Farwell A J, Nero V, Ganshorn K, Leonhardt C, Ciborowski J, MacKinnon M, Dixon D G
Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2009;72(6):385-96. doi: 10.1080/15287390802647211.
Various oil sands reclamation strategies incorporate oil sands processed material (OSPM) such as mature fine tailings (MFT), engineered tailings (consolidated tailings, CT), and tailings pond water (TPW) into reclamation components that need to develop into viable aquatic ecosystems. The OSPM will contain elevated salinity and organics such as naphthenic acids (NA) and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) that can be chronically toxic to aquatic organisms depending upon levels and age. Due to the complexity of the chemical mixtures, analysis of these compounds in exposed organisms can be challenging. In this study, the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of selected invertebrates from various types of oil sands reclamation sites were analyzed to determine whether stable isotopes can be used to trace the exposure of aquatic organisms to organic constituents of OSPM. In a series of experimental reclamation ponds of similar age and size, there were trends of (13)C depletion and (15)N enrichment for benthic invertebrates along a gradient of increased levels of MFT and/or TPW. A survey of 16 sites revealed high delta(15)N values for invertebrates in aquatic systems containing MFT and CT (gypsum-treated mixes of MFT and tailings sand), which was attributed to the presence of NH(4)(+), a process by-product in OSPM. Findings of this study indicate a potential for the use of stable nitrogen isotopes to define exposure of biota to OSPM during environmental effects monitoring programs both in surface waters and in cases where groundwater seepage containing oil sands processed water enters surface receiving environments in the region.
各种油砂复垦策略将油砂加工材料（OSPM）纳入复垦组件中，这些材料包括成熟细尾矿（MFT）、工程尾矿（固结尾矿，CT）和尾矿池水（TPW），而复垦组件需要发展成为可行的水生生态系统。OSPM将含有升高的盐度和有机物质，如环烷酸（NA）和多环芳烃化合物（PAC），根据其含量和存在时间，这些物质可能对水生生物具有慢性毒性。由于化学混合物的复杂性，分析暴露于其中的生物体中的这些化合物具有挑战性。在本研究中，分析了来自各种类型油砂复垦场地的选定无脊椎动物的稳定碳和氮同位素特征，以确定稳定同位素是否可用于追踪水生生物对OSPM有机成分的暴露情况。在一系列年龄和大小相似的实验性复垦池塘中，随着MFT和/或TPW含量增加的梯度，底栖无脊椎动物存在δ¹³C亏损和δ¹⁵N富集的趋势。对16个场地的调查显示，在含有MFT和CT（MFT与尾矿砂的石膏处理混合物）的水生系统中，无脊椎动物的δ¹⁵N值较高，这归因于NH₄⁺的存在，NH₄⁺是OSPM中的一种工艺副产物。本研究结果表明，在环境影响监测计划中，无论是地表水，还是当地下渗流含油砂加工水进入该地区的地表接收环境时，稳定氮同位素都有潜力用于确定生物群对OSPM的暴露情况。
