Air pollution from oil sands

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 CO₂ (see climate impacts of oil sands for more information), other pollutants are released during oil sands mining operations.

As is the case with the development of other fossil fuels, emissions are released that include nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are particularly harmful as they contribute to the formation of acid rain.

Additionally, one concern about the air pollution associated with oil sands development is that its contribution to air pollution is generally greater than that of conventional oil production. Surface mining operations are larger contributors to air pollution than in situ development, although both methods release harmful by-products.

Improvements

There have been improvements in reducing the volumes of these pollutants that are produced, but the industry continues to grow, and 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. Air quality is monitored at multiple fixed sites, as well as portable monitoring stations 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. Air quality monitoring helps identify pollution trends and supports efforts to reduce emissions over time.

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

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