Air quality impacts in the vicinity of a chemical herder mediated in-situ burn for Arctic oil spill response

Patrik Petterson Sartz; Md Ibnul Hasan; Srijan Aggarwal

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163860

Air quality impacts in the vicinity of a chemical herder mediated in-situ burn for Arctic oil spill response

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 20:892:163860. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163860. Epub 2023 May 3.

Authors

Patrik Petterson Sartz¹, Md Ibnul Hasan¹, Srijan Aggarwal²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States.
² Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States. Electronic address: saggarwal@alaska.edu.

PMID: 37142010
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163860

Abstract

Chemical herder augmented in-situ burning (ISB) is one of the most viable oil spill response techniques in partially ice-covered waters. Herein we report on the impacts of herder-mediated ISB tests on ambient air quality by making atmospheric measurements during ISB field tests in partially ice-covered waters in Fairbanks, Alaska. Concentrations of PM_2.5, six combustion gases (CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, NOx, SO₂), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and herding agent (OP-40) in the airborne plume (6-12 m downwind) were measured during three ISB events. PM_2.5 concentrations significantly (p-value = 0.8014) exceeded NAAQS (24 h) exposure limits, while the remaining pollutants were found significantly (p-value <0.05) below the established exposure limits. OP-40 herder was not detected in the collected aerosol samples. To our knowledge, this is the first study on atmospheric emissions in the vicinity of a field-scale herder-augmented oil-spill ISB study in a high-latitude Arctic environment and provides information that is helpful to ensure the safety and well-being of on-site response personnel.

Keywords: Air pollution; Clean-up workers; Herder; In situ burn (ISB); Oil spill response (OSR); Particulate matter (PM(2.5)).

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / analysis
Arctic Regions
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Ice
Particulate Matter / analysis
Petroleum Pollution* / analysis

Substances

Ice
Particulate Matter
Air Pollutants