Science Response 2018/018

Status Report on the Knowledge of the Fate and Behaviour of Diluted Bitumen in the Aquatic Ecosystems

Context

Effective spill response depends on a good scientific understanding of the fate and behaviour of a specific product when it is released into the environment (e.g., changes in physical properties and chemical composition that influences its environmental persistence and potential biological effects). As part of the Government of Canada’s (GOC) strategy to implement a world class prevention, preparedness and response regime, investments into Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) have been made to conduct research on diluted bitumen fate, behaviour and biological effects when spilled into aquatic environments under climatic conditions relevant to a Canadian context.

These research investments are ongoing over a period of years; however, in advance of the publication of final findings, it is important that the aforementioned government agencies share and exchange new information; validate their work against industry-led initiatives; and work to make interim knowledge available in support of a robust and leading-edge emergency response regime.

The overarching objective of this Science Response Process (SRP) was to summarize information that has been obtained to date about the fate, behaviour, biological effects, and mitigation techniques for diluted bitumen in order to inform future research work; support current and future emergency response planning/preparedness and operations; as well as to inform the public about recent findings. Collectively, the group of meeting participants sought to respond to the following questions:

1. What is diluted bitumen and how does its composition vary between gathering lines within Alberta, and transmission pipelines that carry diluted bitumen out of Alberta?
2. What do we know about diluted bitumen behaviour when spilled under which defined conditions? What environmental conditions or other factors influence their behaviour when spilled?
   1. Real-world spill experience (e.g. Kalamazoo, MI spill, Gogama, ON spills, North Saskatchewan River, SK spill, etc.)
   2. Results of laboratory and meso-scale studies
3. What do we know about the effectiveness of response options to treat diluted bitumen spills? What environmental conditions or other factors influence their effectiveness?
   1. Are conventional crude oil spill response countermeasures effective for diluted bitumen spills?
   2. Is the countermeasure “time window-of-opportunity” for diluted bitumen different than for conventional crudes?
4. Are the products currently being tested a fair representation of what is being transported throughout Canada?
5. What are the priority gaps in knowledge related to diluted bitumen, and what are their implications for spill response and recovery?
6. Compare the relative risks of diluted bitumen to conventional crudes if spilled into ecologically sensitive areas under which defined conditions?
7. What analytical methods need to be updated to improve their accuracy and precision for predicting crude behavior including heavy oils?
8. How do responders access GOC knowledge to obtain the information needed during a spill event?
9. How can GOC scientists obtain samples and technical information from spill events to benchmark tank- and lab-scale results?

This Science Response results from the Science Response Process held on April 19th and 20th, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario providing a status report on the knowledge of the fate and behavior of diluted bitumen in the aquatic ecosystems. As part of the process, information was presented by DFO, ECCC, NRCan, government agencies from outside Canada, industry and response organizations. A SRP meeting format was used because this is an interim update in advance of publication of final research results.

Complete document (PDF, 542 KB)

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