[StBernard] Released today from the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center

[Westley Annis]

NOAA Releases Data Report on Air Quality Measurements
 
NOAA scientists released a data report on air quality measurements taken in
June in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill area. The report,
available online at
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/tropchem/2010gulf/GulfReport.pdf
<http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/tropchem/2010gulf/GulfReport.pdf> , summarizes
the levels of nearly 100 air pollutants measured with sophisticated air
sampling instruments onboard a NOAA WP-3D research aircraft.

Scientists found common air pollutants, such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and
carbon monoxide, in amounts typical of urban areas in U.S. cities. However,
15 to 70 kilometers downwind from the oil spill, concentrations of certain
hydrocarbons were much higher than found in typical polluted air.
Particulate matter downwind of the oil slick was comparable to
concentrations in moderately polluted urban air, but the particles were
almost entirely organic material, as opposed to those typically found in
urban particulate matter. Scientists also measured large amounts of black
carbon in smoke from a controlled burn of crude oil on the water.

"Data from the NOAA flights are providing an important detailed and
independent set of air quality data to assess air quality risks of workers
at sea and the public ashore," said A. R. Ravishankara, director of the
Chemical Sciences Division of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, who
led the science team.

NOAA scientists measured the air pollutants in four areas, including in the
immediate vicinity of the spill, downwind from the spill, and along the
Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastlines. They also measured "background"
air in an area far from the spill to serve as a control sample. In analyzing
the levels of the pollutants, scientists compared them to typical
concentrations of a polluted U.S. urban area.

The near-shore measurements, 30 to 40 kilometers from shore, showed
pollution concentrations generally lower than those typically found in urban
areas. The background air was relatively free of pollution from the oil
spill. A summary of the measurements is provided in Tables 1 and 2 of the
report.

The air chemistry flights were conducted to support the efforts of the
Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health
Administration to assess air quality for coastal residents and oil spill
response workers.

"EPA has been monitoring air quality along the Gulf Coast since the start of
this incident to ensure that residents have the best possible information on
the air quality, and the data in this report are generally consistent with
EPA's findings," said Gina McCarthy, EPA's Assistant Administrator for the
Office of Air and Radiation. "EPA will continue to work with NOAA, other
federal agencies and independent scientists to effectively monitor air
quality and to provide residents living along the coast with the best
possible information about the air they are breathing."

"In order to evaluate worker exposure, OSHA has been conducting its own air
monitoring in the Gulf, as well as reviewing all additional available data.
Our findings are consistent with NOAA's data," says Dr. David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. "We will
continue to work closely with all other Federal Agencies to monitor the
health and safety hazards facing workers involved in the oil spill
response."

The report offers a highly detailed snapshot of the concentrations of
hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals, particulate matter, ozone, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, peroxyacetyl nitrate and a host of other air
pollutants in the Gulf in early June. Measurements were taken from as low as
60 meters above sea level and up to 1,000 meters above sea level, with most
flight tracks being about 150 meters above the Gulf. 


In order to conduct the air sampling, NOAA temporarily diverted the WP-3D
plane from its planned participation in the CalNex research mission, a
multi-agency field study on California climate change and air quality
issues. NOAA scientists recognized that the well-instrumented plane could
help in meeting the need to understand how the oil spill was affecting air
quality.

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