Scarecrows float in an oilsands tailings pond to maintain birds from touchdown, in Fort McMurray, Alta., in June 2017 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Within the northeastern nook of Alberta, nestled among the many expanses of forests and wetlands, lies a serious freshwater dilemma that Canada is at present dealing with.

Simply down the river from Fort McMurray, large ponds stretch for miles, full of poisonous water.

For many years, the Canadian oilsands business has been filling these ponds with wastewater from oil extraction. The aim of those ponds is to retailer and reuse water, as a way to scale back the quantity of latest water taken from the close by Athabasca River.

The reuse of water for oil extraction causes tailings ponds to build up larger and better concentrations of dangerous contaminants. As such, the water in these tailings ponds is harmful, and sometimes deadly, to birds, fish, frogs and vegetation.

Presently, there’s sufficient sludge-like water to fill half 1,000,000 Olympic-sized swimming swimming pools — and this quantity continues to extend. This large quantity of wastewater has not too long ago prompted Alberta regulators to rethink tailings pond administration.

A brand new coverage course in Alberta permits — for the primary time — the managed launch of water from tailings ponds to the atmosphere. Tailings ponds will likely be eradicated inside a sure time-frame, lowering the legal responsibility of getting these poisonous waterbodies stay on our panorama indefinitely.

New laws, which come into impact in 2022, permit oilsands firms to launch 1.three trillion litres of liquid waste into the Athabasca River. These plans, together with the newly loosened laws for environmental monitoring in Alberta, increase considerations about potential hurt to wildlife and folks residing downstream of oilsands improvement.

Wastewater from the oilsands should bear remedy processes earlier than it may be launched. Clearly, discovering applied sciences that may safely and effectively clear up this wastewater is a urgent environmental and human well being precedence. We examined a promising new know-how — titanium dioxide microparticles — that’s cost-effective, sustainable and environment friendly for cleansing up wastewater from the oilsands in Alberta.

A brand new inexperienced know-how

Titanium dioxide is a standard ingredient in lots of family merchandise akin to toothpaste and sunscreen. When positioned on microparticles — tiny spherical objects made from glass — titanium dioxide can break down natural chemical substances in oilsands wastewater. The know-how can degrade chemical substances with exceptional effectivity: in lower than 24 hours throughout lab assessments.

The know-how is recyclable and can be utilized a number of instances. The microparticles float on the floor of water, making them straightforward to gather by skimming the floor water, after which reuse. As well as, the know-how makes use of the power of the solar, making it a extra sustainable possibility in comparison with extra energy-intensive strategies.

Utilizing daylight power, the know-how creates remedy chemical substances, referred to as radicals, from the water itself. These radicals break down the poisonous natural chemical substances, theoretically leaving clear water. Nonetheless, we didn’t know if the know-how reduces the toxicity of oilsands chemical substances to residing organisms, and so our analysis group got down to reply this query.

Does it really work?

The final word take a look at of any wastewater remedy is whether or not the handled merchandise are secure for vegetation and animals. And so, we examined if titanium dioxide microparticles can “blast aside” poisonous natural chemical substances in tailings ponds — known as naphthenic acids — leaving water clear for fish. First, we diluted naphthenic acids to concentrations which might be present in Alberta’s tailings ponds and handled them with titanium dioxide. Then, we uncovered fish to those handled and untreated chemical substances to see how nicely the know-how labored.

What we discovered was fascinating. Unsurprisingly, naphthenic acids from oilsands wastewater that acquired no remedy had been extremely poisonous to fish. When fish eggs had been uncovered to the untreated naphthenic acids, many of the eggs died earlier than they might hatch.

When the naphthenic acids had been handled, nonetheless, the speedy deadly results had been nearly utterly gone. The know-how drastically elevated survival of fish eggs.

These outcomes are thrilling, as a result of they imply the titanium dioxide know-how may probably be used to scrub up tailings ponds in Alberta. Nonetheless, we additionally discovered some vital details about the know-how that should be thought of earlier than it may be used virtually.

The titanium dioxide know-how can be utilized at totally different intensities for cleansing the water in tailings ponds. Relying on the extent of remedy, totally different quantities of the poisonous chemical substances within the wastewater get damaged down.

In our assessments, it was solely when at the very least 80 per cent of the chemical substances had been damaged down that the handled water was not outright deadly to fish. When naphthenic acids had been solely partially damaged down by the remedy, we really noticed that sublethal results, like misshapen hearts, might even improve. Which means that except the wastewater is handled totally, it might nonetheless be dangerous to fish.

Analysis printed in 2010 discovered deformed white fish caught in Lake Athabasca, close to Fort Chipewyan, downstream from Alberta’s oilsands.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

So, if this know-how is utilized in Alberta, tailings should be intensively handled, or we run the chance of inflicting hurt to wildlife.

Our analysis has proven that titanium dioxide microparticles are a promising know-how for cleansing up the huge volumes of wastewater in Alberta’s tailings ponds. However extra analysis nonetheless must be carried out, notably research that take a look at the protection of this know-how on totally different species and life levels and on extra advanced ecological endpoints.

Lastly, our analysis serves as a warning that improper remedy of oilsands wastewater previous to its launch to the atmosphere might result in unintended ecological penalties.

The place will we go from right here?

There is no such thing as a doubt that wastewater produced and saved by the Canadian oilsands business is an enormous and complex challenge. Although it’s nicely established that tailings ponds pose a considerable legal responsibility to wildlife and environmental well being, now we have but to see a lot progress within the clean-up course of. A brand new coverage course in Alberta has shifted towards the elimination of tailings ponds, however it’s unclear if now we have the right laws and monitoring applications to execute this elimination safely.

This isn’t an issue that’s going away anytime quickly. A considerable, long-term funding – each provincially and federally – should be made in analysis, laws and environmental monitoring applications relating to the plan to deliberately launch oilsands wastewater if we’re critical about remedying the poisonous legacy of tailings ponds.

Diane Orihel acquired funding for this analysis from Queen's College (Queen's Analysis Alternatives Fund) and Setting and Local weather Change Canada (Grant and Contribution).

Jessie Reynolds receives scholar stipends from Queen's College (R.S. McLaughlin Graduate Fellowship and Queen's Graduate Award).