St. Bernard's air quality reports

St. Bernard Parish Air Quality Reports

Highest Air Monitor Readings

A monthly report of some of the highest air quality readings in the ambient air in Chalmette and Meraux, Louisiana.

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This report is a recap of some of the higher air quality readings from St. Bernard Parish’s ambient air monitors in Louisiana. Two monitors operated by LDEQ are:  the ‘Ch_Vista’ site at Chalmette Vista’s Bluebird Park northwest of ExxonMobil’s Chalmette refinery and Rain CII Carbon’s coke plant; and, the ‘Meraux’ site at the Joe Davies elementary school, just east of a municipal sewage treatment plant and somewhat northeast of Valero Energy’s oil refinery. The third monitor – ‘Ventura’ – operated by Valero Energy on Ventura Drive in Chalmette, is northwest of Valero’s refinery in Meraux and just southeast of a new elementary school construction site in Chalmette, LaCoste Elementary.  LDEQ’s former area monitors: ‘Entergy’ site in Algiers across the Mississippi River, dismantled after Hurricane Gustav; and, ‘Ch_High’ site at the local high school, discontinued sometime after Hurricane Gustav and LDEQ's 2009 Air Quality Final Report  (a thirty month study of St. Bernard Parish air quality; at that time the sulfur limit was a 24-hour average of 140 ppb SO2 and an annual average of 30 ppb. It is now an hourly average of 75 ppb SO2).  Prior to 2006, there was a monitor on Mehle Avenue in Arabi.   Annual means, percentiles, and other statistical data are asssessible on EPA's EPA's AirData website , left hand column menu, under Monitor Values.

January 2012 Recap on Air Quality
2012-air-quality-readings-st-bernard

Ambient Air monitors are fixed location monitors which measure certain air toxins.  Fixed air monitor locations are dependent on the wind direction being just right to make direct hit or "air strike" from the source point to the monitor. 

Ch_Vista ambient air monitor at Bluebird Park in Chalmette Vista neighborhood of Chalmette, adjacent to both Rain CII Carbon petroleum coke plant and ExxonMobil's Chalmette Refining. The LDEQ’s Ch_Vista data is accessible at link below or on the LDEQ website's right hand column menu, ON AIR icon, select Site Data, select Ch_Vista, enter date, click Submit.  Note display time changes for Daylight Savings Time. Air toxin results are only available through public records request.
http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/DIVISIONS/Assessment/AirFieldServices/AmbientAirMonitoringProgram/AirMonitoringData.aspx



Valero's Ventura Drive community air monitor in Floral Estates neighborhood of Chalmette, situated between Valero's St. Bernard Parish refinery in Meraux  and a new elementary school construction site in Chalmette.  Ventura Drive data is accessible at link below, select Readings, select date, click Apply.  Valero’s Ventura Drive data is recorded using the same sample methods as the LDEQ monitors, however, Valero displays some values in ppm instead of ppb.  Convert parts per million data to parts per billion by multiplying the value by 1,000. (i.e., 0.024 ppm = 24 ppb). 
http://lena.providenceeng.com/Default.aspx    For benzene, and other air toxin sample results, select Documents , click report to view.   Daily exposure limits to these air toxins can be found on EPA's  Integrated Risk Information System website, bottom menu listing "Compare IRIS Values"    http://lena.providenceeng.com/Default.aspx 

Meraux ambient air monitor at Joe Davies Elementary School playground area in Meraux, just over a mile northeast of the Valero - Meraux Refinery.  The LDEQ’s Meraux data is accessible at link below or on the LDEQ website as described above.  Air toxin results are only available through a public records request. http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/DIVISIONS/Assessment/AirFieldServices/AmbientAirMonitoringProgram/AirMonitoringData.aspx


Health standards and recommended exposure level limits

Sulfur Dioxide - SO2, measured in parts per billion (ppb), the EPA one-hour health standard for SO2 is 75ppb. The LDEQ recently designated St. Bernard Parish non-attainment for sulfur dioxide health standards. LDEQ has also stated that sulfur dioxide levels at 12 ppb SO2 trigger headaches and other adverse quality of life.  We do not have access to the 5-minute and 30-minute peak exposure levels, which also have health limits.

Hydrogen Sulfide – H2S, measured in parts per billion (ppb).  The World Health Organization (WHO 1981) advises ambient concentration levels of hydrogen sulfide "should not exceed 5 ppb (or 0.005 ppm), with a 30-minute averaging time.” We do not have access to the 30-minute averaging time values.  An EPA "technical evaluation concluded that hydrogen sulfide can reasonably be  anticipated to cause chronic health effects in humans"  .  In another toxicological review, EPA infers a daily exposure to H2S withouth risk to be 1.4  ppb (or 0.0014 ppm). {page 52 of EPA report}    According to EPA,  1.4 ppb H2S is the recommended daily exposure limit for H2S   …..  inhaling more than this concentration on a daily basis poses an appreciable risk of deleterious effects.    http://www.epa.gov/iris/toxreviews/0061tr.pdf . "Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, nausea, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs."  "Long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness."
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide
http://concernedcitizensaroundmurphy.blogspot.com/2012/02/hydrogen-sulfide-exposure.html

Particulate pollution (PM2.5) is limited to 35 ug/m3 24-hour average, 99th percentile averaged over three years, and 12 ug/m3 annual mean, averaged over three years (updated 2013).  Particulate pollution (PM10) is limited to 150 ug/m3, 99th percentile averaged over three years.   The Ch-Vista monitor is the only monitor in Louisiana does not display the PM2.5 readings as a 24-hour average.

Ozone is limited to 75 ppb on an 8-hour average, fourth highest reading averaged over three years.

Link to EPA NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards)

clean air force

Endorse a nonpartisan grassroots group called the Moms Clean Air Force and join the fight against toxic air pollution.  "Clean air should be above politics," Moore said. "The discussion about regulations to protect our air has gotten so polarized that we have forgotten an important thing: We all breathe the same air. And all our children suffer because of pollution. We don't have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We can have both. We can have what's best for all our children."

http://www.momscleanairforce.org/resources-2/

hydrogen sulfide exposure

The World Health Organization (WHO 1981) advises ambient concentration levels of hydrogen sulfide "should not exceed 5 ppb, with a 30-minute averaging time.”

Neurophysicological abnormalities have been reported in studies of residents living along the fenceline of crude oil processing plant which exposed residents to hydrogen sulfide at 10 parts per billion.  Other studies show the adverse health effects reported by residents in areas of annual exposure levels of hydrogen sulfide between 7 and 27 ppb. The adverse health effects reported by residents include “central nervous systems, ear/nose/throat, respiratory, muscle/bone, skin, immune, cardiovascular, digestive, teeth/gums, urinary, blood” . http://responsiblegold.com/HydrogenSulfide.cfm


In St. Bernard Parish, the community air monitors have demonstrated exposure to hydrogen sulfide at or above an hourly average of 10 ppb and daily exposures above 1 ppb.  Residents do not have access to the annual exposure levels nor the peak five minute and 30 minute exposure levels which comprise the hourly averages displayed on the monitors.  An EPA toxicological review infers a daily exposure to H2S withouth risk to be 1.4 ppb or 0.0014 ppm. {page 52 of EPA report http://www.epa.gov/iris/toxreviews/0061tr.pdf}.


Some peak hourly readings of Hydrogen Sulfide
1- 16 ppb of H2S on 9/26/2011 and 11 ppb of H2S on 1/04/2012 at LDEQ’s Ch_Vista ambient air monitor, located at Bluebird Park in the Chalmette Vista neighborhood of Chalmette.  This neighborhood is adjacent to ExxonMobil's Chalmette refinery and Rain CII Carbon's petroleum coke plant.

2- 24 ppb of H2S on 1/30/2012 at Valero Refining‘s Meraux plant's community air monitor on Ventura Drive in Chalmette. The Ventura Drive monitor is located in the Floral Estates neighborhood in Chalmette, adjacent to the Valero Meraux plant.

3- 16 ppb of H2S on 2/10/2010 at LDEQ’s Meraux monitor, located at Joe Davies Elementary School playground in Meraux. The Meraux site recorded a spike in H2S on the afternoon of February 10, 2010 during the time of a startup at the former Murphy Oil Meraux refinery. (now owned by Valero).

4- 26 ppb, 20 ppb, 44 ppb, and 33 ppb of H2S on Feb 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th respectively in 2010 at LDEQ's Meraux monitor.  On February 21, 2010 the former Murphy Oil refinery (now owned by Valero) reported it had discovered it was sending elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide to the flares.  {page 20 of report at this link}.  During the same time, the refinery reported permit exceedances for both flares.

5 -   58 ppb of H2S at Chalmette High School.  The LDEQ’s Chal_High community air monitor, formerly located at our only high school, recorded H2S readings as high as 58 ppb.    click here for link to report   The LDEQ dismantled the Chalmette High School monitor site just prior to the 2011 installation of Valero's Ventura Drive site in Chalmette. 

6-  91 ppb of H2S at Lower Algiers school site.  The LDEQ report in the above link also documents another former school site; this one is in Lower Algiers (across the river from the ExxonMobil Chalmette refinery and Rain CII Carbon petroleum coke plant) where the LDEQ monitor recorded H2S readings as high as 91 ppb . This Lower Algiers monitoring station was known as Entergy and was dismantled in 2008 in preparation for Hurricane Gustav.  It was never restored.   Lower Algiers, like St. Bernard Parish, is an under-served, economically disadvantaged  community.  

7-  114 ppb at LDEQ's Ch_Vista site noted in the same report.

The Chalmette Vista ambient air monitoring data is accessible at this link, under site data, select CH_VISTA.


http://www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/DIVISIONS/Assessment/AirFieldServices/AmbientAirMonitoringProgram/AirMonitoringData.aspx


The Meraux ambient air monitoring data is accessible at the above link, under site data, select Meraux.

The Valero Refinery community air monitor commenced in August 2011. The data is accessible at this link for the Ventura Drive monitor in Chalmette, select hourly readings.

http://lena.providenceeng.com/default.aspx

Bayou cleaned

DEQ ordered the clean up of Bayou Trepagnier in St. Charles Parish


Shell/Motiva most likely had a DEQ issued permit which allowed the toxic dumping. DEQ is improving its water quality programs and water shed clean up efforts, but is not consistent.


Shell/Motiva was ordered to clean this Bayou and reroute discharges to the river. A newly constructed tank farm in St. James was not allowed to discharge to the local canals and instead was required to treat and discharge to the river.  Yet, some of the older facilities discharge permits allow dumping into local canals.

Just outside Chalmette, in Meraux, the Murphy Oil refinery's discharge permit public noticed for renewal, without any improvements to the dumping situation. The oil refinery, now owned by Valero, is allowed to dump untreated waste water - oily wastes - and waters from the tank farms into the neighborhood canals. It's bad to have benzene and other contaminants meander through neighborhoods and canals where people fish and crab.  At times,  the volume of oily discharge is so large that residents become sick from the petroleum fumes which enter their homes.

In a recent public meeting, DEQ tried to assure the public that IF oil were sent to the facility's rainwater ponds or the canals, it would be a violation.  Noted violations and mere fines do nothing to solve the malfunction problems, the inadequate storm water capacity, nor the pollution problems.  It adds insult to injury when DEQ and the facility further state that the dumping only occurs when it rains, and besides they are not dumping the “really, really, bad oil”.

In this area, all these canals empty into the nearby Central Wetlands of the Lake Borgne area, which is part of the Lake Pontchartrain water shed; even the smallest amount of oil waste and chemicals affect the ecological balance of these sensitive estuaries.

DEQ should not renew the permit until these local canals and wetlands are cleaned and restored and there is a written plan and timetable for required improvements at the facility; the improvements should include additional storm water capacity and re-routing the discharges for treatment prior to discharging to the river (instead of discharging untreated or partially treated flow to the canals).

It's sort of like discrimination when DEQ provides for public health and safety in one area of Louisiana but not another.

we are here and here to stay

The St. Bernard Parish Council by Resolution previously agreed not to rezone anything in our neighborhood until Murphy Oil provided two things to the residents of St. Bernard: 1) its Master Plan for the current facility and 2) a written plan of their long-term intent for the former "buyout" area. Only than could residents fully participate in an informed discussion to consider changes around the existing greenspace or buffer. That is every citizens right to full and equal access to information before the decisions are made; its part of their right to secure tenure. Let's hope the newly elected Council and Adminstration uphold the people's rights.  Congratulations to all the newly elected officials.       

we are here and here to stay........  Inaugural Ceremonies



http://concernedcitizensaroundmurphy.blogspot.com/p/turner-v-murphy.html

sulfur dioxide readings

Ch_Vista monitor highest Sulfur Dioxide readings

January 4, 2012                        166ppb

January 7, 2012                          74ppb


Health Standards for Sulfur Dioxide one-hour readings are 75 ppb.

particulate matter New Year's Eve

Ch_Vista monitor New Year's Eve