title: Potential health risks posed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in muscle tissues of fishes from the Athabasca and Slave Rivers, Canada.
abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are released to the environment from oil sands operations and from natural sources in Alberta, Canada. Concentrations of 16 USEPA priority PAHs were measured in tissues of fishes collected from three locations on the Athabasca River in Alberta and two downstream locations on the Slave River in the Northwest Territories, Canada. A total of 425 individual fish were collected including 89 goldeye (Hiodon alosoides), 93 whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), 104 northern pike/jackfish (Esox lucius), 96 walleye (Sander vitreus) and 43 burbot/loche mariah/mariah (Lota lota). Fish were sampled during the summer and fall of 2011 and spring of 2012. Dorsal muscle of fishes from upstream reaches of the Athabasca River, close to oil sands extraction and upgrading activities, contained greater concentrations of individual PAHs than concentrations in muscle of fishes from further downstream in the Slave River. Concentrations of the sum of USEPA indicator PAHs (∑PAHs) in fishes collected in the vicinity of Fort McKay, closest to oil sands activities, varied among seasons with average concentrations ranging from 11 (burbot, summer) to 1.2 × 102ng/g, wm (burbot, spring) with a mean of 48 ng/g, wm. Concentrations of ∑PAHs in fishes collected in the vicinity of Fort Resolution, the location most distant from oil sands activities, also varied among species and seasons, with average concentrations ranging from 4.3 (whitefish, summer) to 33 ng/g, wm (goldeye, summer) with a mean of 13 ng/g, wm. Significant differences in concentrations of ∑PAHs in muscle were observed within goldeye, jackfish, walleye and whitefish among sites. Health risks posed by PAHs to humans were assessed probabilistically using a B[a]P equivalents approach (B[a]Peq). The average lifetime risk of additional cancers for humans who consumed fish was deemed to be within an 'acceptable' range of risk (i.e., less than 10-6).
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. ehimai.ohiozebau@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Ehimai
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ohiozebau
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tendler
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Garry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Codling
authors.affiliation: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.|Department of Biomedical Veterinary Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.|School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Giesy
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.|Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D000818:Animals; D005399:Fishes; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry*; D015873:Northwest Territories; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Assessment; Cancer; Daily intake (DI); De minimis; Human health; Muscle; Oil sands; PAH