Dissolved polycyclic aromatic compounds in Canada’s Athabasca River in relation to Oil Sands from 2013 through 2019

The Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program began long-term surface water quality monitoring on the lower Athabasca River in 2012. Sampling of low level, bio-accumulative polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) targeted a suite of parent and alkylated compounds in the Athabasca River (AR) mainstem using semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Samples were collected along a gradient from upstream reference near Athabasca, Alberta, through exposure to the Athabasca oil sands deposit (AOSD), various tributary inflows, and mining activities within the OSMA, to downstream recovery near Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) and reference on the Slave River. The program adapted over the years, shifting in response to program review and environmental events. The AOSD chemical fingerprint was present in samples collected within the AOSD, through the oil sands mineable area (OSMA), downstream to recovery from 2013 to 2019. PACs were dominated by alkylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes (PAs) and dibenzothiophenes (Ds), with elevated levels of alkylated fluorenes (Fs), naphthalenes (Ns), fluoranthenes/pyrenes (FlPys) and benzo[a]anthracenes/chrysenes (BaACs), increasing in concentration from C1 < C2 < C3 < C4. Concentrations of these petrogenic PACs were at their highest within the OSMA and downstream of tributaries. The AOSD fingerprint was absent from sites located outside of the influence of the AOSD and downstream of the Peace-Athabasca Delta on the Slave River. PAC concentrations in the AR increased with mainstem discharge and loadings from tributaries, were moderated by the PAD, and diluted by the Peace River. This work bolsters the baseline PAC information previously reported for the Athabasca River and waters downstream, reporting 7 years of data, from all sites within the mainstem monitoring program, and exploring potential regional and hydrological drivers of these between sites and over time. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-023-11846-x.