Oilsands air pollutants underestimated, researchers find

The emission levels of some toxic air pollutants in the Alberta oilsandshavebeen greatly underestimated, according to University of Toronto researchers.

When dealing with chemicals that have such great potential to harm people andanimals, it is absolutely vital that we truly understand how, and how much they arebeing released into the environment,AbhaParajulee, lead author of a paper on oilsands pollution, said in a news release.

The U of T study used a model to predictemission levels of a group of atmospheric pollutants known aspolycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons, orPAHs, which can behighly carcinogenic.

While previous models assessed thePAHsreleased directly into theatmosphere during extraction of bitumenfrom oilsands numbers that tend to fall within acceptableregulatory levels this study includedindirect pathways for the pollutantsto enter the air, such asevaporation fromtailing ponds.

Tailing ponds are not the end of the journey for the pollutants they contain.PAHsare highly volatile, meaning they escape into the air much more than many peoplethink, Parajulee said.

The model also factoredin additionalPAHsreleasedduring the transport and storage of other waste materials from oilsands operations.

The researchers said the higher levels ofPAHspredicted by the modelare consistent with levels measured in samples taken from areasnear and in the Athabasca oilsands region.

Andrew Read, a researcher withPembina Institute, anenvironmental watchdog,is a member of the joint oilsands monitoring program rolled out two years ago by the federal and provincial governments.

He doesn't believe there is enough fundingto appropriately monitor emissions.

"We are not at the world-class levelto really be championing that," he said. "There is a concern there that we are not doing the effective monitoring that is necessary to really understand the full impact on the environment."

Results of the U of T study were published today inthe Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science.