Title: Has Alberta Oil Sands Development Altered Delivery of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds to the Peace-Athabasca Delta?
Author: Roland I. Hall, Brent B. Wolfe, Johan A. Wiklund, Thomas W. D. Edwards, Andrea J. Farwell, D. George Dixon
Publisher: PLOS
Date: Sept. 26 2012
Summary:
Topic: Study undertaken in response to concerns that the ecosystem around Fort Chipewyan, the lower Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca and the Peace-Athabasca Delta had been contaminated with toxic polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) due to oilsands development.
Findings: The Athabasca Delta is a “natural repository of PACs” and has been for at least two hundred years. The researchers found “no measurable increase” in contaminants “since onset of oil sands development,” and “no evidence that industrial activity has contributed measurably to sedimentary concentration of PACs supplied by atmospheric transport.”
