Chapter 19 - Concluding Remarks

Abstract

The Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northeastern Alberta is the largest of Canada’s oil sand deposits. Oil production in the AOSR reached 1.6 million barrels per day in 2011. Atmospheric emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, trace metals and organic compounds, and their possible effects on air quality and the terrestrial environment in AOSR require rigorous monitoring. The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) has been monitoring air quality and the terrestrial environment in the 68,454 km2 airshed since 1997. In 2008, WBEA adopted a source to sink approach yielding science-based, and practical monitoring of the AOSR environment. Measuring and monitoring at key points along the air pollutant pathway, four years of measurements enabled by a three-fold increase in funding have provided scientific data on emissions, transport, air quality, deposition, as well as chemical and biological measurements in receptor ecosystems. Emission source chemical fingerprints including stable isotopes and PAHs have been successfully used in receptor modelling to apportion elemental concentrations measured in terrestrial receptors back to source type. The results of this practical scientific monitoring and measurement have clearly demonstrated the efficacy of a combination of vegetation receptor bio-monitoring and the application of atmospheric receptor models, including “real-world” source characterization, to fully integrate air and terrestrial systems in time and space in the changing landscape. This information will be used by decision makers on air shed management, contribute new knowledge to support environmental impact assessments, inform stakeholders and the public on air quality. The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association’s scientifically-enhanced air and terrestrial monitoring programs will also be essential in meeting government regulatory requirements and expectations under cumulative effects management policies.