[StBernard] Valero refinery release causes sulphur dioxide levels to spike in St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

Valero refinery release causes sulphur dioxide levels to spike in St.
Bernard

By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on February 11, 2013 at 12:23 PM, updated February 11, 2013 at 1:16 PM Print

A release at Valero Energy Corporation's Meraux refinery caused sulphur
dioxide levels in St. Bernard Parish to spike on five occasions Sunday,
exceeding the hourly standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, tests show.

It's the latest in a string of releases that has caused levels of sulphur
dioxide to exceed federal standards in the parish. Sulphur dioxide is a
byproduct of the oil and gas refining process. When released, the chemical
emits a rotten egg smell. 

Short-term exposure, ranging from 5 minutes to 24 hours, can cause an array
of adverse respiratory effects, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can
aggravate existing heart disease. The effects can be more profound on
asthmatics, children and the elderly.

In the early afternoon and evening Sunday, the air monitor near that
refinery showed readings of 103, 109, 128, 138 and 180 parts per billion
during various hourly periods. The EPA's hourly standard for sulphur dioxide
is 75 parts per billion.

The measurements were taken by Valero's ambient air monitor on Ventura Drive
adjacent to the refinery. The website displaying that air monitor's readings
was not updated until Monday.

Due to increasing instances in the past few years, the Louisiana Department
of Environmental Quality already has recommended that the EPA designate St.
Bernard as being out of compliance with that sulphur dioxide standard, or in
"nonattainment."

The EPA is expected to set a 2017 compliance deadline once it issues its
non-compliance directive. The DEQ would then have to submit a state
implementation plan to the EPA by mid-2014 that demonstrates how St. Bernard
will reach sulphur dioxide standards by 2017.

Already in January, there were several sulphur dioxide spikes in St. Bernard
above the hourly federal standard. And at the end of last month, the
nonprofit New Orleans-based environmental group Louisiana Bucket Brigade
released a nonscientific survey showing 70 people in the Chalmette area had
reported respiratory problems, headaches or eye irritation.