Modeling VOC Emissions and Air Concentrations from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Abstract

During the two-week period following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska, toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) evaporated from the surface of the oil spill and were transported and dispersed throughout the region. To estimate the air concentrations of these VOCs, emissions and dispersion modeling was conducted for each hour during the first two weeks of the spill.

A multicomponent evaporative emissions model was developed and applied to the oil spill; the model considered the evaporation of 15 specific compounds, including benzene and toluene. Both mass transfer from the surface of the spill and diffusion through the oil layer were considered in the emissions model. Maximum emissions of toluene were calculated to equal about 20000 kg/hr, or about 5 g/m² hr, at a time of eight hours after the initial oil spill. Meteorological data were acquired from several sources and used to estimate hourly-averaged wind velocity over the spill. Air concentrations of specific components were calculated using the ATDL area source diffusion model and the Offshore and Coastal Dispersion (OCD) model. Maximum hourly-averaged concentrations were predicted not to exceed 10 ppmv for any compound.