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Coral Bay Air Sampling

Coral Bay Air Sampling. Coral Bay, St. John US Virgin Islands. The Coral Bay residential community is situated in a crescent shaped bowl formed by the bay and surrounding mountainous topography of the island.  The community is several miles southwest of the island of Tortola. Mission Statement.

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Coral Bay Air Sampling

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  1. Coral Bay Air Sampling Coral Bay, St. John US Virgin Islands

  2. The Coral Bay residential community is situated in a crescent shaped bowl formed by the bay and surrounding mountainous topography of the island.  The community is several miles southwest of the island of Tortola.

  3. Mission Statement • Air sampling was performed in response to complaints by Coral Bay residents of periodic exposure to a smoke plume emanating from a burning landfill located on the neighboring island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

  4. Smoke plume from landfill fire on Tortola

  5. Smoke plume as seen from St John during sampling events

  6. Sampling Coordination • Coral Bay Community Council • USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources • US EPA VI Coordinator’s Office • US EPA Region 2 Response and Prevention Branch • US EPA Environmental Response Team

  7. Mobilization • EPA experienced difficulty with the logistics of being in place to sample when the residents were noticing the impact of the plume. • Air monitoring and air sampling were performed around the Coral Bay area of St. John during the weeks of September 15, 2008, April 16, 2009, September 6, 2010 and September 13, 2010 .

  8. Week of September 15, 2008 • Based upon prior experience gained from sampling landfill fire emissions in the USVI, the following parameters were implemented: • Air monitoring was performed for particulates. • Air sampling was performed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), inorganic acids, mercury (Hg), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4), total non-methane organic compounds (TNMOC) and metals.

  9. Sample setup

  10. Week of April 16, 2009 • This sampling event was scaled back to look for the most common landfill fire contaminants as follows: • Air monitoring was performed for particulates. • Air sampling was performed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

  11. Sampling / Monitoring • Sampling and monitoring events were staggered to capture both day and night conditions.

  12. Up to five sampling locations were utilized during the sampling events. • a restaurant located at Chateau Bordeaux • a private residence located at 10-25 C Carolina • a private residence located at Majestic Mile • a private residence located at 6-3-62 Upper Carolina • and an upwind location in a vacant subdivision located at Privateer Bay Estates.

  13. Sample Collection Points

  14. Wind direction during sampling

  15. Sampling results 2008/2009 • No significant levels of contaminants were detected during this series of sampling events. • Wind direction was predominantly easterly dispersing the plume off to sea. • Data from these events were used to provide a baseline.

  16. Week of September 6, 2010 • The Coral Bay Community Council escorted EPA to three residences where the owners had agreed to allow EPA to set up air monitoring samples on their porches.  • With the Leinster Bay Point location and the overlook towards Tortola bringing the total sampling locations to five.

  17. Week of September 13, 2010 • EPA placed two air samples and datarams at two of the residences utilized the previous week.  Another pump was placed at the overlook where the plume could be observed on Tortola. • Summa canister grab samples were collected at another resident’s home who had called to complain about the smoke.

  18. Sampling / Monitoring 2010 • Sampling was performed with Summa canisters only for these events. • The samples were analyzed for VOCs.

  19. Sampling results 2010 • No significant levels of contaminants were detected during this series of sampling events. • While the wind direction was predominantly easterly dispersing the plume off to sea, EPA did observe the plume blowing toward Coral Bay at one point and could detect a faint smoke odor. 

  20. Remote Air Monitoring • In order to try and obtain data when not on the island, EPA installed two air monitoring stations at homes in Coral Bay in December 2010. • Each of these consisted of an EBAM particulate monitor and a mutirae gas detector for CO, H2S and SO2.

  21. These stations are currently transmitting their data thru the internet to the following website (http://viper.ert.org/stjohnair/). • Elevated particulate levels have been detected and they correlate to the times when residents are reporting smoke. The highest 24 hour average readings between 12/10/2010 and 3/2 2011 were 0.018 and 0.025 mg/m3 which are below the EPA air quality standard for particle pollution of 0.035 mg/m3.

  22. Landfill and Remote Stations

  23. Conclusion • The episodic smoke plume impact to the Coral Bay area continues to present a nuisance odor to the residents and a potential risk to sensitive members of the community. • EPA will continue to support the Coral Bay Community Council and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.

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