River modeling and multi-level fish health assessment to evaluate impacts from oil sands water releases (Part 2)

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:455290

Shaw, R; Swanson, S M; Lagimodiere, M ^[1]; Gulley, J ^[2]

---

1. Golder Associates Ltd., Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
2. Suncor Inc. Oil Sands Group, Fort McMurray, Alberta (Canada)

A multi-level, multi-scale approach was used to assess potential impacts to fish health from oil sands water releases. The method used to arrive at predicted impacts involved assembling experimental data on the effects of chronic exposure to oil sands wastewaters on biochemical, physiological and whole-organism endpoint. This information was used to determine no effect levels (NOELs) and lowest effect levels (LOELs) for the suite of fish health parameters used in laboratory experiments (primarily biochemical and physiological measurement endpoints). LOELs and NOELs were compared to modeled concentrations of wastewater in the Athabasca River for five time snapshots. For each time period, concentrations were predicted based on mean annual flows and 7Q10 flows (low flows). This comparison was used to predict impacts on biochemical/physiological endpoints. Impacts on at the whole-organism and population-level were determined by comparing what the laboratory data would predict with what was observed in the field. This process was used to draw a conclusion regarding the health and sustainability of fish populations.

• OSTI ID: 455290
• Report Number(s): CONF-961149--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FISHES
OIL SANDS
TOXICITY
WATER POLLUTION