Fate, behaviour and effects projects

Much remains to be understood about the toxicity of diluted bitumen to aquatic species. Bitumen is a black, viscous mixture of hydrocarbons that is commonly used as a binder in asphalt. Diluted bitumen (dilbit) is bitumen blended with one or more lighter petroleum products (diluent) to reduce its viscosity to make it easier to ...

Principal investigator: Dr. Patrice Couture, INRS-ETE (Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement)

Pipelines carrying diluted bitumen (dilbit) from the Alberta oil sands cross watersheds that are critical habitat for many freshwater fish, and as the volume of dilbit being moved increases, so does the risk of a spill. Crude oils are highly toxic to aquatic organisms.

Principal investigator: Dr. Todd Gillis, University of Guelph

As the volume of petroleum products transported by pipeline and ocean-going tankers increases, so does the risk of oil spills. Three recent spills in British Columbia involving different types of petroleum products highlight the need to learn more about how oil spills affect marine life in cold coastal waters.

Principal investigator: Dr. Caren Helbing, University of Victoria

In July 2016, a buried pipeline near Maidstone, Saskatchewan, ruptured and spilled approximately 250,000 litres of diluted bitumen (dilbit), with much of it ending up in the North Saskatchewan River. Since there is little known about the impacts of dilbit exposure on freshwater organisms ...

Principal investigator: Dr. Timothy Jardine, University of Saskatchewan

Considerable research has examined the behaviour of oil spills in marine environments; however there is little information about the potential impacts of a spill on freshwater lakes, as well as the recovery rates in the aquatic environment. To address this knowledge gap, the National Contaminants Advisory Group (NCAG) is funding research into ...

Principal investigator: Dr. Valérie Langlois, Institut national de la recherche scientifique Centre - Eau Terre Environnement (QC)

Principal Co-investigator: Dr. Vince Palace, IISD - Experimental Lakes Area Inc. (MB)

Shipments of crude oil and other substances in Canada’s coastal waters are expected to increase significantly over the coming years given the proposed increases in tanker exports of diluted bitumen (dilbit) and crude oil to overseas markets. This also increases the potential for a marine spill and related risks to ocean life.

Principal investigator: Dr. Chris Kennedy, Simon Fraser University

The proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline project is anticipated to increase tanker traffic and correspondingly the risk of oil spills in Vancouver Harbour and the Salish Sea—an intricate network of coastal waterways encompassing the Strait of Georgia ...

Principal investigator: Dr. Haibo Niu, Dalhousie University

The continued expansion of oil and gas development and transport in Canadian waters increases the risk of spills and potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems and organisms from both routine operations and accidental releases.

Principal investigators:
Dr. Michel C. Boufadel

The transport of diluted bitumen (dilbit) often traverses watersheds that are critical habitat for many freshwater fish, including Pacific salmon. Salmon are of considerable socioeconomic value to all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. However, the impacts of a potential oil transfer leak or failure are not well understood, given knowledge gaps on the consequences of dilbit exposure to early life stages of salmon. The extent to which biotic (e.g. species) and abiotic (e.g. temperature) factors influence adverse outcomes of dilbit exposure, including sublethal effects (e.g. endocrine disruption), are largely unknown. Supported under Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan, this project addresses these knowledge gaps, and provides necessary data on species sensitivities and recoveries, temperature-dependent toxicity, and ecologically-relevant physiological effects that will be generally useful for oil spill modeling, and specifically relevant for risk assessments and spill response activities (ex. biological sampling and spill remediation) in salmon-bearing Canadian waterways.

Principal investigators:
Dr. Todd Gillis
Dr. Sarah Alderman

A project to study several factors that affect how contaminants related to oil spills impact Pacific marine species including oysters sea urchins and herring.

Principal investigator:
Dr. Chris Kennedy, Simon Fraser University

National Capital Region

Research will occur in Pacific region.

The project will study several factors that affect how contaminants related to oil spills impact Atlantic marine species including lobster, sea urchins and cod.

Principal investigator:
Dr. Ben de Jourdan, Huntsman Marine Science Centre

National Capital Region

Research will occur in Maritimes region