Toxicity of oil sands to early developmental stages of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

The effects of oil sands exposure on the early life stages of fathead minnows was examined. Toxicity tests were conducted on oil sand sediments collected along the Athabasca River in Alberta. Toxicity tests were also conducted on control samples, natural river bitumen deposits, reference sediments and wastewater pond sediments. Eggs and larvae exposed to the sediments were checked daily for mortality, hatching, malformations, growth and cytochrome CYP1A induction. The study showed that natural bitumen and wastewater pond sediments were responsible for the most incidences of early life stage mortality, malformation and reduced growth. Exposure to reference sediments and controls showed negligible embryo mortality and malformations with excellent larval survival. Natural bitumen and wastewater ponds were shown to have high concentrations of higher molecular weight and alkyl-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It was concluded that the early life stage sediment toxicity test may be a valuable tool for monitoring and assessing petroleum pollution