Benzene levels around Pensacola are well above EPA limits. (UPDATE)

by 8ackgr0und N015e

Yesterday, I examined some of the EPA TAGA data showing a recent dramatic increase in toluene and xylene levels around Pensacola, FL., specifically the area covered by the shaded triangle:

I focused on the dramatic increase in toluene and xylene because the benzene levels were relatively constant.  

However, that doesn't mean the benzene levels are irrelevant. If anything, the benzene levels are the most disturbing of the three.  The AVERAGE benzene concentration is now 3 times the EPA levels, even higher than previously measured. (warning:PDF)

The 20 microgram/cubic meter limit set by the EPA is equivalent to 6.26 ppb in air.  As you can see from the chart, Pensacola's AVERAGE measurable benzene levels are between 15 and 19 ppb.  In some places it is much higher.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP's airborne pollutant levels dramatically increase in Florida

by 8ackgr0und N015e

Pensacola Bay, in the panhandle of Florida, is about 115 nautical miles from the site of the BP disaster.  Nautical miles are slightly larger than statute miles, or the miles you are used to measuring on land.  

On land, 115 nautical miles would be the same as 132 statute miles. In a car, it takes more than two hours to cover that distance.  That's the distance from Washington, DC to Philadelphia.  Toledo is closer than that to Cleveland.   Sacramento is closer than that to San Francisco.  

If something was burning in Cleveland, the folks in Toledo would be surprised to see it show up in their city.  If something was spilled in Philly, you wouldn't expect to smell it in Washington.  If something fouled the air in San Francisco, you wouldn't expect it to hurt people in Sacramento.

I make the point because our friends at the EPA have been measuring the levels of benzene, toluene, and xylene in the air along the shore of the Witch's Brew formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico.  If you look at their numbers for the area around Pensacola Bay it is clear the concentrations of these compounds in the air have increased substantially over the last few weeks.

continued at Daily Kos....