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Are State Officials Withholding Vital Information from the Mayflower Oil Spill?
David Lincoln thinks so. Lincoln is an environmental consultant with over 15 years’ experience studying chemical exposure and potential health effects. He didn’t go to Mayflower to see the spill because, he told a group of residents at a meeting this September, “I’ve been to too many oil spills. You don’t stand there and look at ‘em. It’s not healthy.” Since the spill, however, he’s devoted himself to informing local residents about the science behind the spill.
Lincoln says the state has the tools necessary to determine which poisons were released, in what concentration, and how far they spread. For a growing number of residents who find themselves chronically sick after the spill but without any way to prove causation, this information could be decisive in court battles with Exxon.
The ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) Gas Dispersion Model was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the EPA, and is available for free. One simply inputs variables such as the composition of the oil, the temperature, the quantity spilled and at what rate, the wind speed, etc., and ALOHA produces detailed maps of the toxic plume at various concentrations.
Lincoln is certain that the state agencies have modeled the spill. Running such models is standard practice, even for small disasters. He shows one example, from the spill of a mere 7,000 gallons from an overturned tanker truck in Massachusetts, in which ALOHA was used to produce detailed maps of the benzene plume at various concentrations.
“These are EPA models. These are NOAA models. These are ADEQ models. When are they going to tell you what you’ve been exposed to?”
More at: http://www.occupy.com/article/are-state-officials-withholding-vital-information-mayflower-oil-spillLincoln says the state has the tools necessary to determine which poisons were released, in what concentration, and how far they spread. For a growing number of residents who find themselves chronically sick after the spill but without any way to prove causation, this information could be decisive in court battles with Exxon.
The ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) Gas Dispersion Model was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the EPA, and is available for free. One simply inputs variables such as the composition of the oil, the temperature, the quantity spilled and at what rate, the wind speed, etc., and ALOHA produces detailed maps of the toxic plume at various concentrations.
Lincoln is certain that the state agencies have modeled the spill. Running such models is standard practice, even for small disasters. He shows one example, from the spill of a mere 7,000 gallons from an overturned tanker truck in Massachusetts, in which ALOHA was used to produce detailed maps of the benzene plume at various concentrations.
“These are EPA models. These are NOAA models. These are ADEQ models. When are they going to tell you what you’ve been exposed to?”