Feb. 28, 2006
In Downtown Los Angeles
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is continuing to collect
and analyze air samples from a downtown Los Angeles site where oily liquid
oozed up and into the street last week.
“Although initial samples taken last week showed some elevated levels of
air contaminants, samples taken from the same locations today showed
considerably lower concentrations,” said Chung S. Liu, Ph.D., AQMD’s Deputy
Executive Officer for Science and Technology Advancement.
On Feb. 20, what appeared to be petroleum products mixed with water oozed
up from underground and into the 1200 block of South Olive Street. Fire
officials temporarily shut down part of the street and also evacuated a
print shop and apartment complex in the block.
The fluid leak may be related to the St. James Oil Corp.’s nearby oil and
gas production facility at 1235 S. Broadway. During the same time period
last week, the company pressurized an underground oil reservoir with hot
water, a technique used to enhance oil recovery. Hot water from the
reservoir may have intruded into an abandoned well, causing a leak to the
surface.
“AQMD staff will be conducting a full inspection of this facility this
week to ensure they are complying with all air pollution regulations and all
conditions in their air pollution permit,” said Mohsen Nazemi, AQMD’s
Assistant Deputy Executive Officer for Engineering and Compliance. If
AQMD’s investigation shows that the St. James facility was responsible for
creating a public nuisance as a result of the oil leak, or that it is in
violation of any air quality rules or regulations, AQMD will issue the
company a violation notice, he said.
On Feb. 22, responding to a request from the Los Angeles County Fire
Department, AQMD field staff collected air samples at three locations in the
1200 block of Olive Street: from a crack in the floor of Ready
Reproduction, Inc., a print shop at 1212 S. Olive St.; from a floor crack in
a garage at the same address, and from a crack in the pavement under a
breezeway at an apartment complex at 1220 S. Olive St.
An analysis of the three samples showed levels of benzene, an ingredient
in petroleum, at 1.6 parts per million (ppm) from the print shop; 4.4 ppm
from the garage and 0.3 ppm from the breezeway. The level in the garage was
more than 10 times a cautionary short-term inhalation level set by the
state, referred to as an Acute Reference Exposure Level (REL). No adverse
health effects are expected at or below the REL.
Although the level of benzene emitted from a floor crack exceeded the
acute health threshold, the contaminant level at nose height would be
considerably less due to dispersion in ambient air. In addition,
evacuations of workers and residents in the area last week would have
minimized any potential exposure to toxic air contaminants.
Air samples collected today from the same locations as those sampled last
week and analyzed with field instruments showed considerably lower
concentrations of benzene. (The field equipment used for today’s
measurements is not as sophisticated as laboratory instruments and has a
detection limit of 0.1 parts per million for benzene.)
Benzene was detected at only one location, at 0.4 ppm from a crack in the
floor of the garage at 1212 S. Olive St. Benzene was not detectable in the
print shop or in areas around the apartment complex. Benzene also was not
detectable at five feet above the garage floor crack, representing a typical
breathing height.
AQMD collected additional samples today and will analyze them this week
in its laboratory.
“AQMD will continue to monitor air quality at this site to ensure that
there is no threat to public health,” Liu said.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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