bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tier 1 Response Equipment Strategies for Smaller, Fuels and Lubes Marine Terminals
Authors: Clark James R. , Dahl Bil , Lerch William M. 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
Effective response to Tier 1 spills is key to maintaining a high level of environmental performance and minimizing the duration of operational disruptions. For marine terminals handling a variety of fuels and lubricants, Tier 1 response strategies should reflect risks posed by a site's unique combination of products handled and the specific nature of its loading/off-loading operations. This paper covers strategies for selection and utilization of on-water response equipment and supplies to meet local needs, recognizing constraints imposed by limited manpower and reduced time available for skills maintenance and equipment upkeep Because manpower needed to get response equipment in place during an emergency situation may be limited at the start of an incident, Tier 1 response equipment should be light, highly portable, and mechanically simple and reliable. Complicated equipment that requires routine maintenance and checking for serviceability may be more effectively utilized when it is shared with other companies, contractors, or cooperatives through a local equipment stockpile. This offers more frequent use or allocated costs for maintenance and serviceability checks. Where implemented, it is important to ensure that shared resources can be delivered and deployed within timeframes required by site response plans. Operations where spill risks are of higher concern, such as transfers of heavy fuels or nighttime work should be evaluated with a greater degree of scrutiny. Other activities should be looked at from a risk of human injury as well. For example, operation of boom boats could be contracted (owned, maintained, and operated) by a third party where feasible, so that the special skills required for this activity can be maintained through frequent practice. Employees with full time responsibilities not related to boat operations may not achieve or maintain the level of agility or proficiency needed in an emergency situation.
Mapping and Prioritising Vulnerable Resources in Norway
Authors: Drolshammer Senior Adviser Lars 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the basis for all environmental contingency planning in Norway. Dating back to the early 90s, the tools for assessing the consequences to the environment has continuously been improved. Today the models cover both land based and marine resources. The presentation will focus on a model for identifying land based environmental resources most vulnerable to acute pollution and how to give correct priority to each resource. The model is called MOB. It is primarily intended to be used as a tool when establishing contingency plans for accidental pollution. The model is made independent of the chemical spilled The outcome is a prioritised vulnerability map with simple and easy to understand symbols for each location.
How Response Contractors are Remaining Vigilant and Viable Despite the Downward Trend in Oil Spills
Authors: Usher David 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
The number of oil spills occurring in U.S. waters from vessels and facilities has decreased steadily over the past several years, and professional oil spill response contractors have found themselves in the position of bolstering and/or securing other lines of work to ensure they remain vigilant, viable, and ready to respond when and where needed. Coupled with a down economy, spill contractors – like other businesses – are making tough decisions on how to do more with less, while maintaining the same level of readiness expected of them from their clients – which includes the oil and maritime industries, along with local, state and federal government. While the regulatory mechanisms are in place to exercise contractor resources between spill events, they are not enforced or utilized enough. Of equal importance is ensuring that the response contractor is compensated for deploying its resources during these drill scenarios. This paper will discuss the measures private sector response contractors are taking to ensure they remain ready to respond, other business lines they are pursuing, and how the regulatory authorities can assist in maintaining the national protection and readiness provided by the private sector response community. It will also discuss how the private sector response community can assist with the national Homeland Defense initiatives, most notably mitigation services for terrorist actions that ultimately impact the environment
The Oil Industry International Oil Spill Response Centres: What Future?1
Authors: Smith Archie , Mead Lindsay 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
Over the years the oil industry has invested significantly in strategically placed oil spill response centres and continues to fund them. Oil spill response strategy has historically been based around the tiered response structure which favours these stockpiles. When first positioned, the major risks were in oil tanker traffic and the headline accidents, with major oil company names attached, warranted their future
A number of the oil majors have since moved out of shipping and the services provided have changed from the simple “fire station” service to the delivery of a range of training, consultancy and other services. This increases awareness and helps mitigate the impact of spills, but also changes the nature and expectations of the centres. A similar change in the end user, with ever greater need to protect major exploration, production and development programmes inevitably shifts the requirement to a need for more substantive tier two facilities close to these locations.
Does this shift in requirements necessitate a shift in the thinking regarding the international tier 3 centres, should they continue in their current format or is more change needed?
This paper explores these issues and looks in detail at what changes could come about and how they could add value. The paper analyses the cost and value of current global populace of the centres and attempts to quantify the benefit of change to the industry.
Is the Rapid Pace of Development Of E and P Operations Overtaking the Ability to Provide Adequate Spill Response Measures?1
Authors: Mead Lindsay , Salt David 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
The past decade has seen a move into new development areas by the international oil industry. Many of the new operating locations are lacking in infrastructure, are politically unstable and have varying degrees of environmental legislation in place to regulate the developments. The industry has responded to the changing world in a number of ways. To minimise individual risk, organisations have entered the new regions working in consortia. Also, in order to accelerate and maximise profitability, the industry has developed fast-track projects to minimise the time to first oil’ and hence gain a quicker return from the significant development costs. Consequently the time between completing the exploration phase and the onset of production is aimed at being as short as possible. This creates interesting challenges for project teams as the risk profile changes from that experienced during exploration activities to those present in production operations. The risks during exploration activities can lead to either a very small or very large spill, the latter thankfully being infrequent. To meet these risks the operators equip themselves with sufficient resources to deal with a Tier 1 spill and utilise the Tier 3 centres to satisfy the blow out scenario. However, when the operation changes to a production facility, usually by the rapid introduction of an FSO or FPSO, the risk profile changes significantly and many operators experience difficulties in modifying the response capability to meet the changing profile. The conventional approach has been to use the tiered response concept to address the increased Tier 2 requirements by developing mutual aid arrangements but in many cases there are no other operators available with whom to share resources. This paper will investigate the changes in the nature of oil industry operations and pose the question as to whether the tiered response concept is still valid in today's environment and what should steps be taken to ensure that the response preparedness and capability is developed in pace with the risk profile.
Morice – New Technology for Effective Oil Recovery in Ice
Authors: Mullin Joseph V. , Jensen Hans V. , Cox Walter 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
The overall objective of the Mechanical Oil Recovery in Ice Infested Waters (MORICE) program is to improve the effectiveness of equipment and techniques for the mechanical recovery of oil spills in ice-infested waters. MORICE is a multi-national effort that has involved Norwegian, Canadian, American and German researchers. Results from previous laboratory, meso-scale phases have been summarized (Johannessen et al, 1996, 1998), (Jensen et al., 1999), (Jensen & Solsberg, 2000, 2001). In January 2002, the full-scale proof of concepts with two different internal recovery units were successfully tested and evaluated at Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility located in Leonardo, New Jersey (Jensen & Mullin, 2002). Results of the Ohmsett tests are presented along with recommendations for developing a commercialized skimmer that will effectively operate in broken ice conditions.
Assessing Progress and Benefits of Oil Spill Response Technology Development Since Exxon Valdez
Authors: Etkin Dagmar Schmidt , Tebeau Peter 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
This paper describes a simple approach to quantifying progress and benefits associated with improvements in oil spill removal technology over the past decade, focusing on the most significant oil removal technologies: mechanical recovery, dispersant application and in-situ burning. All three technologies have been the focus of research and development (R&D) efforts since the Exxon Valdez spill. Notable progress has been made in refining the technologies and defining circumstances under which each option will be successful. These accomplishments have been qualitatively described in recent strategic technology assessments. The difficulty that arises in quantitatively predicting future benefits of these advances, is that expected increases in oil removal and associated cost savings are as much a function of specific circumstances of future spills as of advances in spill removal technologies. The specifics of future spills, particularly the larger more troublesome ones, are difficult to predict. In order to obtain representative quantitative estimates of these benefits, a hind-cast technique is demonstrated whereby the advanced technologies are applied to past spill scenarios to determine oil recovery and cost savings that would be realized if these spills were to occur in the future.
Communications and Data Exchange Via The Black Sea and Caspian Sea Environmental Information Center (http://pims.ed.ornl.gov)
Authors: Thompson Marian K. (Kay) , Lapsa Melissa V. , Shelton Robert B. , Grubb Kim R. 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
A U.S. interagency committee (including representatives from the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, Commerce, and State, and others) was formed to deal with Black Sea and Caspian Sea environmental issues. Oil tanker traffic is expected to increase significantly on the Black and Caspian Seas in the coming years, and the United States decided to address this issue, with the Department of Energy's (DOE s) Office of Policy and International Affairs taking the lead. The goal is to facilitate cooperation among the countries of the region to develop contingency plans should a spill occur. This is being done through a series of workshops held in the Black Sea countries and Kazakhstan and through the establishment of a regional information and communications center. The activity has strong support from the oil industry, whose representatives participate in all of the workshops. The Black Sea and Caspian Sea Environmental Information Center web site (http://pims.ed.ornl.gov), created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for DOE, facilitates information flow and dialog between the countries of the region. The web site is intended to provide a comprehensive source for information onoil spill cleanup, monitoring, and related commercial technologies;scientists requests for research partners;the laws, regulations, and standards of various countries relating to the environmental condition of the seas;publication of scientific papers, and on-line discussions of these issues; andlists of individuals and companies working on Black Sea and Caspian Sea environmental issues.
The web site also provides a real-time chat capability where meetings are organized. Several meetings among regional officials and scientists have been conducted by this means. The web site is also host to a growing database of historical pollution testing data from research institutes in the region.
Responding to Vessel Groundings and Oil Spills in National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries1
Authors: Elliott James E. 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
The United States National Park System contains over two million acres of submerged lands, and the nation's thirteen marine sanctuaries have over 18,000 square miles of ocean waters and habitats. From the public's perspective, national parks and marine sanctuaries are public goods that should be protected for future generations. Historically, however, response operations within these protected waters have not consistently preserved the environmental integrity of the nation's valuable resources. Vessels are often abandoned and remain aground, thereby emitting residual oil and physically damaging coral reefs and seagrass beds after the responders have removed the accessible oil. Additionally, responders often fail to consult with natural resource trustees and, as a result, physically damage the environment during response operations. This paper presents case studies and lessons learned from vessel groundings and oil spill response operations in national parks, marine sanctuaries, and other protected areas, from the Point Reyes National Seashore to the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary. The topics of Natural Resource Trustee consultations, application of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, effective use of the Unified Command System, response cost internalization methods, and ecological sustainability are logically presented to argue for a more proactive and consistent national response posture in protected waters.“Surely our people do not understand even yet the rich heritage that is theirs … Our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.”—President Theodore Roosevelt (Shullery, 1979)
Modeling Assessment of Potential Fates and Exposure for Orimulsion and Heavy Fuel Oil Spills
Authors: McCoy Deborah French , Whittier Nicole 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
Power Plants worldwide are considering conversion from heavy fuel oil to Orimulsion. As a demonstration of screening analysis, the consequences of hypothetical spill scenarios of these two fuels were evaluated and compared using spill modeling. The Spill Impact Model Application SIMAP was run in stochastic mode to determine probabilities and degrees of exposure. In stochastic mode, a large number of simulations are run for a given spill site and fuel release scenario, varying the spill date and time, and thus the environmental conditions, for each run. Outputs of the model were used to (1) generate probabilities that water surface, water column, and shoreline areas would be affected by a release from the given site; (2) determine the highest exposure concentration in time and for any possible environmental condition; and (3) evaluate cumulative exposure at each location around the spill site. The stochastic modeling approach provides an objective, quantitative method for comparing the consequences of the alternate fuels, avoiding the bias of subjectively choosing individual model runs to examine a priori, and providing a distribution of results that may be statistically described. This type of approach is an important advancement in performing ecological risk assessments for spills.
Oil Spill Water Column Modeling for Aquatic Injury Assessment – Refinements for Assessing Oil Toxicity
Authors: Fichera Michael J. , Kolluru Venkat S. , O'Hanlon Lavinia M. , Gipson Geoffrey T. , Markarian Ralph K. 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
To assess potential aquatic injury from oil spills, a fate and transport model called the Chemical / Oil Spill Impact Module (COSIM) was developed based upon refinements made to the NOAA Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model (NRDAM). Enhanced mass balance of the oil enabled better tracking of specific oil components of toxicological concern. The oil was divided into 24 cuts, based upon laboratory analysis of the neat oil. Each cut was allowed to evaporate, volatilize, weather, and sorb to solids at cut-specific rates. LC50 values therefore changed with time as the oil changed in composition. A case example is examined. Hydrodynamic modeling was applied to simulate the release of a mixture of No. 2 and No. 6 fuel oil released upon an estuarine system. The effects of booming, and the failure of the booms under storm conditions were added to the model. Mass balance was used to track the oil from the surface slick to entrained droplets, dissolved phase, sorbed to suspended solid particles, shorelines deposition, evaporated, volatilized, and removed by cleanup operations. Modeled concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were calibrated to field measurements. Acute toxicity was calculated based upon the dissolved PAHs modeled.
Effect of The Oil Spill from the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery, Brazil, in July of 2000, on the Populations of Fishes of the Rivers Saldanha, Barigüi, and Iguaçu
Authors: Ostrensky Antonio , Boeger Walter A. , Duboc Luiz Fernando , Wegbecher Fabio Xavier , Pilchowski Robert William , Zamberlan Ernani 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
In July of 2000, an accident occurred in the Refinery Presidente Getúlio Vargas (REPAR), located in the Municipality of Araucaria, Southern Brazil, and involved a spill of about 4 million liters (25,160 barrels) of crude oil. This was considered the largest oil spill in the history of Brazil. Despite the use of containment barriers, the oil slick reached up to 45 km downstream of a small creek (Arroio Saldanha) and two important rivers of the region (Rio Barigüi and Rio Iguaçu). In this stretch, both of the latter rivers are highly polluted, having crossed the City of Curitiba, a city of about 2+ million inhabitants. The spatial and temporal distribution of fishes of these streams after the accident was analyzed in 10 collection sites (in a river stretch of 250 km) located upstream Rio Barigüi and Rio Iguaçu) or downstream (all streams) from the point of oil introduction. Fishes were captured monthly with cast nets, traps, hook and line, and/or gill nets. Immediately after the event, sites close to the point of introduction of oil presented a less diverse fish fauna. However, one year later, the fish fauna of the Arroio Saldanha, showed signals of recovery, while no fish were collected during the entire year from the sites located upstream in the Rio Barigüi and Rio Iguaçu. The results strongly suggests that the impact of the oil spill on the fish fauna of these streams was minimized due to the previous highly polluted state of the streams, as indicated by the absence of fish species in the upstream collection sites, which were never directly exposed to the oil spot.
NOAA Model Extended to Use Nowcast/Forecast Currents
Authors: Beegle-Krause CJ , Callahan Jonathan , O'Connor Caitlin 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
GNOME (General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment) is a publicly available oil spill trajectory model used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazardous Materials Response Division (HAZMAT) for oil spill response. In order to leverage work being done within and outside NOAA to develop detailed circulation models, GNOME has been extended to accept currents in a number of formats (ASCII, netCDF) from different types of models (time dependent triangular, rectangular, or curvilinear grids). In particular, HAZMAT is interested in connections with nowcast/forecast models. The NOAA Live Access Server (LAS), using the Unidata Distributed Oceanographic Data System (DODS), has been extended to support several nowcast/forecast models in the U.S. DODS provides the tools to make local data accessible to the outside through the Internet, regardless of internal format. LAS is a highly configurable server that allows on-the-fly graphics for data visualization, custom subsetting, and different output formats (from files to graphics). Providers of nowcast/forecast data need only set up a DODS server at their site for their data to be available to LAS. Once LAS is made aware of the new data, HAZMAT responders have 24-hour access to model generated fields. With the GNOME/LAS/DODS combination, other circulation models can be used to quickly create new spill trajectory forecasts.
LOST BIRD-YEARS: QUANTIFYING BIRD INJURIES IN NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS FOR OIL SPILLS1
Authors: Zafante Matthew , Hampton Steve 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACT
Large oil spills routinely impact hundreds or even thousands of birds. In order to determine the compensation that responsible parties owe the public, trustee agencies typically examine the number of live and dead birds collected to estimate total bird mortality caused by the spill (Ford et al., 1987). In these natural resource damage assessments (NRDA), compensation is typically based upon the potential ecological benefits that flow from a restoration project. In the case of a bird kill, final compensation is based upon the cost of implementing a restoration project and not upon a dollar value per bird.
The dominant paradigm for calculating compensatory restoration for bird injuries is Resource Equivalency Analysis (REA). This paper begins by providing a brief overview of REA when applied to birds. We then examine the REA implications of varying the level of mortality, baseline variability, and demographic variables in a simple population model that tracks both injured and baseline population levels. After finding no evidence that these factors necessarily produce short recovery times, we summarize two general approaches for calculating lost bird-years. We conclude that short recovery times (e.g., one-year) are unlikely for birds when using individual-based measures of injury. Further, we believe that recovery times may be much longer than currently calculated for situations where plausible “recovery mechanisms” cannot be defined.