As part of the response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) accident, a robust monitoring program was implemented to track the released oil and applied dispersant.  More than 17,000 water and sediment samples were collected in this program at more than 5,000 locations in the Gulf of Mexico.  Approaches to quickly synthesize the data and provide guidance on additional response actions were developed by Operational Science Advisory Teams (OSAT 1 and 2) staffed with representatives from participating response agencies. The OSAT teams evaluated the data relative to key indicators to assess the presence of oil and dispersant-related compounds and to identify sampling gaps. The indicators were designed to assess potential impacts on public health and aquatic life, and included evaluation of human health and aquatic benchmarks for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dispersant constituents, observations from qualitative field programs, and comparisons to reference stations and results from prior sampling programs.

Synthesis and evaluation of field monitoring and laboratory analytical chemistry data and toxicity test results for water and sediment samples collected during the Deepwater Horizon MC252 response

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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