Gulf's Toxic Gases are Right Under Your Nose
Agency is monitoring the air around the Gulf coast and that the agency claims that the air is safe.
EPA is wrong. The air is NOT SAFE. It is filling with toxic gases.
EPA gathers air samples and looks for AVERAGES.
I look for EXTREMES. Average amounts of gas do not kill (until they accumulate!). One whiff of toxic gas can evade EPA's "normal", but it may be enough to drop a person into convulsions, unconsciousness or death.
EPA's averages do not tally up the accumulations of gases. Breathing a little toxic gas every day is the same, and in many cases worse, as breathing a big gulp all at once. Gases sneak up on you. You may think that you can smell a gas and have time to run. You might think that you can smell natural gas, as in your furnace. Forget it. You can't smell natural gas. It is odorless and colorless. Did you know that an odor is added to commercial natural gas to help warn you, in case there is a leak?
Here is your warning on the natural gas exploding out of BP's hole every day: You can't smell it. And, it is estimated that 10,000,000,000 cubic feet are blowing out into the Gulf every day.
You heard of the "canary in the coal mine." If the canary stops chirping, it might be time to find the nearest exist. EPA is carrying an empty birdcage into the mine. I'm carrying the canary. EPA walks out of the mine with its birdcage still empty. I walk out with a dead canary.
As the media continues to report on EPA's empty birdcage and assure readers and viewers that EPA says that "The coast is clear," I am offering quantified evidence, using the EPA's own data, that the coast is under a gas attack. As the media stay focused on tar balls and dead pelicans, a more dangerous threat is right under our noses.
Another warning: In addition to the natural gas, there are HUNDREDS of other dangerous gases from the crude oil itself dispersing into the air and they are increasing in concentrations to levels of toxicity that are potentially harmful and even lethal to humans.
Some of the most dangerous gases found in crude oil are grouped together and referred to as VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds. The highest recording for a toxic mixture of VOC gases is 71.9 ppm (parts per million) at Grand Isle on June 19, a reading that is off the charts and extremely dangerous. The next highest is 9.5 ppm on June 25, followed by 8.7 ppm on June 21.
The most worrisome VOC in oil is benzene. It is known to cause leukemia in humans. Benzene is harmful to humans at levels 1000-times below what people can smell. People can inhale it and not be aware of it.
The highest EPA reading for Benzene is 23.0 ug/m3 on June 24 at Grand Isle, LA. This is an extremely toxic concentration of a very dangerous gas. Previous high was 5.4 ug/m3 on June 17 at Grand Isle, LA.
Like most volatile organic compounds (VOCs), at sufficiently high levels, it can cause dizziness, confusion, headaches and nausea, as well as airway irritation.
Long-term exposures, even at low levels, can be very hazardous. For this reason, the following regulatory standards have been established: NIOSH long-term workplace exposure = 0.1 ppm. ATSDR Minimal Risk Level = 0.003 ppm (chronic).
These dangerous gases are accumulating and hanging around day after day in some areas, producing toxic concentrations in the air, which humans are forced to inhale with every breath. For example, workers on Grand Isle breathed air filed with unhealthy concentrations of volitive organic compounds VOCs for nine days from June 19 to 27. Levels of toxicity above 4 ppm are labeled "Possible Health Risks to Humans" by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). All nine days were above 4.
DATE VOC TOXICITY
June 19 71.9 ppm
June 20 5.3 ppm
June 21 8.7 ppm
June 22 N/A
June 23 5.3 ppm
June 24 7.9 ppm
June 25 9.5 ppm
June 26 6.1 ppm
June 27 6.5 ppm
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a very noxious and dangerous gas in crude oil and natural gas. H2S smells like rotten eggs and can irritate the eyes, cause breathing problems (particularly in individuals with underlying diseases like asthma), and result in nausea, dizziness, confusion and headaches. The gas is noticeably present in the Gulf concoction of toxic gases with toxicity as high as .8 ppm on June 20 in the air around Venice, LA and 0.4 ppm and 0.5 ppm in EPA recording stations on the coast.
The following regulatory standards have been established. EPA 8-hour limit to prevent health symptoms in sensitive people = 0.33 ppm. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Minimal Risk Level = 0.070 ppm (acute).
Particulate Matter readings for PM2.5 gases register the highest toxicity on Grand Isle between June 7 and June 14. Highest recorded gas concentration is 48.9 on June 7.
Particulate Matter in the heavier 10 micron range, designated by EPA as PM10, has registered highest concentrations at Venice, LA. The toxicity of the gases increases with each passing week. The most recent readings indicate a toxic cloud over Venice, LA from June 19 through June 27. The highest reading is 342.9 ug/m3 on June 21. Second is 336.8 ug/m3 on June 25. Third highest is 329.3 ug/m3 on June 26. The concentrations are converted into standardized readings in the Air Quality Index chart below.
The last eight days when EPA data are available offer very damning evidence that the air quality is deteriorating. Toxic levels of gases are registering in "Unhealthy Levels" consistently day after day over areas of the Gulf. The eight days in the chart below show readings over Venice, Louisiana.
DATE Air Quality Index
June 19 115 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
June 20 195 UNHEALTHY
June 22 114 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
June 23 116 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
June 24 98 Moderate
June 25 192 UNHEALTHY
June 26 188 UNHEALTHY
June 27 111 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Ethyl Benzene is considered a possible human carcinogen and has been recorded at 11.0 ug/m3 on June 8 at Chalmette, LA, a populated suburb of New Orleans. Next highest reading was 6.4 ug/m3 on June 24 on Grand Isle, LA.
m,p-Xylene at 30.0 ug/m3 on June 8 at Chalmette, LA. Next highest reading was 8.3 ug/m3 on June 18 on Grand Isle, LA.
Naphthalene gas smells like tar or creosote and has registered a high reading of 209 ng/m? on June 16 along Mississippi coast. EPA's air monitoring station on Florida coast measured 171.ng/m? on June 14. It is a chemical in crude oil that can evaporate gradually into the air. In animals, naphthalene causes cancer of the airways and lungs. NIOSH long-term workplace exposure = 10 ppm. ATSDR Minimal Risk Level = 0.0007 ppm (chronic).
o-Xylene gas was recorded by EPA at 9.7 ug/m3 on June 8 at Chalmette, LA. The toxicity is 4 times higher than the second highest reading of 2.3 us/m3 on June 18 at Grand Isle.
Toluene's highest recorded toxicity is 42.0 ug/m3 on June 8 at Chalmette, LA with the next highest gas concentrations recorded on June 17 and 24 on Grand Isle, 13.0 ug/m3 and 11.0 ug/m3, respectively. High levels of toluene also can cause birth defects and reproductive harm. The following regulatory standards have been established. NIOSH long-term workplace exposure = 100 ppm. ATSDR Minimal Risk Level = 0.080 ppm (chronic).
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Article by Dan Youra, editor of Alcohol Distiller's Manual for Gasahol and Spirits, published for Dona Carolina Distillers, San Antonio, Texas. Trained in quantitative analysis at Ohio State University Behavioral Sciences Laboratory, Youra is the publisher with Michael W. Mandeville of Solar Alcohol: The Fuel Revolution.
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