NOAAs National Ocean Service Office of Response and Restoration
ALOHA
LOHA (Areal Locations of
Hazardous Atmospheres) is a
computer program designed to
model chemical releases for
emergency responders and
planners. It can estimate how a
toxic cloud might disperse after
a chemical releaseas well as several fires and
explosions scenarios.
How ALOHA Works
ALOHA is designed to produce reasonable results quickly
enough to be of use to responders during a real
emergency. Therefore, ALOHAs calculations represent a
compromise between accuracy and speed. Many of
ALOHAs features were developed to quickly assist the
responder. For example, ALOHA:
Threat Zone Estimates and Threat at a Point
Minimizes data entry errors by cross-checking the input
values and warning the user if the value is unlikely or
not physically possible.
Contains its own chemical library with physical
properties for approximately 1,000 common hazardous
chemicals so that users do not have to enter that data.
Key Program Features
ALOHA is designed to be easy to use so that responders
can use it during high-pressure situations. A series of dialog
boxes prompt users to enter information about the scenario
(e.g., chemical, weather conditions, and the type of
release). Detailed help is provided with each dialog box.
The scenario information and calculation results are
summarized in a printable, text-only window. Once
ALOHAs calculations are complete, users can choose to
display a variety of graphical outputs.
A threat zone is an area where a hazard (such as toxicity or
thermal radiation) has exceeded a user-specified Level of
Concern (LOC). ALOHA will display up to three threat
zones overlaid on a single picture. The red threat zone
represents the worst hazard.
The Threat at a Point feature displays specific information
about hazards at locations of interest (such as a school).
GIS-Compatible Output
ALOHAs threat zones can be displayed on maps in
MARPLOT , another program in the CAMEO suite.
Generates a variety of scenario-specific output,
including threat zone pictures, threats at specific
locations, and source strength graphs.
Calculates how quickly chemicals are escaping from
tanks, puddles, and gas pipelinesand predicts how
those release rates change over time.
Models many release scenarios: toxic gas clouds,
BLEVEs (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions),
jet fires, vapor cloud explosions, and pool fires.
Evaluates different types of hazard (depending on the
release scenario): toxicity, flammability, thermal
radiation, and overpressure.
Models the atmospheric dispersion of chemical spills
on water.
ALOHA is part of the CAMEO software suite, which is
developed jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
A sample ALOHA threat zone estimate shown on a MARPLOT
map (key locations of concern were added in MARPLOT).
Threat zones can also be shown in Google Earth or Google
Maps using ALOHAs KML export featureor in Esris
ArcMap using the ALOHA ArcMap Import Tool available at
[Link]
Getting ALOHA
ALOHA Contact Information
To download ALOHA, go to
[Link]
For additional information:
[Link]
[Link]@[Link]
ALOHA runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers.
Sample ALOHA Output
Some sample ALOHA output. On the left, the circular thermal radiation threat zone estimates for a BLEVE. On the right, a threat
point graph shows the toxic concentration hazard over time at a specific location; the horizontal lines show how the concentration
compares to the chosen toxic levels of concern.
NOAAs Office of Response & RestorationProtecting our Coastal Environment
For further information about NOAAs Office of Response and Restoration,
please call (301) 713-2989 or visit our website at
[Link]
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
July 2015
