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**RESPONSE FIELD KITS**

**THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS ADAPTED FROM NOAA\'S EMERGENCY**
**GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS**

**RESPONSE FIELD KITS**

**Introduction**

Discharges of oil are unplanned events which require quick response. It
is extremely important that the FWS personnel have field kits ready for
use at all times. These kits should contain the equipment and supplies
needed for response activities and to implement early damage assessment
activities. The kits should contain the minimum items needed to document
effects and implement data collection plans. This is a starting point
for compiling your own versions of response field kits for the different
types of natural resources and receiving environments that may be
encountered.

**Standard Emergency Field Kit**

The standard kit contains the equipment and supplies most likely needed
for response activities and starting data collection, especially for
ephemeral data. At the time of the discharge, nautical charts,
topographic maps, and road maps for the discharge site must be added.

o Notebook Computer with FAX/modem

o 92-quart cooler with side handles (can be used as carrying case for
the kit)

o Day pack

o Box-type plastic clipboards

o Waterproof logbooks with numbered pages

o Expanding file folders, containing the following paper/forms

\- Original and copies of field forms to be used

\- Waterproof paper for copying field forms

\- Chain-of-custody forms

\- Activities checklist

\- Phone lists

\- QA protocols for selected sampling methods

\- Sample tags and labels

o Camera:

35-mm, Single Lens Refles with 50-mm lens, UV and polarizing filters,
carrying case and film: 5 rolls each of ASA 64, l00, and 400 film

or Digital Camera, minimum 4 megapixel resolution, with 3x or 10x
optical zoom, 256 mB memory card

o Photoscales: 15 cm and 30 cm

o Mechanical pencils with replacement lead and erasers

o Waterproof ink markers

o Color pencil and marker sets

o Pads of paper

o Ruler and dividers

o Large, heavy rubber bands

o Various types of tape: masking, cellophane, strapping, electrical, and
duct tape

o Plastic bags: various sizes of Ziploc bags; whirl-pak bags; large
trash bags

o Calculator

o Micro-cassette tape recorder, with extra tapes and batteries

o Hand lens

o Tally meter

o Flashlight with extra batteries

o Binoculars

o Compass

o Refractometer

o Thermometer

o Rubber gloves, both surgical and heavy-duty vinyl

o Ear plugs

o Tar-off towelettes

o First-aid kit

o Field pocket knife

o Folding shovel

o Wooden tongue depressors in small packs

o Roll of paper towels

o Disposable plastic scoops and stainless steel spatulas

o Precleaned aluminum foil and extra rolls

o Evidence tape

o Sample jars: precleaned glass jars with teflon lids

> \- 100-ml: box of 24
>
> \- 500-ml: box of 12
>
> \- 1,000-ml: box of 12
>
> \- 1-gallon bottles: box of 4, with shipping containers

o Prepaid overnight carrier shipping forms

o Field guide books (birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals, plants,
macroalgae, etc.)

**Optional Equipment for Standard Kits**

In addition to the items listed above, there are larger and more
expensive pieces of equipment which can be extremely valuable on-scene.
It is usually possible to lease these from local vendors at the
discharge site or ship them on-scene once the need arises. These
include:

o Portable cellular phone, assuming that there is coverage for the
discharge site (some carriers have better coverage than others)

o All-weather video camera, with extra batteries, extra tapes, and
cigarette lighter recharger option

o Portable computer with FAX modem and extra disks

o Portable printer

o Handheld Computer (PDA, Pocket PC)

o Global Positioning System (GPS) hand-held unit

**Specialized Survey Kits**

In addition lo the items listed above, special kits can be developed for
the following types of surveys:

**Shoreline Survey Kit**

o Profile rod set

o 50-m fiberglass tape measure

o Hand level

o Flagging tape

o Cement trowel for scraping the surface of trenches

o Precleaned aluminum core barrels

o Grain-size estimators

o 0.25 m^2^ and 1.0 m^2^ quadrats

**Seater Sampling Kit**

Water samples need to be kept cold and dark immediately after collection
to minimize sample degradation. Samples should be collected directly in
the sample jar rather than transferred from the collecting bottle into
the sample jar.

o Water-sample holder to collect water samples directly in the sampling
jar

o Additional boxes of precleaned glass jars (1,000-ml and l-gallon)

o Teflon squeeze bottle for rinsing solvents

o Rinsing solvents for cleaning sample holder

o Preserving chemicals, if needed

o Solvent waste container

o Alconox cleaner soap

o Scrubbing brush

o Collapsible containers

o Salinity, temperature, and conductivity meter

**Aquatic Biological Sampling Kit**

If the kit is to be shipped by a commercial carrier, the need for
special packages or volume limits for fixatives and preservatives should
be determined.

o Small dip net

o Small grab or dredge (e.g., Ponar grab, Ekman dredge)

o Small beach seine

o Kick net

o Small plankton net with several replacement nets and collecting
bottles

o Sieve bucket

o Wash bottle and graduated cylinder

o Collapsible plastic containers

o Fish measuring board

o Nalgene sample bottles, various sizes

o Identification keys (e.g., invertebrates, fish)

o Field balance

o Fixatives

o Preservatives

o Sorting pans with white bottoms

o Field forms

o Meter sticks

o Photoscales

o 0.25 m^2^ and 1.0 m^2^ quadrats

o Sample vials, various sizes

o Sample labels

o Permanent markers

o Random number table

o Magnifier