Follow up sampling performed by the Lower Mississippi River Keeper in the Mississippi River Delta on December 21, 2010
by:
Wilma Subra
Subra Company
Paul Orr
Lower Mississippi River Keeper
Michael Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network
On August 3, 2010, and December 21, 2010, the Lower Mississippi River Keeper and Louisiana Environmental Action Network sampled soil in the Mississippi River Delta near the mouth of Southeast Pass. Soil samples were collected from the stained area at the edge of a small lagoon just behind a sandy beach area and from a cane vegetated area next to the small lagoon.
Soil from the edge of a small lagoon near the mouth of Southeast Pass:
| August 3, 2010 | December 21, 2010 | |
| Oil Range Organics | 779 mg/kg | 600 mg/kg |
| Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons | 1,100 mg/kg | |
| # of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons | 38 | 43 |
| PAH concentration | 3,934 ug/kg | 12,267 ug/kg |
| # of PAHs exceeding Marine Sediment Screening Levels | 18 | 17 |
Soil from an area growing in Roseau Cane near the small lagoon near the mouth of Southeast Pass:
| August 3, 2010 | December 21, 2010 | |
| Oil Range Organics | 11,600 mg/kg | 503 mg/kg |
| Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons | 2,670 mg/kg | |
| # of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons | 40 | 46 |
| PAH concentration | 49,269 ug/kg | 12,224 ug/kg |
| # of PAHs exceeding Marine Sediment Screening Levels | 15 | 22 |
The PAHs in the soil strongly support that the soil is contaminated with crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon.
The two areas sampled near Red Fish Bay are still heavily contaminated with crude oil components, eight months after the Deepwater Horizon incident.
