Strategies for Assessing Human Health Impacts of Crude Oil Releases

Abstract

Oil spills create unique challenges in regards to the assessment of potential exposures to response workers and members of the public, and in assessing the potential environmental impacts of the release. This presentation discusses the use of breathing zone air samples taken above or in the direct vicinity of freshly released product for the establishment of air (personal and ambient) monitoring strategies. Air samples collected directly in the vicinity of freshly released and weathered product can provide critical information regarding the potential for work-site and off-site community exposure monitoring. The relative levels in air of volatile organics emitted from fresh product can be used to focus analytical sampling efforts on those constituents with the greatest potential for exceeding occupational exposure levels and community exposure guidelines, and which have the potential for impacts on human health. Finally, analytical methods for evaluation of air samples should include reporting of tentatively identified compounds (TICs), as the primary constituents of crude oil are often not included as target analytes in commonly-employed analytical methods and will likely vary based on the type of crude oil released.