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

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 O/O containing heteroatomic ion classes of acid extractable organics (AEOs) did not exhibit diagnostic differences.

Uptake, Whole-Body Distribution, and Depuration of Nanoplastics by the Scallop Pecten maximus at Environmentally Realistic Concentrations.

Previous studies of uptake and effects of nanoplastics by marine organisms have been conducted at what may be unrealistically high concentrations. This is a consequence of the analytical challenges in tracking plastic particles in organisms at environmentally relevant concentrations and highlights the need for new approaches. Here, we present pulse exposures of C-radiolabeled nanopolystyrene to a commercially important mollusk, Pecten maximus, at what have been predicted to be environmentally relevant concentrations (<15 μg L).

Assessing spatial and temporal variability of acid-extractable organics in oil sands process-affected waters.

The acid-extractable organic compounds (AEOs), including naphthenic acids (NAs), present within oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) receive great attention due to their known toxicity. While recent progress in advanced separation and analytical methodologies for AEOs has improved our understanding of the composition of these mixtures, little is known regarding any variability (i.e.

Profiling oil sands mixtures from industrial developments and natural groundwaters for source identification.

The objective of this study was to identify chemical components that could distinguish chemical mixtures in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) that had potentially migrated to groundwater in the oil sands development area of northern Alberta, Canada. In the first part of the study, OSPW samples from two different tailings ponds and a broad range of natural groundwater samples were assessed with historically employed techniques as Level-1 analyses, including geochemistry, total concentrations of naphthenic acids (NAs) and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS). While these analyses did not allow for reliable source differentiation, they did identify samples containing significant concentrations of oil sands acid-extractable organics (AEOs).

Microplastic moves pollutants and additives to worms, reducing functions linked to health and biodiversity.

Inadequate products, waste management, and policy are struggling to prevent plastic waste from infiltrating ecosystems [1, 2]. Disintegration into smaller pieces means that the abundance of micrometer-sized plastic (microplastic) in habitats has increased [3] and outnumbers larger debris [2, 4]. When ingested by animals, plastic provides a feasible pathway to transfer attached pollutants and additive chemicals into their tissues [5-15].