Air pollution from oil sands - Revision history

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Jmdonev at 20:34, 28 August 2017

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	[[Category:Done ~~2015~~-07-24]]		[[Category:Done 2017-07-01]]
	<onlyinclude>There are several different types of '''air pollution''' that arise as a result of [[oil sands]] [[bitumen]] extraction. In addition to the [[greenhouse gases]] released by the bitumen extraction process in the oil sands - primarily [[carbon dioxide\|CO<sub>2</sub>]] (see [[climate impacts of oil sands]] for more information) - other [[pollutant]]s are released during oil sands mining operations.</onlyinclude>		<onlyinclude>There are several different types of '''air pollution''' that arise as a result of [[oil sands]] [[bitumen]] extraction. In addition to the [[greenhouse gases]] released by the bitumen extraction process in the oil sands - primarily [[carbon dioxide\|CO<sub>2</sub>]] (see [[climate impacts of oil sands]] for more information) - other [[pollutant]]s are released during oil sands mining operations.</onlyinclude>

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	==Interactive Graph==		==Interactive Graph==
	For an interactive graph showing what pollutants arise from oil sands industry click [http://energyeducation.ca/index.php?title=Detailed_pollution_data&pollutant=SOX&source=Industrial_Sources#Detailed_Source_Data here].		For an interactive graph showing what pollutants arise from oil sands industry click [http://energyeducation.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Detailed_pollution_data&pollutant=SOX&source=Industrial_Sources#Detailed_Source_Data here].

	The category that contains the oil sands extraction pollutants is '''upstream oil industry''', as this portion includes the extraction of this bitumen. By comparing the provinces, it can be seen for some pollutants that upstream oil industry in Alberta contributes more than other provinces. This is partially a result of the oil sands extraction. The pollutant being looked at is automatically set to sulfur oxides, but try changing the pollutant to nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, or carbon monoxide!		The category that contains the oil sands extraction pollutants is '''upstream oil industry''', as this portion includes the extraction of this bitumen. By comparing the provinces, it can be seen for some pollutants that upstream oil industry in Alberta contributes more than other provinces. This is partially a result of the oil sands extraction. The pollutant being looked at is automatically set to sulfur oxides, but try changing the pollutant to nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, or carbon monoxide!

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J.williams at 22:41, 11 August 2015

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[[Category:Done 2015-07-24]]
<onlyinclude>There are several different types of '''air pollution''' that arise as a result of [[oil sands]] [[bitumen]] extraction. In addition to the [[greenhouse gases]] released by the bitumen extraction process in the oil sands - primarily [[carbon dioxide|CO2]] (see [[climate impacts of oil sands]] for more information) - other [[pollutant]]s are released during oil sands mining operations.</onlyinclude>

As is the case with the development of other [[fossil fuel]]s, [[emission]]s are released that include nitrogen oxides ([[NOx]]), sulfur oxides ([[SOx]]), [[volatile organic compound]]s, and [[particulate matter]].<ref name="RE4">Pembina Institute. (June 19, 2015). ''Air Pollution'' [Online]. Available: http://www.pembina.org/oil-sands/os101/air-pollution</ref> [[Sulfur]] dioxide and [[nitrogen]] oxides are particularly harmful as they contribute to the formation of [[acid rain]]. In 2013, the annual emissions from oil sands operations alone were about 46 800 [[tonne]]s of nitrogen oxides, about 99 500 tonnes of sulfur dioxide, and about 29 000 tonnes of volatile organic compounds.<ref>Environment Canada. (July 29, 2015). ''National Pollutant Release Inventory - 2013'' [Online]. Available: http://ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/donnees-data/ap/index.cfm?do=ap_result&process=true&sector=&lang=en&year=2013&substance=all&location=CA&submit=Submit&div=0</ref>

Additionally, one concern about the air pollution associated with oil sands development is that the contribution to air pollution is significantly larger than that of conventional oil. Producing a barrel of synthetic [[crude oil]] from bitumen creates more than twice as much nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides than a barrel of conventional oil.<ref name="RE4"/> Surface mining operations are larger contributors to air pollution than [[in situ oil sands mining|in situ]] development, although both methods release harmful by-products.

==Improvements==
Recently, there have been improvements in reducing the [[volume]]s of these pollutants that are produced, but the industry continues to grow and thus air pollution remains an issue. Although air quality remains an issue in the oil sands region, the air quality around that area is monitored continually. The air quality is monitored at 15 different sites, as well as a portable monitoring station that can be deployed to send to air pollution "hot spots" when required. Routinely monitored substances include particulate matter, ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, total reduced sulfur, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. This monitoring shows that the annual average concentrations of SOx and CO are decreasing, while NOx emissions are increasing.<ref>Alberta Government. (July 29, 2015). ''Alberta's Oil Sands Air'' [Online]. Available: http://oilsands.alberta.ca/air.html</ref> This effort to monitor air quality is done in hopes to aid in reducing the pollutants over time.

==Interactive Graph==
For an interactive graph showing what pollutants arise from oil sands industry click [http://energyeducation.ca/index.php?title=Detailed_pollution_data&pollutant=SOX&source=Industrial_Sources#Detailed_Source_Data here].

The category that contains the oil sands extraction pollutants is '''upstream oil industry''', as this portion includes the extraction of this bitumen. By comparing the provinces, it can be seen for some pollutants that upstream oil industry in Alberta contributes more than other provinces. This is partially a result of the oil sands extraction. The pollutant being looked at is automatically set to sulfur oxides, but try changing the pollutant to nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, or carbon monoxide!

==References==
{{reflist}}
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