Air quality in the Industrial Heartland of Alberta, Canada and potential impacts on human health

Abstract

The “Industrial Heartland” of Alberta is Canada’s largest hydrocarbon processing center, with more than 40 major chemical, petrochemical, and oil and gas facilities. Emissions from these industries affect local air quality and human health. This paper characterizes ambient levels of 77 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the region using high-precision measurements collected in summer 2010. Remarkably strong enhancements of 43 VOCs were detected, and concentrations in the industrial plumes were often similar to or even higher than levels measured in some of the world’s largest cities and industrial regions. For example maximum levels of propene and i-pentane exceeded 100 ppbv, and 1,3-butadiene, a known carcinogen, reached 27 ppbv. Major VOC sources included propene fractionation, diluent separation and bitumen processing. Emissions of the measured VOCs increased the hydroxyl radical reactivity (kOH), a measure of the potential to form downwind ozone, from 3.4 s−1 in background air to 62 s−1 in the most concentrated plumes. The plume value was comparable to polluted megacity values, and acetaldehyde, propene and 1,3-butadiene contributed over half of the plume kOH. Based on a 13-year record (1994–2006) at the county level, the incidence of male hematopoietic cancers (leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma) was higher in communities closest to the Industrial Heartland compared to neighboring counties. While a causal association between these cancers and exposure to industrial emissions cannot be confirmed, this pattern and the elevated VOC levels warrant actions to reduce emissions of known carcinogens, including benzene and 1,3-butadiene.

Results of Three Years of Ambient Air Monitoring Near a Petroleum Refinery in Richmond, California, USA

“…Long-term continuous monitoring of air quality in locations near industrial facilities, including petroleum refineries, is generally scarce, and few studies on long-term pollutant concentrations have been published in the peer-reviewed literature to date [1,2].…”

“…Although multiple monitoring studies have been conducted near petroleum refineries, these studies were usually limited in temporal coverage, spanning periods from hours to a few months, with some exceptions including seasonal sampling over longer periods of time [3][4][5][6][7][8]. Previous work on air quality at refinery perimeters primarily focused on monitoring multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with more limited emphasis on measurements of particulate matter (PM), trace gases, metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) [2,3,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Temporal Evolution of Air Pollution Levels in the Wider Industrial Zone of Kavala, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece

“…due to climate mitigation and human mortality) can be significantly high and should be taken into account during decision making [1] . Several studies have been conducted around the world that investigate the air quality in industrial areas in terms of various pollutants such as volatile organic compounds [2] , trace elements [3] , air pollution indices (including SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 10 ) [4] and others. Some of these studies have attempted to predict future air pollution levels through detailed monitoring [5] .…”

Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from a Petrochemical Industrial Complex

“…The results of a monitoring program conducted at the LYPIC indicated that maximum levels of a known human carcinogen, benzene, were as high as 618 ppbv during the day (Lin et al, 2004). Another study in Alberta, Canada showed that 1,3-butadiene, another known human carcinogen, was measured at 27 ppbv downwind of an industrial area of more than 40 companies, including chemical, petrochemical, and oil and gas facilities (Simpson et al, 2013). These results indicate that emissions of VOCs from petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants have a significant impact on surrounding areas.…”

“…VOCs in ambient air are an increasing concern because many of them have been identified to be human carcinogens (Simpson et al, 2013). Occupational epidemiological studies of workers at petrochemical and refinery plants indicate that exposure to benzene has a dose-response relationship with the risk for acute non-lymphocytic/acute myelogenous leukemia (Bloemen et al, 2004;Gun et al, 2006;Kirkeleit et al, 2008), exposure to vinyl chloride is associated with a substantial excess of angiosarcoma of the liver (Mundt et al, 2000;Ward et al, 2001), and exposure to butadiene is associated with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Divine and Hartman, 2001).…”