Analysis of Semi-permeable Membrane Devices for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

The purpose of this Request for Proposal is: To obtain services to perform sample analysis. Environment Canada reserves the right to extend this contract for an additional two option years, which may be renewed on a yearly basis by mutual consent with the winning Contractor. Prices will remain the same as the initial quoted year, but also allow for additional costs due to inflation for a maximum of 2% per year. Actual costs per year to be determined upon acceptance of each option year.

Environment Canada’s (EC) Arctic and Athabasca Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance (AAWQMS) office implemented a passive water quality monitoring program in support of long-term water quality monitoring in the oil sands region (Government of Canada and Government of Alberta 2011, 2012). This program applies passive sampling devices that accumulate, and provide a time-integrated measure of, organic compounds in the water column. The compounds in question are polycyclic aromatics, which may originate from both natural and anthropogenic sources. The information generated by the program will be used to determine if there is a measurable effect of oil sands development on rivers and streams in the oil sands region, and thereby deliver on EC commitments identified in the Canada-Alberta Joint Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM) Program (Government of Canada and Government of Alberta, 2012).

The passive sampling devices in applied by the AAWQMS in delivery of JOSM are semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs). These devices, manufactured by Environmental Sampling Technologies (http://www.est-lab.com/), consist of a polyethylene membrane filled with triolein. The membranes (also known as “films”) mimic biological organisms in the accumulation of trace level, potentially toxic and bioaccumulative organic compounds. The passive sampling program includes monthly deployments of the membranes in the water column for a period of approximately 30 days, and an extensive suite of QC samples (field blanks, travel blanks, dialysis blanks, triplicates).

Semi-permeable membrane devices were deployed in the Athabasca River and tributaries from 2011 through 2014. Deployments are ongoing in 2015-16. Dialysis, cleanup and analysis are necessary for SPMD samples (and associated blanks) to be collected in 2015-2016, as well as for select experimental SPMD samples. Data generated from analysis of these SPMDs will provide an indication of the concentrations of PAHs within and between rivers in the region, and will bolster interpretation of biological information collected as part of JOSM (i.e., invertebrate community monitoring), thereby supporting assessment of the potential effects of oil sands development activities on aquatic ecosystems in terms of water quality and invertebrate community form and function.