Characterization of Biodegraded Wabamun Spill Oil Samples Incubated with Lake Fresh Sediment or Enrichment Culture

On August 3, 2005, a Canadian National Railway train derailed within the Whitewood Sands community of the Wabamun Lake area. The derailment resulted in the release of 712,500 liters of Bunker C oil and 88,000 liters of pole treating oil from the rail cars into the adjacent Wabamun Lake water. To estimate the hydrocarbon-degrading capabilities of microbes naturally present in oil-contaminated Lake Wabamun sediment, laboratory tests were conducted at the University of Alberta under two incubation conditions. The tests incubated spilled Bunker C oil recovered from the lake and the reference oil, Alberta Sweet Mix Blend (ASMB), at 22°C for 4 weeks or at 4°C for 8 weeks. Residual oil was recovered and quantitatively characterized at the Oil Research Laboratory of Emergencies Science and Technology Section, Environment Canada. Biodegradation results demonstrated that Lake Wabamun sediment microbes were capable of degrading a significant proportion of the ASMB reference oil at both incubation temperatur...