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Flood Water Test Results: Chemical Testing
September 5, 2005
Test Results
Site 05_0
- Sampled and Found - Exceeding EPA Limits
- Sampled and Found - but Not Exceeding EPA Limits
- Sample and Found - but EPA Has Not Established Limits
- Sampled and Not Found
Introduction
EPA in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality performed chemical sampling of New Orleans flood waters for over one hundred priority pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), total metals, pesticides, herbicides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Flood water sampling data for chemicals are being posted from September 3, 2005 on as they become available. The data has been reviewed and validated through a quality assurance process to ensure scientific accuracy.
Floodwater results for September 5, 2005: Results from the chemical analyses of the data collected did not reveal any contaminants that exceeded EPA drinking water standards. Minerals commonly found in sea water along with trace levels of organic acids, phenols, and sulfur chemicals were detected.
Additional information
Additional information regarding health and safety issues for both the public and emergency responders can be found on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web site and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Web site.
Test Results
- Sampled and Found - Exceeding EPA Limits
- Sampled and Found - but Not Exceeding EPA Limits
- Sample and Found - but EPA Has Not Established Limits
- Sampled and Not Found
Sampled and Found - Exceeding EPA limits
| CAS Number | Name | Measured Level (µg/L) | EPA Limit (µg/L) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | ||||
Sampled and Found - but not Exceeding EPA limits
| CAS Number | Name | Measured Level (µg/L) | EPA Limit (µg/L) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7440-39-3 | Barium | 137 | 2000 | Barium is a silvery-white metal found in nature. It occurs combined with other chemicals such as sulfur or carbon and oxygen. These combinations are called compounds. Barium compounds can also be produced by industry. Barium compounds are used by the oil and gas industries to make drilling muds. They are also used to make paint, bricks, tiles, glass, and rubber. |
Sampled and Found - but EPA Has Not Established Limits
| CAS Number | Name | Measured Level (µg/L) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 106-44-5 | 3 &/or 4-Methylphenol | 9.3 | |
| 67-64-1 | Acetone | 28.2 | Acetone is a manufactured chemical that is also found naturally in the environment. It is a colorless liquid with a distinct smell and taste. It evaporates easily, is flammable, and dissolves in water. It occurs naturally in plants, trees, volcanic gases, forest fires, and as a product of the breakdown of body fat. It is present in vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, and landfill sites. Industrial processes contribute more acetone to the environment than natural processes. |
| 103-82-2 | Benzeneacetic acid | 18.5 | |
| 65-85-0 | Benzoic acid | 12.7 | |
| 7440-70-2 | Calcium | 82700 | Calcium is a metallic element, fifth in abundance in the earth's crust, of which it forms more than 3%. It is an essential constituent of leaves, bones, teeth, and shells. The metal is a silvery color and is rather hard. Chemically it is one of the alkaline earth elements; it readily forms a white coating of nitride in air, reacts with water, burns with a yellow-red flame, forming largely the nitride. Calcium does not occur free in nature. Calcium is found mostly as limestone, gypsum and fluorite. Stalagmites and stalactites contain calcium carbonate.Calcium is a common constituent of sea water. |
| 98-89-5 | Cyclohexanecarboxylic acid | 12.2 | |
| 75-18-3 | Dimethyl sulfide | 6 | |
| 7439-89-6 | Iron | 600 | Iron metal is a silvery, lustrous metal which has important magnetic properties. Iron is a relatively abundant element in the universe. It is found in the sun and many types of stars in considerable quantity. Iron is a vital constituent of plant and animal life, and is the key component of haemoglobin. The pure metal is not often encountered in commerce, but is usually alloyed with carbon or other metals. The pure metal is very reactive chemically, and rapidly corrodes, especially in moist air or at elevated temperatures. |
| 503-74-2 | Isovaleric acid | 32.2 | |
| 7439-95-4 | Magnesium | 199000 | Magnesium is a grayish-white, fairly tough metal. Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust although not found in it's elemental form. Magnesium tarnishes slightly in air, and finely divided magnesium readily ignites upon heating in air and burns with a dazzling white flame. Normally magnesium is coated with a layer of oxide, MgO, that protects magnesium from air and water. Magnesium is a common constituent of sea water. |
| 7439-96-5 | Manganese | 331 | Manganese is a naturally occurring metal that is found in many types of rocks. Pure manganese is silver-colored, but does not occur naturally. It combines with other substances such as oxygen, sulfur, or chlorine. Manganese can also be combined with carbon to make organic manganese compounds. Common organic manganese compounds include pesticides, such as maneb or mancozeb, and methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT), a fuel additive in some gasolines. |
| 7440-09-7 | Potassium | 83700 | Potassium is never found free in nature, but is obtained by electrolysis of the chloride or hydroxide. It is one of the most reactive and electropositive of metals and, apart from lithium, it is the least dense known metal. It is soft and easily cut with a knife. It is silvery in appearance immediately after a fresh surface is exposed. Potassium is a common constituent of sea water. |
| 7440-23-5 | Sodium | 1760000 | Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on earth comprising 2.6% of the earth's crust. It is the most abundant of the alkali metals. It never exists in nature, but is prepared by electrolysis of absolutely dry fused sodium chloride. Sodium is a common constituent of sea water. |
| 7704-34-9 | Sulfur | 36.2 | |
| 7446-09-5 | Sulfur dioxide | 81.8 | Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. It is a liquid when under pressure, and it dissolves in water very easily. Sulfur dioxide in the air comes mainly from activities such as the burning of coal and oil at power plants or from copper smelting. In nature, sulfur dioxide can be released to the air from volcanic eruptions. |
| 7440-66-6 | Zinc | 330 | Zinc is one of the most common elements in the earth's crust. It is found in air, soil, and water, and is present in all foods. Pure zinc is a bluish-white shiny metal. Zinc has many commercial uses as coatings to prevent rust, in dry cell batteries, and mixed with other metals to make alloys like brass, and bronze. A zinc and copper alloy is used to make pennies in the United States. |