U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

A monitoring program to measure air quality in and near the Breton National Wilderness Area (BNWA) was conducted over the summer of 1994. The measurements sampled sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide along with atmospheric winds and other meteorological variables. The Minerals Management Service (MMS), Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, announces publication of the findings from the measurements conducted by Louisiana State University in the two-volume report Analysis of Ambient Pollutant Concentrations and Meteorological Conditions Affecting EPA Class I and II Areas in Southeastern Louisiana.

MMS interest in the BNWA arises because the Clean Air Act strictly limits increases in pollutants over such areas. Offshore and onshore industries emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide into the air. The MMS regulates pollutant emissions from oil and gas development over the Outer Continental Shelf and is therefore monitoring the air quality of the BNWA.

The study concludes that maximum concentrations correlate with northeasterly winds, but southerly winds have a strong influence on average concentrations. The conclusions recommend that further observations are warranted; therefore, MMS continues the monitoring program at two different locations--one at the BNWA and the other at Dauphin Island. The continuation seeks to better evaluate seasonal and annual variations in the measured pollutants. It also seeks to determine how such variations correlate with wind speed and direction. Such conclusions may benefit to determine deterioration, if any, in the BNWA's air quality and to determine the possible causes.

For more information about this monitoring program, contact the Environmental Studies Section (MS 5430), 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394, telephone (504) 736-2897.

Copies of this report can be obtained from the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region at a charge of $7.00 for Volume I: Technical Report and $15.00 for Volume II: Appendices by referencing OCS Study MMS 96-0062 and 96-0063, respectively. This report will also be available in the near future from the National Technical Information Service. These addresses are provided below. Also, copies are available for inspection at selected Federal Depository Libraries.