Total gaseous mercury (TGM) data are collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada at two Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) Air Monitoring Stations (AMS). The instrument at WBEA AMS 11 was relocated to WBEA AMS 13 in Spring 2014. TGM data from the oil sands region are available for: WBEA AMS 6 - Patricia McInnes, located in Fort McMurray, Alberta, starting in October 2010; WBEA AMS 11 – Lower Camp, located approximately 30km north of Fort McMurray, for the period December 2012 to March 2014; WBEA AMS 13 – Fort McKay South, located near Fort McKay, starting in June 2014.
The TGM concentrations reported are comparable to those measured at sites across Canada (Cole et al., Atmosphere 2014, 5(3), 635-668). TGM concentrations at these three oil sands sites show seasonal and diurnal cycles, typically higher in the spring and midday, and lower in the fall and early morning. There are no Environment and Climate Change Canada or Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) air quality guidelines, nor Alberta Ambient Air Quality Objectives, for TGM. The monitoring follows the established Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) standard operating procedures.
The analysis of the WBEA AMS 6 data up to May 2013 can be found online at Atmosphere Open Access Journal under the following reference: Total Gaseous Mercury Concentration Measurements at Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada by M.T. Parsons, D. McLennan, M. Lapalme, C. Mooney, C. Watt and R. Mintz found in Atmosphere (2013, 4, 472-493).