ABSTRACT
Response to recent oil spill incidents has shown the need to augment the training of oil spill response teams. At the spill site, the on-scene commander attempts to correlate all the available information to implement the optimum cleanup strategy promptly. In most cases, rapid decision-making is lacking. Traditional hands-on training supplies response crews with practical experience in oil spill cleanup but leaves the on-scene commander unprepared for the time pressures of a real situation. To simulate these pressures dramatically, a new technique using computer assisted learning has been developed for training on-scene commanders. The computer assisted learning system will not replace the hands-on training field exercises, but complement them.
Two oil spill scenarios have been developed. The first involves a continuous leak in a fast-flowing river system, limited equipment and manpower constraints. The second involves an instantaneous discharge in the open ocean. This introduces the problem of determining the spill location, compounded by weather and equipment concerns. A 48-hour scenario is simulated in four hours actual time. The on-scene commander responds to the spill situation by interacting with the computer display terminal. He can request weather information and spill trajectories, deploy booms and skimmers, and be presented with problems to be solved in a time-pressure situation. These problems include the sighting of oiled birds, press conference, labor strikes, weather changes, and equipment breakdowns. On termination of the simulated response, data are provided on the amount of oil recovered, the percent of shoreline oil, and the total cost of the cleanup. Average values are compiled for comparative purposes.
The computer assisted learning program has proven to be a useful adjunct to our usual training program and provides the on-scene commander trainee the opportunity to experience the time pressures of and decision-making required during an oil spill response.
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