1 million pounds of soot after spill

Sep 21, 2011

Here’s a humdinger of a new study you might have missed.  In the weeks during the Gulf oil disaster, officials “control-burned” one out of every 20 spilled barrels of oil to reduce surface slicks and minimize impacts to shorelines.  The results to the air, according to a new story by NOAA researchers?  One million pounds of black carbon pollution, or soot, into the atmosphere.

That’s the same amount that is released normally by all ships traveling in the Gulf over nine weeks, the report said.  According to a Sept. 20 NOAA Web release:

“Black carbon is the most light-absorbing airborne particle in the atmosphere and the reason for the black color in the smoky plumes that rise from the surface oil fires. Black carbon can also cause warming of the atmosphere by absorbing light. Prolonged exposure to breathing black carbon particles from human and natural burning sources is known to cause human health effects.

 

“During the 9 weeks active surface oil burning, a total of 1.4 to 4.6 million pounds (0.63 to 2.07 million kilograms) of black carbon was sent into the atmosphere of the Gulf of Mexico, the study estimated.”

Now that had to have an impact on the South.  In the Center’s 2007 Getting Greener book of environmental ideas, we called for better clean-up of fine particulate air pollution.  More than 80 communities in nine states in the South received a failing grade for nitrogen oxide pollution.

• Learn more about cleaning up Southern air pollution.