Volatile organic compounds safety levels during crude oil spills

During crude oil spills the personnel involved in the Oil industry and the emergency responders may be exposed to Crude Oil Volatile Compounds (VOC) following their release from the rig or the transportation vessel and migration through the water column to the ocean surface. In order to be prepared in case of such incidents, hand-held instruments are readily available and capable of measuring VOC in isobutylene units. Currently there’s no VOC emergency levels for crude oil vapors or developed correction factor for which to extrapolate the concentration of general VOC as isobutylene to the concentration of Crude Oil Volatile Compounds in the air. Therefore these levels must be set out as a recommendation for initial health and safety decision making immediately after an oil spill incident and for time framing during oil spill response. In this regard, the article explores the factors that influence the VOC concentration in crude oil following an accidental release and the subsequent risks associated with inhaling these vapors.