Aloha

NOAA’s National Ocean Service • Office of Response and Restoration
ALOHA®
A
LOHA (Areal Locations of How ALOHA Works
Hazardous Atmospheres) is a ALOHA is designed to be easy to use so that responders
computer program designed to can use it during high-pressure situations. A series of dialog
model chemical releases for boxes prompt users to enter information about the scenario
emergency responders and (e.g., chemical, weather conditions, and the type of
release). Detailed help is provided with each dialog box.
planners. It can estimate how a The scenario information and calculation results are
toxic cloud might disperse after summarized in a printable, text-only window. Once
a chemical release—as well as several fires and ALOHA’s calculations are complete, users can choose to
explosions scenarios. display a variety of graphical outputs.
ALOHA is designed to produce reasonable results quickly Threat Zone Estimates and Threat at a Point
enough to be of use to responders during a real
A threat zone is an area where a hazard (such as toxicity or
emergency. Therefore, ALOHA’s calculations represent a
thermal radiation) has exceeded a user-specified Level of
compromise between accuracy and speed. Many of
Concern (LOC). ALOHA will display up to three threat
ALOHA’s features were developed to quickly assist the
zones overlaid on a single picture. The red threat zone
responder. For example, ALOHA:
represents the worst hazard.
• Minimizes data entry errors by cross-checking the input
The Threat at a Point feature displays specific information
values and warning the user if the value is unlikely or
about hazards at locations of interest (such as a school).
not physically possible.
• Contains its own chemical library with physical GIS-Compatible Output
properties for approximately 1,000 common hazardous
ALOHA’s threat zones can be displayed on maps in
chemicals so that users do not have to enter that data. ®
MARPLOT , another program in the CAMEO suite.
Key Program Features
• 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 pipelines—and 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.
A sample ALOHA threat zone estimate shown on a MARPLOT
• Models the atmospheric dispersion of chemical spills map (key locations of concern were added in MARPLOT).
on water.
Users can also import threat zones into ArcMap and
® ArcView using extensions that are available at
ALOHA is part of the CAMEO software suite, which is
developed jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/aloha_arctools.
Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Getting ALOHA ALOHA Contact Information
To download ALOHA, go to For additional information:
http://www2.epa.gov/cameo/aloha-software. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/aloha
[email protected]
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.
NOAA’s Office of Response & Restoration—Protecting our Coastal Environment
For further information about NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration,

please call (301) 713-2989 or visit our website at
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov
U.S. Department of Commerce • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 2015

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NOAA’s National Ocean Service • Office of Response and Restoration

Sample ALOHA Output

NOAA’s Office of Response & Restoration—Protecting our Coastal Environment

For further information about NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration,

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