Advances in distinguishing groundwater influenced by Oil Sands Process-affected Water (OSPW) from natural bitumen-influenced groundwaters.

The objective of this study was to advance analytical methods for detecting oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) seepage from mining containments and discriminating any such seepage from the natural bitumen background in groundwaters influenced by the Alberta McMurray formation. Improved sampling methods and quantitative analyses of two groups of mono-aromatic acids (Family A and B) were employed to analyze OSPW and bitumen-affected natural background groundwaters for source discrimination. Both groups of mono-aromatic acids showed significant enrichment in OSPW, while ratios of O2:O4 containing heteroatomic ion classes of acid extractable organics (AEOs) did not exhibit diagnostic differences. Evaluating the mono-aromatic acids to track a known plume of OSPW-affected groundwater confirmed their diagnostic abilities at this site. A secondary objective was to assess anthropogenically derived artificial sweeteners and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as potential tracers for OSPW. Despite the d...