Modeled Air Pollution from In Situ Burning and Flaring of Oil and Gas Released Following the Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arnold SF ; Banerjee S ; Engel LS ; Groth CP ; Kwok RK ; Pratt GC ; Sandler DP ; Stenzel MR ; Stewart PA
• Description:
  The GuLF STUDY, initiated by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, is investigating the health effects among workers involved in the oil spill response and clean-up (OSRC) after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) explosion in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. Clean-up included in situ burning of oil on the water surface and flaring of gas and oil captured near the seabed and brought to the surface. We estimated emissions of PM2.5 and related pollutants resulting from these activities, as well as from engines of vessels working on the OSRC. PM2.5 emissions ranged from 30 to 1.33e6 kg per day and were generally uniform over time for the flares but highly episodic for the in situ burns. Hourly emissions from each source on every burn/flare day were used as inputs to the AERMOD model to develop average and maximum concentrations for 1-, 12-, and 24-h time periods. The highest predicted 24-h average concentrations sometimes exceeded 5000 µg m-3 in the first 500 m downwind of flaring and reached 71 µg m-3 within a kilometer of some in situ burns. Beyond 40 km from the DWH site, plumes appeared to be well mixed, and the predicted 24-h average concentrations from the flares and in situ burns were similar, usually below 10 µg m-3. Structured averaging of model output gave potential PM2.5 exposure estimates for OSRC workers located in various areas across the Gulf. Workers located nearest the wellhead (hot zone/source workers) were estimated to have a potential maximum 12-h exposure of 97 µg m-3 over the 2-month flaring period. The potential maximum 12-h exposure for workers who participated in in situ burns was estimated at 10 µg m-3 over the approx. 3-month burn period. The results suggest that burning of oil and gas during the DWH clean-up may have resulted in PM2.5 concentrations substantially above the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5 (24-h average = 35 µg m-3). These results are being used to investigate possible adverse health effects in the GuLF STUDY epidemiologic analysis of PM2.5 exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Environmental Pollution Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Pollutants Author Keywords: Deepwater Horizon Deepwater Horizon Disaster Clean-up Disaster Response Environmental Contamination Gas Industry Occupational Exposure Oil Spill Oil Spills Particulates PM2.5 Concentrations PM2.5 Exposure Worker Exposure

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• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Maryland ; Minnesota ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Virginia ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  66
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064055
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2022 Apr; 66(Suppl 1):i172-i187
• Contact Point Address:
  Gregory C Pratt, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, S.E., Minneapolis, MN, USA
• Email:
  pratt016@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f9666a77a4c77fb5fbab0bc42ba5ea869edf08e93415f96cc8a36c39b35b60c09d0ab91d257675b4527627cb58258c354c90fdc40365c6968cfd9f30cc9609bb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222581/cdc_222581_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.53 MB ]