In the Prairies, where oil and gas deposits dot much of the land, researchers are drawing attention to a little-known chemical pollutant that the fossil fuel industry has released for decades into the natural environment. Sulfolane was long thought to be harmless, but now there is growing evidence of its toxicity and calls are emerging to clean it up.
The sulfolane was used for the first time in the 1940s by Shell and has since been widely adopted by the industry. In Alberta, it is widely used to “sweeten” sour gas (which makes up a third of natural gas in the province) by removing its acidic components, explains researcher Erica Pensini, associate professor of engineering at the University of Guelph. There is little data on the chemical’s impact on humans, but it has been shown to affect the fertility of livestock, and Health Canada grades that “overall, oral exposure to sulfolane in experimental animals was associated with immunological, renal, reproductive, and developmental effects.”
In collaboration with Canadian Light Source, a national research center at the University of Saskatchewan, Pensini and others in Guelph have begun studying how sulfolane moves in water. It is the first step in identifying where sulfolane deposits are found in Alberta’s waterways; information that Pensini hopes will lead to remediation efforts. They have noted that sulfolane travels and mixes easily with groundwater—an especially pertinent concern for rural residents who rely on wells for drinking water.
While sulfolane is known to have been used by the fossil fuel industry for years on the Prairies and beyond, there are no official figures on how much of the pollutant was discharged. However, Pensini points out: “We know [how] A lot of oil and gas is produced in Alberta, we know that this process was used widely, we know that this chemical was just being washed into the aquifers. So, [we] “We expect the impacts to be quite broad.”
Now that sulfolane is understood to be toxic, the fossil fuel industry is taking precautions to prevent it from leaching into groundwater; Pensini defines it as a “historical contaminant.” However, Canadian National Observer He contacted the Alberta government to ask what disposal rules exist around sulfolane, when they were implemented and if there are any remediation efforts underway, but did not receive a response by deadline.
Understanding how sulfolane acts in water is important because it has little odor or color, Pensini explained. Like alcohol, it is “miscible” in water, meaning it can mix completely with water. However, it behaves more like gasoline when natural salts (such as sulfates from aquifer minerals) are present in waterways. In those cases, the speed at which it moves would likely decrease, he said.
Findings on the impacts of salt on sulfolane movement were published in the research journal Physics of Fluid in March. Now, Pensini and his fellow researchers are working to understand how sulfolane moves in groundwater when it mixes with other contaminants, such as oil and gas.
In the Prairies, where oil and gas fields dot much of the land, researchers are drawing attention to a little-known chemical pollutant that the fossil fuel industry has released into the natural environment for decades: sulfolane.
Sulfolane leaks in Alberta
About a decade ago, people living in rural Alberta experienced a sulfolane leak from a nearby gas plant that was owned at the time by Suncor and later sold to Bonavista Energy. During the investigation, it was revealed that the Alberta government was aware of a previous sulfolane leak and did not tell the residents.
In 2014, Bonavista reported sulfolane levels 125 times the safe amount recommended by Health Canada guidelines for drinking water near the site. reported CBC News. Paul Belanger lives in the area and explains that people “didn’t really know when the leak started.”
While the chemical hasn’t received much attention, Belanger says it’s a big concern for those who understand its toxicity. He is a scientific advisor at Guardians of the water and also used to work in the oil industry in Alberta. He explains that the industry for a long time “didn’t know anything about toxicity” and “was just throwing it into the ground.”
“We have a lot of sour gas plants in Alberta. That’s why every one of our sour gas plants has a sulfolane problem. It’s over. This is a pretty serious problem,” she said while referencing a study 2019 performed on aquatic organisms that showed negative health impacts when exposed to sulfolane.
A 2021 review A study of sulfolanes published in the journal Environmental Reviews notes that “there is clear evidence of sulfolane toxicity in both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, suggesting that sulfolane would affect humans to a greater extent than some of the smaller test animals, like rodents.”
Sulfolane contamination is not a problem unique to grasslands. In 2020, an Alaska refinery was earned millions in damages by releasing sulfolane and contaminating the wells of hundreds of people. Belanger says the increase in studies showing its toxicity, combined with the widespread use of the product, shows there is a need to raise awareness among people, especially in the Prairies.
The government also needs to fund studies, independent of the Alberta Energy Regulator, which Belanger said has proven to be opaque and unreliable, noting that the regulator failed to notify the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation about two large leaks of toxic tailings from Imperial’s Kearl site. Oil.
“The public needs to know more… we need direct information and then it has to be dealt with in the places where it needs to be dealt with,” he said.
“It can be quite expensive, but very feasible. And it is being done routinely in the United States. We can do it here too.”