Gulf oil spill: Fouling air as well as water?
| New Orleans
Questions about air pollution related to the BP oil spill may get some clearer answers this coming week, as university researchers and a Louisiana environmental group release initial findings of their independent analysis of the Gulf region鈥檚 air quality.
Last week, the EPA said that residents of two hard hit coastal communities in Louisiana 鈥� Grand Isle and Venice 鈥� face a 鈥渕oderate health risk鈥� due to hydrocarbon fumes. In Terrebonne Parish, residents of the town of Cocodrie and the surrounding area are also reporting strong odors of petroleum.
For months since BP鈥檚 Deepwater Horizon oil well blew, residents along the Gulf Coast, including many in New Orleans and other metro regions miles away from the shore, have said they smell fumes from the oil spill. Some have reported symptoms ranging from red eyes and runny noses to sinus infections and flu-like symptoms.
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Researchers for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade 鈥� an environmental non-profit 鈥� soon will release air quality findings based on their independent research and analysis of data provided by the EPA and state monitoring agencies. At the University of New Orleans, Dr. Bhaskar Kura is completing a separate analysis which he will present the week of July 26.
Anna Hrybyk of the said the environmental group is analyzing data on benzene levels in Louisiana 20 times above normal. In another finding, air samples taken in mid-May outside the organization鈥檚 office near downtown New Orleans showed elevated levels of hexane and heptane, neurotoxins found in petroleum. [Editor's note: The previous two paragraphs have been changed to accurately describe the work of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.]
鈥淭he levels were similar to what you would be exposed to pumping gas at a gas station 鈥� not high enough for a public health agency to issue a warning, but it does effect quality of life,鈥� said Ms. Hrybyk.
Dr. Kura, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, said a full understanding of how the spill is affecting the region鈥檚 air quality will take years.
鈥淚 know the public is very concerned, but scientists want to see all the available data and interpret their interrelationships before they start giving full answers,鈥� said Kura, whose data includes air samples he took offshore in June, combined with data from the EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. 鈥淭his is very difficult to look into and will require a lot of funding and manpower for further sampling.鈥�
In a statement last week, the EPA said odor-causing pollutants associated with oil have been detected over wide areas of the Gulf, but that the chemicals have not been linked directly to the BP spill. The agency called the pollution levels detected in Venice and Grand Isle 鈥渁 health risk to vulnerable people鈥� and 鈥渁nyone unusually sensitive to low-quality air.鈥�
New Orleans resident Amzie Adams said he first noticed an unusual gas smell in the French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods a week after the oil spill disaster started. An artist who鈥檚 been diagnosed with liver disease, Adams gave up using oil paints decades ago because the fumes affected his health.
鈥淚鈥檓 one of those people who鈥檙e particularly sensitive to chemical fumes, and for the past two months I鈥檝e really noticed something in the air, and I think it has to come from the spill,鈥� says Mr. Adams. He reported his experience to a regional Poison Control office and has since received dozens of follow-up calls monitoring his health.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 smelled like methane gas, sometimes like a gas station," Adams said. "My eyes have been burning for two months now.鈥�
Kura, of the University of New Orleans, is heading an interdisciplinary research effort examining air quality issues related to the spill, which will include scientists from several universities. Their research will rely in part on inverse modeling, a reverse methodology that will use air quality samples to estimate the actual size of the spill, he said.
鈥淵ou have a vast area with unknown millions of gallons of crude, so it鈥檚 not as easy as measuring emissions from a smokestack,鈥� said Kura. 鈥淭he measurements you get at one point on a given day are dependent on the wind direction, so you have to measure over time to get a good idea of what the exposures are.鈥�
The multi-pronged study will also look at water quality issues, including whether soot and other pollutants created by burn-offs of oil in the Gulf have created acid rains and so-called 鈥渂lack rains,鈥� which may affect groundwater and soil compositions.
鈥淎ir pollution is by far the most important factor in terms of human health, but the particulates created by burning oil on the surface are particularly toxic, and when they go up in the clouds they will come down with the rain,鈥� Kura said.
Anna Hrybyk, of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said her organization is distributing air sample self-collection kits to residents of the Gulf region. The samples are sent to an independent lab for testing. The non-profit鈥檚 website includes an interactive map, which is relying on 鈥渃rowd sourcing鈥� to collect data about the spill.
Using e-mail, text messages, or by visiting the group's website, users can make their own reports regarding odors, ill health, oil on beaches, oiled wildlife, and a host of other impacts from the spill. The site has recorded 1,300 oil impacts since May 1, including 200 reports of vapor odors, she said. [Editor's note: The original paragraph has been changed to give the correct number of reports of vapor odors.]
鈥淩egarding people as far away from the spill as New Orleans saying they can smell the hydrocarbons, I believe that is quite possible,鈥� said Kura. 鈥淪ome people are very sensitive to exposure, and it all depends on whether a plume of these vapors is over their area. On one day it could be yes and on another no.鈥�
IN PICTURES: The Gulf oil spill's impact on nature
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