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Mississippi Canyon Oil Spill Emergency Response Air Operations Unit, Deepwater Horizon Drill Rig Site

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, under contract to Weston Solutions, Inc.
LOCATION: Chalmette, Venice, Houma, Louisiana

OVERVIEW

• Air quality assessment of volatile organic compounds and particulates.
• Multiple sampling areas and potentially exposure areas.
• Use of advanced air monitoring instruments with real-time data collection capabilities.
• Quality Assurance SOPs applied.
• Involvement with local, state, and federal emergency response agencies.

DESCRIPTION

On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig located approximately 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank causing a massive underwater oil gusher. Efforts to cap the well proved difficult. In June, Avatar responded to the disaster area as a subcontractor to WESTON Region 6 START (Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team).

Avatar conducted air sampling and monitoring of VOCs and particulates in areas downwind of in-situ burning activities to assess air quality in southeast Louisiana. The monitoring was performed in accordance with WESTON SOP's under direction and coordination with EPA Region 6. Three monitoring stations were established in the Chalmette area. Each station was located on the property of the local fire department and consisted of one PQ200 air sampler, Datalogger, EBAM, AreaRae, MiniRae, and Summa Canister(s). Each instrument was set up to log real-time data, which was sent back to the Command Post. The PQ200 and EBAM analyzed air particulates 2.5 μ or smaller collecting a sample every 24 hours from the PQ200 and every ten minutes as well as an hourly average from the EBAM. VOCs were analyzed by Summa Canisters, AreaRaes, and MiniRaes.

Avatar performed bump tests and calibrations on AreaRaes and MiniRaes for data validation and instrument performance purposes. Action levels were monitored closely and SOP guidelines followed when limits were exceeded. At the end of every shift, Avatar reported all findings back to EPA and WESTON's Incident Commander.

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