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Dominguez Channel: A Petroleum Spill in Pipeline Alley
Oral Presentation
Prepared by A. Jeffrey
DPRA/Zymax Forensics, 600 S. Andreasen Drive, Escondido, CA, 92029
Contact Information: alanj@zymaxusa.com; 760-781-3338
ABSTRACT
In 2011, an oil slick appeared in the Dominguez Channel, a channeled river in Los Angeles. Potential sources were abundant: crude oil and petroleum product pipelines under the Channel; a multitude of pipelines along the sides of the Channel currently and historically carrying a variety of petroleum products; neighboring gas stations and businesses storing petroleum products; and, to top it off, potential oil seeps from underlying Los Angeles Basin oil reservoirs.
This discussion will show how attempts to identify the source were complicated by the sampling methodology, and how refinements in the sampling and wider collection of samples helped to better identify the spilled product. Further complications arose because of changes in the formulation of petroleum products like gasoline over time, which can make the identity of gasoline-range hydrocarbons ambiguous.
The discussion will show how forensics chemical analysis of the oil slick and the subsurface light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) feeding the oil slick helped to eliminate some potential sources and narrow the search for the most likely source(s).
Oral Presentation
Prepared by A. Jeffrey
DPRA/Zymax Forensics, 600 S. Andreasen Drive, Escondido, CA, 92029
Contact Information: alanj@zymaxusa.com; 760-781-3338
ABSTRACT
In 2011, an oil slick appeared in the Dominguez Channel, a channeled river in Los Angeles. Potential sources were abundant: crude oil and petroleum product pipelines under the Channel; a multitude of pipelines along the sides of the Channel currently and historically carrying a variety of petroleum products; neighboring gas stations and businesses storing petroleum products; and, to top it off, potential oil seeps from underlying Los Angeles Basin oil reservoirs.
This discussion will show how attempts to identify the source were complicated by the sampling methodology, and how refinements in the sampling and wider collection of samples helped to better identify the spilled product. Further complications arose because of changes in the formulation of petroleum products like gasoline over time, which can make the identity of gasoline-range hydrocarbons ambiguous.
The discussion will show how forensics chemical analysis of the oil slick and the subsurface light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) feeding the oil slick helped to eliminate some potential sources and narrow the search for the most likely source(s).