Dataset Information

Advances in Distinguishing Groundwater Influenced by Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (OSPW) from Natural Bitumen-Influenced Groundwaters.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to advance analytical methods for detecting oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) seepage from mining containments and discriminating any such seepage from the natural bitumen background in groundwaters influenced by the Alberta McMurray formation. Improved sampling methods and quantitative analyses of two groups of monoaromatic acids were employed to analyze OSPW and bitumen-affected natural background groundwaters for source discrimination. Both groups of monoaromatic acids showed significant enrichment in OSPW, while ratios of O2/O4 containing heteroatomic ion classes of acid extractable organics (AEOs) did not exhibit diagnostic differences. Evaluating the monoaromatic acids to track a known plume of OSPW-affected groundwater confirmed their diagnostic abilities. A secondary objective was to assess anthropogenically derived artificial sweeteners and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as potential tracers for OSPW. Despite the discovery of acesulfame and PFAS in most OSPW samples, trace levels in groundwaters influenced by general anthropogenic activities preclude them as individual robust tracers. However, their inclusion with the other metrics employed in this study served to augment the tiered, weight of evidence methodology developed. This methodology was then used to confirm earlier findings of OSPW migrations into groundwater reaching the Athabasca River system adjacent to the reclaimed pond at Tar Island Dyke.

SUBMITTER: Hewitt LM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7003248 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Advances in Distinguishing Groundwater Influenced by Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (OSPW) from Natural Bitumen-Influenced Groundwaters.

Hewitt L Mark LM Roy James W JW Rowland Steve J SJ Bickerton Greg G DeSilva Amila A Headley John V JV Milestone Craig B CB Scarlett Alan G AG Brown Susan S Spencer Christine C West Charles E CE Peru Kerry M KM Grapentine Lee L Ahad Jason M E JME Pakdel Hooshang H Frank Richard A RA

Environmental science & technology 20200117 3

The objective of this study was to advance analytical methods for detecting oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) seepage from mining containments and discriminating any such seepage from the natural bitumen background in groundwaters influenced by the Alberta McMurray formation. Improved sampling methods and quantitative analyses of two groups of monoaromatic acids were employed to analyze OSPW and bitumen-affected natural background groundwaters for source discrimination. Both groups of mono ...[more]

PMID: 31906621

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Project description:Biomimetic extraction using solid-phase microextraction is a passive sampling analytical method that can predict the aquatic toxicity of complex petroleum substances. The method provides a nonanimal alternative to traditional bioassays with the potential to reduce both vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic toxicity testing. The technique uses commercially available polydimethylsiloxane-coated fibers that, following nondepletive extraction of water samples, are injected into a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detection. As the predictive nature of the method is operationally defined, it is critical that its application be harmonized with regard to extraction, analysis, and standardization parameters. Results are presented from a round robin program comparing the results from 10 laboratories analyzing four different sample sets of dissolved organics in water. Samples included two incurred oil sands process-affected waters and a cracked gas oil water accommodated fraction. A fourth sample of cracked gas oil blended in an oil sands process-affected water was analyzed to demonstrate the method's ability to differentiate between neutral and ionizable dissolved hydrocarbons. Six of the 10 laboratories applied an automated version of the method using a robotic autosampler where the critical extraction steps are precisely controlled and which permits batch screening of water samples for aquatic toxicity potential. The remaining four laboratories performed the solid-phase microextraction manually. The automated method demonstrated good reproducibility with between-laboratory variability across the six laboratories and four samples yielding a mean relative standard deviation of 14%. The corresponding between-laboratory variability across the four laboratories applying the manual extraction was 53%, demonstrating the importance of precisely controlling the extraction procedure. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1613-1622. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Project description:We examined the immunotoxic effects of acute and subchronic exposures of goldfish to aged, fresh, and ozonated oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) using a flow-through exposure apparatus. We measured the expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes, the antimicrobial responses of primary macrophages isolated from OSPW-exposed fish, and the ability of the goldfish to control infection with a protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma carassii. After acute (1 week) exposure to aged OSPW, we observed upregulation in the expression of interferon gamma (IFN-?), tumor necrosis factor alpha-2 (TNF-?2) in the kidney and spleen but not in gills of the fish. After subchronic (12 weeks) exposure to aged OSPW, we observed significant increases in mRNA levels of proinflammatory genes in the gill (IFN-?, interleukin-1 beta 1 [IL1-?1], TNF-?2), kidney (IL1-?1, TNF-?2), and spleen (IL1-?1). An upregulation of immune gene expression in the gill and kidney (IFN-?, IL1-?1, TNF-?2) and spleen (IL1-?1, TNF-?2) was observed after acute exposure of fish to diluted fresh OSPW. Following subchronic exposure to diluted fresh OSPW, we observed high mRNA levels of IL1-?1 in all tissues examined. However, there were significant decreases in the mRNA levels of IFN-? and TNF-?2 in the kidney and spleen and gill and spleen (IL-12p35 and IL-12p40) of exposed fish. There were no changes in the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 after both acute and subchronic exposures to diluted fresh OSPW. In fish exposed to ozonated fresh OSPW, immune gene expression was similar to nonexposed control fish in all organs examined, with exception of IL1-?1. The ability of primary kidney macrophages to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates was significantly reduced in fish exposed to fresh OSPW. The enhanced proinflammatory response after acute exposure to diluted fresh OSPW was confirmed by the parasite challenge experiments, where OSPW-exposed fish controlled the infection better than nonexposed fish.

Dataset Information

Advances in Distinguishing Groundwater Influenced by Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (OSPW) from Natural Bitumen-Influenced Groundwaters.

Publications

Advances in Distinguishing Groundwater Influenced by Oil Sands Process-Affected Water (OSPW) from Natural Bitumen-Influenced Groundwaters.

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