analyses focused on the main residual exposure pathways, such as atmospheric deposition. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:428-441. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Anthropogenic contamination leads to changes in mineral composition of soil- and tree-growing mushroom species: A case study of urban vs. rural environments and dietary implications

Because wild-growing edible mushroom species are frequently consumed, a knowledge of their mineral composition is essential. The content of elements in mushrooms and their possible beneficial or harmful effect may be influenced by the human-impacted environment. Thus, the aim of the study was to analyse the mineral composition of the soil, trees, and especially soil- and tree-growing mushroom species collected from within a city and from rural areas. Due to potentially higher pollution in urban areas, we assumed that mushrooms from a city environment will contain higher levels of mineral elements than those from rural areas and that the high content will be attributed to greater contamination of city soils. Significantly higher concentrations of several elements in soils (Ca, Ba, Bi, Hg, Pb, Sb, Sr, W and Zr) and trees (Ag, Bi, Ce, Co, Mn, Mo, Nd, Pr, Ta, Tm and W) were observed from the samples collected in the city. Additionally, significantly higher contents of Ag, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Sr, Y and Zn in soil-growing, and Al, As, Ba, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ta and Zn in tree-growing mushroom species were recorded from the urban area. These differences formed the basis for the observation that the content of elements in urban mushrooms is generally higher than in those from rural areas. However, a higher content of several soil elements does not necessarily mean that there will be a significantly higher content in fruit bodies. There was also no real risk of consuming soil-growing mushroom species collected in recent years from the city, suggesting that this practice may still be continued.

The Impact of Air Pollution on the Growth of Scots Pine Stands in Poland on the Basis of Dendrochronological Analyses

The aim of this study was to evaluate Scots pine stand degradation caused by the pollutants emitted from Zakłądy Azotowe Puławy, one of the biggest polluters of the environment in Poland for over 25 years (1966–1990). To assess the pollution stress in trees, we chose the dendrochronological analysis We outlined three directions for our research: (i) the spatio-temporal distribution of the growth response of trees to the stress associated with air pollution; (ii) the direct and indirect effects of air pollution which may have influenced the growth response of trees; and (iii) the role of local factors, both environmental and technological, in shaping the growth response of trees. Eight Scots pine stands were selected for study, seven plots located in different damage zones and a reference plot in an undamaged stand. We found that pollutant emission caused disturbances of incremental dynamics and long-term strong reduction of growth. A significant decrease in growth was observed for the majority of investigated trees (75%) from 1966 (start of factory) to the end of the 1990s. The zone of destruction extended primarily in easterly and southern directions, from the pollution source, associated with the prevailing winds of the region. At the end of the 1990s, the decreasing trend stopped and the wider tree-rings could be observed. This situation was related to a radical reduction in ammonia emissions and an improvement in environmental conditions. However, the growth of damaged trees due to the weakened health condition is lower than the growth of Scots pine on the reference plot and trees are more sensitive to stressful climatic conditions, especially to drought.