Chemical Hazard Response and Assessment    MISSION AND APPROACH The Department of Environmental Sciences (DES) at Louisiana State University developed a Response and Chemical Assessment Team (RCAT) to respond to chemical and oil spills, principally in marine environments. DES/RCAT, under the direction of Dr. Edward Overton, has provided reliable and timely chemical support to NOAA-HAZMAT for over twenty years and continues to be an integral member of their effort. The mission of DES/RCAT is to provide scientific support to each Science Support Coordinator (SSC), the primary point of contact between a spill’s OCS and the scientific team helping mitigate and/or monitor the spill. DES/RCAT’s technical approach is comprised of three tasks: Incident Response. At least two team members are on 24-hour call to respond to any incident. DES/RCAT provides assessment of spills based on an in-depth knowledge of the environmental implications of the physical, chemical, and toxicological properties of a wide range of compounds used throughout commerce and industry. In addition, laboratory analysis to detect, characterize, and document environmental and health hazard perturbations from spills can be done within six hours of receiving a sample. Unique field analytical services are also available to assess hazards on-site. Training. DES/RCAT has been actively involved in developing and conducting training programs, seminars, and simulations for spill responders for over 20 years. Included in this are numerous hazardous material/oil spill incident simulations across the country. The training program is designed to make NOAA and USCG personnel with limited technical backgrounds comfortable using the scientific information and terminology presented by DES/RCAT in their everyday jobs. Support for Chemical Response Research Needs. NOAA-HAZMAT initially developed response tools, like CAMEO, to help new planners and first responders prepare for, and more effectively deal with, chemical accidents. DES/RCAT assisted NOAA in the early stages of the development of CAMEO and continues to provide valuable technical support, particularly in the area of chemical reactivity and cross-reactivity. DES/RCAT continues to evaluate the accuracy and relevance of physical and chemical property information by comparing these and other sources, as well as identifying new sources of information. DES/RCAT is also involved in various research projects that provide enhanced capabilities for spill response including development of field and on-site analytical capability, understanding the capabilities and limitations of fieldable analytical instrumentation, dispersant monitoring capabilities, hazard assessments, oil fingerprinting, weathering, and similar response related projects. Incident specific Analytical Support. DES/RCAT has developed specialized analytical tools to support the non-regulatory analytical needs associated with oil and chemical spills and emergencies. These tools include: Fast, sensitive full scanning GC/MS analysis using the Pegasus Time of Flight MS instrument (TOFMS) Oil and Petroleum product chemical fingerprinting and weathering analyses Fast screening analysis of field samples using the microFast GC On-site, real time field analysis using the microFast GC Consultation concerning field analytical capabilities and data   FACILITIES AND INSTRUMENTATION The DES/RCAT facilities are equipped with fume hoods and bench space for extractions, sample preparations, and instrumental analyses. The group has developed and maintains a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory capable of conducting detailed gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) analyses of organics in complex matrices including biological tissues, sediments, water and wastes. Analyses commonly performed include volatile headspace, total petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, oil fingerprinting, physical property determinations of oil and/or oil/water emulsifications, and remediation product testing. DES/RCAT has the capabilities to perform genotoxicity and biochemical toxicology studies as well. Laboratory maintenance is based on standardized analytical and quality assurance/quality control procedures. The lab is fully equipped with appropriate analytical instruments and facilities for detailed chemical analysis of environmental samples. Samples routinely analyzed by DES/RCAT include sediments and soils, tissues (mussels, oysters, fish, etc.) and waters. In addition to the laboratory equipment, DES/RCAT has access to several unique state-of-the-art field portable GC systems capable of on-site analysis of both volatile and semi-volatile compounds. This novel instrumentation is capable of sampling air, dilute air, headspace, purge and trap, solid phase micro-extractions, liquid extracts and neat organic and aqueous liquids. DES/RCAT is the only response group currently capable of field deploying this advanced analytical instrumentation. Major Analytical Instrumentation Gas Chromatographs (GC) 1 Agilent 7890A GC interfaced to a Agilent 5975C MSD with computer enhanced data processing using most recent Agilent Chemstation software. 1 Hewlett Packard 5890 GC interfaced to a Hewlett Packard 5971 MS with computer enhanced data processing using Hewlett Packard Chemstation software. 1 Hewlett Packard 5890 GC interfaced to a Hewlett Packard 5972 MS and configured with an autosampler and Hewlett Packard Chemstation software. 1 Hewlett Packard 5890 GC with a flame ionization detector (FID) and electron capture detector (ECD) with an autosampler and Hewlett Packard Chemstation software. 1 LECO Pegasus Time of Flight MS system interfaced to a Agilent 6890 GC and SIS TD5 Thermal Desorber 1 Shimadzu GC-14 with FID and ECD Infra Red Spectrometer 1 Midac 0.5 cm -1 resolution Fourier Transform IR spectrometer UV, Visible and Fluorescence Spectrometers 2 Turner Designs 10-AU Fluorometers Eco 3 “in situ” fluorometer Hach DR/4000 UV/Vis spectrophotometer 1 Shimadzu RF 5000U-Scanning UV spectrofluorometer Portable Equipment 3 microFAST GC with FID capable of performing volatile and semi-volatile analyses 2 DataRAM air monitors 2 Aerosol analyzers   SAMPLING CAPABILITIES The ENVS/RCAT laboratory is stocked with the necessary equipment and supplies for sampling contaminated water, soils, air and tissues for chemical identification and source determination. Modified U.S. EPA protocols are followed so that proper sample collection and preservation is performed. SSC sampling kits that contain sampling materials and storage/shipping containers are also available upon request. PERSONNEL Key: Edward B. Overton, Ph.D. Director and Principal Investigator M. Scott Miles, M.S., Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Engineering Primary Responder and Senior Scientist Buffy M. Ashton, M.S. Lab Manager and Scientist Robert Wong, Ph.D. Analytical Chemist and Computer Specialist   PERSONNEL CONSULTANTS Ed Laws, Ph.D., Chemical Oceanographer Dean, School of Coast and the Environment Ralph Portier, Ph.D., Environmental Microbiology Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences Vince Wilson Ph.D., Environmental Toxicology Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences Piers Chapman, Ph.D., Marine Chemistry Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences John Pine, Ed.D. Emergency/Disaster Response, Risk Assessments Research professor, Department of Environmental Sciences Martin Hugh-Jones, Vet. M.B., Epidemiology Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Sciences Aixin Hou, Ph.D., Microbial Ecology Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences