On June 10, 2010, the Emerald Coast Chapter was one of the first local volunteer organizations to begin a Gulf Beach Water Quality Monitoring Program in response to the minimal efforts made by state and federal agencies to monitor against the dangers of the offshore oil drilling spill. Local surfers and swimmers have suffered from burning eyes and mouths, blistering noses and have developed acid-type rashes since the spill. They want to know what is in the water that might be causing these symptoms.
These samples are analyzed for the presence of several different hydrocarbons that are most likely to be found at Florida’s beaches this far away from the original spill site given the amount of time that has passed since the spill. The samples are also being tested for propylene glycol and 2-butoxyethanol, which are common ingredients of chemical dispersants, such as those used to break up the BP oil spill in the Gulf. We have also performed some follow-up testing for Corexit specific chemicals.
“The effort is necessary to ensure it is safe to recreate in our waters. Underwater oil plumes may be washing up along beaches that appear clean to the eye. We are testing the water to look for many of the toxic compounds associated with the spilled oil and dispersants sprayed and pumped into the Gulf.” - Emerald Coast Chapter Chair Mike Sturdivant.
Sampling Sites
We began this program by collecting beach water samples weekly and testing them for crude oil pollution and chemical dispersants, but have cut back on our testing frequency due to budget limitations.
Our sampling sites in Florida include Pensacola Pier, Okaloosa Island Pier, Miramar Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Seaside, Panama City Pier Park.
View our Sampling Log for our latest sampling dates and locations. View Emerald Coast Sampling Locations in a larger map.
We are also partnering with concerned surfers in Alabama to test beaches there that have also been affected by the oil spill. Alabama specific information can be found http://whatsupwiththegulf.blogspot.com.
Test Results
Three months after the last application of dispersants was supposedly sprayed over or into Gulf waters, the Chapter has found one of the key ingredients of these dispersants in a couple of our beach water samples. We are continuing to investigate the source of these contaminants. Our independent water testing provides an alternate source of information that may confirm, add to or contradict current agency testing programs.
The chapter will continue to collect samples as long as our funding allows and while pollution from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and lack of complete clean up continue to be of concern. Below are pdf versions of all the test results to date. (Note: these are the dates the samples were taken; however it takes about 2-4 weeks to get the results back).
Lab Reports
Our samples are analyzed for oil hydrocarbons down to the part per billion (ppb) and dispersant ingredients to the parts per million (ppm). Each method we use to analyze our samples has a detection limit, below which, we are not able to detect the target pollutant. The No Pollution Detected labels listed below mean that no measurable amounts of any of the pollutants were found in any of the samples for that date.
The Trace Amounts Detected label indicates that very small amounts of pollutants were identified in the sample in the parts per trillion range. These data can not be relied on as a true positive result as they are very close to the method detection limit and could be a result of lab contamination or problems with equipment calibration. Even if these data do point to actual toxins in our samples, they fall well below the State action levels and are most likely due other small environmental sources rather than the BP oil spill.
2010
2011
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