Canadian oil tar sands operations emit far more pollution than reported

Carbon-containing air pollution caused by vast oil tar sands operations has been underreported by up to 6300%. That’s according to a study which used a new technique to measure the total organic carbon emitted into the atmosphere from facilities at Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada. The approach could help fill gaps in reporting of hydrocarbon emissions across the petrochemical sector as well as other industries.

Global anthropogenic carbonaceous emissions are chemically complex, spanning a diverse range of molecular sizes and functionalities from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and lower-volatility species. Many of them are carcinogenic or harmful to health. However, measuring all of the individual species is not technically, logistically or economically viable. Therefore, only VOCs tend to be routinely measured. The upshot is that emissions from facilities at unconventional petroleum resources such as oil sands, which emit higher levels of SVOCs and secondary pollutants, have not been accurately reported.