Light oily smell in Destin 'dispersed' as air quality tests show 'good' results

The following is the latest oil spill update from the city of Destin.

Destin is open for business!  The beaches are clean and the fishing is great!  The light oily smell Destin experienced last week has dispersed.

Here's the air quality status report that was released yesterday.

Air Quality Status Report
Ozone and particle data are consistent with typical values that occur during this time of year and no obvious influence due to the oil spill is evident.  None of our monitoring data would indicate that they pose a significant health threat. Data from the DEP monitoring network are not showing any abnormal results at this time.

Air Quality Index (AQI)
The AQI for Sunday, May 23, was Good throughout the North Florida coastal area.  “Good” means the air quality is satisfactory and air pollution poses little or no risk. Air flow on Sunday was changing as the trough passed, offshore in the west and toward shore in the east.  Trajectory analysis indicates the flow was light and while the air mass passed over waters encompassing the oil spill for eastern areas and made slow progress toward shore. The highest ozone readings along the northern gulf coast occurred at Panama City with a maximum 1-hour reading of 49 ppb and a maximum 8-hour concentration of 41 ppb as compared to Florida’s 1-hour standard of 120 ppb and the federal 8-hour standard of 75 ppb.  The highest fine particulate concentrations occurred at Tallahassee with a 24-hour reading of 14.8 µg/m3 compared to the federal 24-hour standard of 35µg/m3.

Additional Monitoring
The most recently available data (May 13) from EPA’s monitors in Pensacola and Panama City showed values of VOC’s well below levels of concern for public health. The initial results from the DEP VOC monitors in Ft. Walton Beach and Apalachicola are not yet available. Monitoring at these sites began on May 18th, and it will take about 10 days to get results. Review of similar VOC monitoring data from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastal areas, while more elevated than in Florida, also show no significant issues at this time. One limitation of the VOC monitoring is the time lag between when the samples are taken and when the data are available due to laboratory time needed to analyze the samples.

Air Quality Forecast
The air quality for Monday, May 24, is expected to be Good based on ozone and particle forecasts, depending on location along the Florida northern Gulf coast. Winds are offshore in Louisiana and Mississippi and will transition to offshore in Alabama and Florida.  No direct air quality impacts due to the spill are expected.

Odor
Measurements taken in Pinellas county during periods of odor indicated that the VOC levels observed were at or below the averages for calendar year 2009.

(Information from Okaloosa County Emergency Management Officials)
Oil is not expected to be in the Destin area through the next 72 hours. No tar balls have been found on Okaloosa beaches to this point.  There is good news to report about the loop current. The current has been reduced in size due to an eddy that has formed which has pinched off the northern section of the current.  Oil is no longer an imminent threat to the Keys.