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 bitumen influence.

Attenuation of pharmaceuticals, nutrients and toxicity in a rural sewage lagoon system integrated with a subsurface filtration technology.

Although many studies have addressed the ability of subsurface filtration systems to remove emerging contaminants from wastewater at micro- and mesocosm-scale, little is known about their performance on full-scale wastewater treatment facilities. To understand better how effective these systems can be for municipal wastewater polishing, we assessed the ability of a full-scale lagoon-subsurface filter system located in Dunnottar, Manitoba, Canada, to attenuate regulatory wastewater parameters, nutrients, pharmaceuticals, and toxicity over the course of the discharge periods in 2015 and 2016 (June-October). Pharmaceuticals included β-blockers, anticonvulsant drugs, and macrolide and sulfonamide antibiotics.

Handling and Storage Procedures Have Variable Effects on Fatty Acid Content in Fishes with Different Lipid Quantities.

It is commonly assumed that the most accurate data on fatty acid (FA) contents are obtained when samples are analyzed immediately after collection. For logistical reasons, however, this is not always feasible and samples are often kept on ice or frozen at various temperatures and for diverse time periods. We quantified temporal changes of selected FA (μg FAME per mg tissue dry weight) from 6 fish species subjected to 2 handling and 3 storage methods and compared them to FA contents from muscle tissue samples that were processed immediately.