News Brief: E.P.A. Posts Results of Additional Samples Taken at the Murphy Oil Location

(Washington, D.C. - June 8, 2006) The E.P.A. has updated its website to include the results from additional samples collected at the Murphy Oil Location in New Orleans. Acting on a mission assignment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, E.P.A. is overseeing Murphy Oil's ongoing sampling activities of residential and other properties. Today E.P.A. posted samples taken as part of 2 ongoing efforts.

The 1st set of samples relates to a continuing assessment of contamination levels at residential and other sites. 10 percent of the samples Murphy collects are split between Murphy and EPA, which sends the split samples for independent analysis. So far, Murphy has collected 8008 sediment samples from 4789 properties. E.P.A. has sent 834 split samples for separate analysis. E.P.A. has received, evaluated and posted the results of the 1st 823 samples.

Additional soil samples are taken after cleanup at each property to confirm that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Plan (RECAP) Requirements have been met. 10 percent of the confirmatory samples Murphy collects are split between Murphy and EPA, which then sends the split samples for independent analysis. Thus far, E.P.A. has sent 38 split samples for separate analyses. E.P.A. has received, evaluated and posted the results of 32 of these samples. The levels of compounds detected in the samples were below their respective RECAP standards.

More information on the results: epa.gov/katrina/testresults/murphy/index.html

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