bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
ONE-STEP OFFSHORE OIL SKIM AND BURN SYSTEM FOR USE WITH VESSELS OF OPPORTUNITY
Authors: ZHANG CHANGYONG , NEDWED TIM , TIDWELL AMY , URBANSKI NICHOLAS , COOPER DAVID , BUIST IAN , BELORE RANDY 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Vessels of opportunity (VoOs), such as fish and shrimp boats, can be employed to aide offshore oil spill response operations. During the 2010 Macondo response, VoOs were utilized to collect surface slicks in booms, however, VoOs were not equipped to skim and recover the collected oil. Because of this, dedicated skimming vessels were directed to VoOs to skim and store the oil. This process is not very efficient as VoOs can often remain idle for long periods while waiting for dedicated skimming vessels to arrive and process the collected oil.
The research presented here aims to improve the effectiveness of VoO operations through development of a one-step skim and burn system. The system under development is based on the combined use of oleophilic skimmers, which can recover oil and water mixtures capable of direct combustion. Our concept would be for a VoO to collect oil in the booms, skim the oil from the booms using an oleophilic skimmer, and then pump the recovered mixture to a floating combustion system located downwind without the need for large volumes of interim storage or decanting.
The three primary objectives for system development and design are to 1) improve combustion efficiency, thereby reducing environmental impacts; 2) achieve burn rates comparable to oil recovery rates of the oleophilic skimmers utilized, enabling more efficient oil spill response operations and less down-time; and 3) design a relatively simple and robust system that will enable safe burn operations.
Experimental results from initial testing of small and medium scale burning systems will be presented. Direct combustion of skimmed oil was successfully demonstrated. Further, burns were completed with decreased smoke generation and burn residue compared to in situ burning.
Using Community Health and Clinic Capacity Assessments to Determine and Prioritize Health Needs in Gulf Coast Communities Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Authors: Francois Samantha , Czaplicki Lauren , Gentry Lisa , Brown Lisanne 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThe Primary Care Capacity Project (PCCP) of the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program aims to expand access to integrated high quality, sustainable, community-based primary care with linkages to specialty mental and behavioral health, and environmental and occupational health services in four Gulf States following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This paper presents findings from community and clinic assessments in Gulf Coast counties and parishes impacted by the oil spill and how these findings informed technical assistance and funding to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and the communities they serve. This process included community and clinic assessments. The community health assessments included existing and data and data from community stakeholders on demographics, health determinants, and health status. Existing data were gathered from sources including the U.S. 2010 Census, Vital Statistics, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and Gulf State Population Survey. State, county, and sub-county level data were gathered for 17 Gulf coast counties. These data were summarized and analyzed to create community profiles for each of the counties to characterize their demographic profile, health status, healthcare access, social environment, and oil spill impact. These profiles were then used to facilitate a community prioritization process with county stakeholders. Stakeholders representing multiple sectors of the community participated in focus groups and a group consensus building activity to determine the health priorities for their counties. Concurrent to the community assessment, clinic assessments were conducted with FQHCs identified through the Health Resources and Services Administration Data Warehouse in 16 of the 17 counties. The clinic assessment was conducted with FQHC administrative staff and clinic staff to measure clinic capacity and needs.Data gathered from the community and clinic assessments suggest that mental health and chronic illness, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are health priorities in the Gulf Region. Primary care and mental health care provider shortages were “access to care” priorities as evidenced by both the community and clinic assessments. Also, transportation and proximity to primary care facilities were access to care priorities. These findings helped to inform funding and technical assistance to the FQHCs located in Gulf Coast counties. The assessment processes and how the data and information gathered through them can translate to preparedness, response, and recovery action planning and decision making following oil spills or other natural or man-made disasters.
Managing new expectations with Enhanced Tier I capability
Authors: Ng Xiang Xin , Gillow Matthew 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
With the growing oil and gas sector in Australia, comes more stringent guidelines set by the regulators for the operators to demonstrate their capability in preventing another Montara or Macondo type incident. The setting up of National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to provide oversight of all petroleum activities in the Commonwealth waters of Australia is a milestone to raise the operating standards of the industry. Together with the urge for operators to build up their in house competence for responding to oil spill incidents and the increasing importance of mutual aid agreements within the industry to form a new operating picture in the oil and gas sector.
Being one of the major oil and gas operators, Chevron Australia Business Unit (ABU) plays an active role in fulfilling the requirements set by the regulators and equipping the team with the necessary skill sets and technologies to perform the duty of care to minimise the impact and damage to the environment during an oil spill incident. An Enhanced Tier I concept is developed to provide a guidance to the Emergency Management Team to build up the in house capability as a response agency for oil spill incident.
In order to engage the operators in the region, Chevron ABU has also taken up the initiative to set up industry working groups to discuss issues like dispersant application, waste management and oiled wildlife response as part of the response strategies and how they can share knowledge and resources in the event of an incident. Continuous involvement in Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) core group training and active participation in meetings with NOPSEMA allows ABU to keep up to date with the evolving changes in the field of oil spill response preparedness.
Through the continuous improvement on the Enhanced Tier I concept and the engagement with internal and external stakeholders, Chevron ABU aims to meet the expectations set by the regulations and maintain the highest level of preparedness and response readiness for any oil spill incident.
Integrated Mental and Behavioral Health Services to Improve Patient Outcomes and Clinical Care
Authors: Osofsky Howard J. , Osofsky Joy D. , Wells John , Weems Carl F. , Hansel Tonya C. , King Lucy , Reuther Erin , Speier Anthony 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACTThis presentation will focus on the importance of addressing mental health in the overall response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Emphasis will be placed on evidence based, integrated mental and behavioral health services in primary care clinics as an essential component of physical and mental health care. Community surveillance data collected by LSUHSC Department of Psychiatry in the fall of 2010 and one year post spill revealed increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress compared to national norms. Symptoms were higher for individuals directly impacted by the spill. The Mental and Behavioral Health Capacity Project (MBHCP), part of the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP), was developed across the four impacted states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.In collaboration with the Primary Care Capacity Project (PCCP) and other GRHOP projects, it is designed to decrease disparities in care and develop an evidence-based system of integrated mental and behavioral health services within primary care clinics. In Louisiana, seven impacted parishes, culturally diverse and predominantly rural, were designated for services. Louisiana MBHCP (MBHCP-LA) is applying established principles of collaborative care combining on-site and telemedicine consultation, training, therapeutic services, and care management. It is working with PCCP to develop and utilize a technologically advanced telemedicine system to integrate mental and behavioral health into electronic health records to meet physical and mental health needs. Preliminary analysis of screening and follow-up data beginning in May 2013 from 303 clients who completed measures at intake into services indicates that integrating mental health services in primary care clinics resulted in significant decreases at follow-up in reported depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The data showed that the greater the decrease in reported depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms at follow-up, the greater the decrease in physical health symptoms. While the MBHCP-LA integration of mental and behavioral health in primary care clinics in parishes heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill has been in place for less than a year, the outcomes are promising in reducing both behavioral and physical health symptoms. The clinics are reporting greater comfort in addressing mental and behavioral health problems as well as more resilience by having mental and behavioral health partners. MBHCP-LA will continue to evaluate improvement in physical and mental health symptoms as well as resilience and quality of life by more fully addressing mental and behavioral health concerns.
Sunken Oil Recovery System Recommendations
Authors: Hansen Kurt A. , Guidroz Leo , Hazel Bill , Fitzpatrick Michele , Johnson Gregory W. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
The Coast Guard R&D Center (RDC) has just completed a multi-year project to develop a complete approach for recovery of spills of submerged oils, specifically for sunken oil. Three companies spent one year in designing and one year in developing prototypes to identify and recover oil that attempt to address some of the shortfalls of relying on divers. This paper briefly describes the technologies and results from prototype testing at the Ohmsett test facility in the United States and some field tests. Based on this research, proposed guidance for responders to heavy oil is provided to identify all of the issues that need to be addressed when working with sunken oil.
A Means to Streamline Historic and Cultural Resource Consultation and Compliance for Pollution Assessment and Recovery Activities on Shipwrecks
Authors: Symons Lisa , Delgado James , Marx Deborah , Seibert Erika Martin 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
In May 2013, per Congressional direction and to support a better understanding of pollution sources in the U. S. waters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provided the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) a detailed report on the assessment of risks from potentially polluting shipwrecks. The report, Risk Assessment for Potentially Polluting Wrecks in U.S. Waters, was a result of the Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) project that evaluated 20,000 shipwrecks for their pollution potential as well as issues that could impact operations including whether or not those wrecks could be historically significant properties and/or gravesites. “Historic property” is defined by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), to be any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP.) The NHPA requires a Federal agency to “take into account” the effects of its undertakings, such as pollution removal from a submerged shipwreck, and afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment. Federal agencies meet Section 106 responsibilities through a consultation process with the ACHP and other parties as set out in the ACHP's regulations implementing Section 106 of the NHPA (36 CFR Part 800), or through implementation of the nationwide 1997 Programmatic Agreement for emergency response under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan.
NOAA evaluated a number of the report's shipwrecks for eligibility under the NRHP criteria to determine if any could be considered historic properties. The majority of RULET sites are associated with World War II casualties in the Battle of the Atlantic. As of 2013, the average age of each wreck is 83 years old, as many were built or retrofitted for service during WWII, meeting one of the criteria, per the National Park Service's regulations at 36 CFR Part 60 for eligibility for nomination to the NRHP. Three potentially eligible shipwrecks were subsequently nominated and accepted to the NRHP. The information contained in the RULET risk assessments and the NRHP nominations, facilitates the efforts of USCG to work through the required consultation processes; more effectively balancing responsibilities to address potential environmental impacts and legal mandates to avoid or mitigate impacts to historic resources.
ABANDONED VESSEL AUTHORITIES AND BEST PRACTICES GUIDANCE- A REVIEW OF NRT WORK
Authors: Kimrey LT Christopher , Helton Doug 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Abandoned and derelict vessels are a problem in almost every U.S. port and waterway, and these vessels can have significant impacts on the coastal environment and economy, including oil pollution, marine debris, and wildlife entrapment. They become hazards to navigation, illegal dumping of waste oils and hazardous materials and general public health hazards. Pollution response, including removal and disposal of these vessels can be complex and costly. As a result, many abandoned vessels are left in place unless they are obstructing or threatening to obstruct navigation, or threatening a pollution discharge.
Faced with a growing number of abandoned vessels and costly interventions, the National Response Team (NRT) held a session on abandoned vessels during the 2011 Co-Chairs meeting in Dallas, TX. Representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) gave presentations about the scope of the problem and the need for national guidance for Federal On-Scene Coordinators (FOSCs). Based on issues presented and discussed during the session, the NRT Executive Secretariat agreed an interagency best practices document was needed.
An Abandoned Vessel Response Workgroup was established, co-chaired by the USCG and NOAA, and was tasked with identifying: 1) best practices used for responding to abandoned vessels; 2) the regulatory and policy authority of each agency with a nexus to abandoned vessels; and 3) the roles and responsibilities of each agency pursuant to those authorities. This paper summarizes the report on authorities and best practices.
Oil Source Identification Using Diagnostic Biomarker Ratio Analyses
Authors: Meyer Buffy M. , Overton Edward B. , Turner R. Eugene 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
The foremost questions asked about spilled oil are its source, quantity in various compartments of the environment, and the risk and consequences associated with various levels of oil within these compartments. The heterogeneous distribution of oil, with a continually changing composition due to weathering, causes considerable uncertainty in determining the source of a spilled oil and whether or not any notable impacts are due to the presence of that particular oil. Oil source-fingerprinting, an environmental forensics technique, is one way to determine the origin of oil in an unknown sample by comparison to a known oil source. Oil source-fingerprinting utilizes oil biomarkers that are naturally occurring in crude oils and most petroleum products which tend to be more resistant to environmental weathering processes compared to most other oil components. More importantly, vast amounts of geochemical research has established that distributions of oil biomarkers are unique for different types and blends of petroleum products and represent an oil-specific fingerprint to which samples can be correlated.
In order to determine whether oil detected in coastal Louisiana marsh sediments originates from the Deepwater Horizon incident, an oil source-fingerprinting methodology using GC/MS and specific hopane, sterane, and triaromatic steroid ratios in Macondo 252 (MC252) source oil was developed and tested. A final suite of 15 diagnostic biomarker ratios were determined that will allow for the statistical comparison of diagnostic biomarker ratios of an “unknown” sample to the 15 diagnostic biomarker ratios of MC252 source oil. Unknown samples can then be classified into one of four operational and technically defensible categories: positive match, probable match, inconclusive, or non-match based on their diagnostic biomarker ratio score.
Oil Source Fingerprinting in Heavily Weathered Residues and Coastal Marsh Samples
Authors: Overton Edward B. , Miles M. Scott , Meyer Buffy M , Gao Heng , Turner R. Eugene 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Oil source fingerprinting uses capillary column GC/MS analyses of a source oil and environmental oil samples to try and match the chemical composition of key indicator compounds in both samples, thus providing strong evidence that the environmental samples came from the suspected source. These environmental samples are typically not heavily weathered. However, after a major oil spill, such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DHOS), oil can travel in the environment for many miles, and reside in coastal marshes and sandy beaches for months to years after the spill. This environmental resident time, and the compositional change associated with weathering process, makes oil source fingerprinting of spill residues more challenging and technically difficult. This was especially true during the DHOS because the spilled oil impacted coastal areas that had experienced chronic oiling that contributed to a high probability of background petroleum contamination due to other spill events. We have collected a large number of samples since the tragic accident in late April 2010 from near shore coastal environments, including those following storm events like Hurricane Isaac. Analytical concentration data was generated using high resolution GC/MS in selected ion monitoring mode for the saturate normal hydrocarbons (C10 to C35) and the isopreniods, pristane and phytane, and several families of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including parent PAHs and their C1 to C4 alkyl homologs. GC/MS-SIM data was also generated for the oil biomarker compounds. Since most of the sample residues were heavily weathered, all of the light aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as the normal saturate hydrocarbons below ~nC20 were not present in the samples. As a result, oil source fingerprinting relied heavily on the relative composition of the recalcitrant hopanes, steranes, and triaromatic steroids biomarker compounds (mass chromatograms 191, 217, 218, and 231). Data will be presented to demonstrate how these relative compositions were changed by weathering over a three year time frame as well as in different coastal environments.
Assuring your agency's Area Contingency Plan is equipped with an effective Joint Information Center Model
Authors: Young Jaclyn 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
Public trust in joint agency oil spill responses is generated or broken based on how well the Joint Information Center (JIC) communicates. Since the Deepwater Horizon spill response in 2010, responders recognize the importance of communicating with the public and stakeholders about response efforts. Despite this, the development of comprehensive plans to organize an effective Joint Information Center at an Incident Command Post is often overlooked.
Area Contingency Plans (ACP) are designed to ensure effective management and organization during an incident response. However, a review of a sampling of ACPs reveals an overall lack of planning for the organization of JIC operations. Including a pre-designed JIC model within the ACP will help initial Public Information Officers (PIO) avoid errors that can cause disorganized messaging early in the response. Quick organization within a JIC helps participating agencies to speak with one voice and release timely and accurate information.
Using data and experience collected during responses, exercises, and Area Contingency Plans, this paper outlines: the role of a Joint Information Center Plan, the elements of a Joint Information Center Plan, how to be involved in the planning process, and how to better evaluate your plan.
The Oil Spill Response Fund – Four Decades of Success
Authors: Thuring Allen R. 
Published: August 2014

ABSTRACT
This paper examines the oil pollution response fund created by Section 311(k) of the 1972 CWA and then modified, culminating with the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) established by OPA. Could the CWA have been successful absent the provision for a federal fund? This Fund is now four decades old. Has it passed the “test of time”? Did it meet the goals set at its birth? Is it still relevant? Should it continue?
CWA Section 311 and later OPA created a range of response tools to deal with oil and hazmat spills on the waters of the US. They established a public/private solution to spill response. Key components:An expectation that the spiller was responsible and liable to clean up the spill;The National Contingency Plan and the Federal On-Scene Coordinator/FOSC;Establishing expertise on “special teams”: the CG's National Strike Force and EPA's Emergency Response Team;An up-front trust fund available only to the FOSC that pays for removals if the responsible party (RP) does not step forward. The fund exists to:Pre-empt the RP from using delay as a response option, despite the law.Give the FOSC money to quickly hire private response companies, if the RP does not act or if the spill's origin is a mystery.
Equally important, the CWA and OPA did NOT designate a government agency to “clean up” oil spills. Rather, the law envisioned private companies performing that role, paid for by the spillers/RP or the 311(k)/OSLTF Fund, under the oversight of the USCG or the EPA. It tasked the USCG with managing this Fund.
The Fund achieved its results. The US has a robust private oil spill removal sector that responsible parties hire when needed. If an RP does not act, the CG and EPA FOSCs use the Fund to mobilize those same companies to remove oil spills on US waters. The US economy has grown, as has the number of oil spills reported. Cases each year requiring Fund use have not increased proportionally. Responsible parties continue to clean up their spills, as the CWA envisioned.
The Fund retains its ability to respond simultaneously to major spills, even during Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon. In forty two years, the Fund has always been available for an FOSC directed removal.
The opinions stated in this paper are the author's alone, and do not reflect the official policies of the United States Coast Guard.