The acute toxicity of bitumen-influenced groundwaters from the oil sands region to aquatic organisms

The extraction of surface mined bitumen from oil sands deposits in northern Alberta, Canada produces large quantities of liquid tailings waste, termed oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), which are stored in large tailings ponds. OSPW-derived chemicals from several tailings ponds migrating past containment structures and through groundwater systems pose a concern for surface water contamination. The present study investigated the toxicity of groundwater from near-field sites adjacent to a tailings pond with OPSW influence and far-field sites with only natural oil sands bi-tumen influence. The acute toxicity of unfractionated groundwater and isolated organic fractions was assessed using a suite of aquatic organisms (Pimephales promelas, Oryzias latipes, Daphnia magna, Hyalella azteca, Lampsilis spp., Ceriodaphnia dubia, Hexagenia spp., and Vibrio fischeri). Assessment of unfractionated groundwater demonstrated tox-icity towards all invertebrates in at least one far-field sample, with both near-field and far-field samples with bitumen influence toxic towards P. promelas, while no toxicity was observed for O. latipes. When assessing the unfractionated groundwater and isolated organic fractions from near-field and far-field groundwater sites, P. promelas and H. azteca were the most sensitive to organic components, while D. magna and L. cardium were most sensitive to the inorganic components. Groundwater containing appreciable amounts of dissolved organics exhibited similar toxicities to

Automated summary

The extraction of bitumen from oil sands deposits in northern Alberta generates large amounts of liquid tailings waste, known as oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), which is stored in tailings ponds. Chemicals from OSPW can contaminate surface water through groundwater systems. This study investigated the toxicity of groundwater from sites near and far from a tailings pond with OSPW influence. The results showed that the groundwater had toxicity towards various aquatic organisms, with organic components being more toxic to some species and inorganic components being more sensitive to others.