scholarly journals Oil Spill Preparedness for Polar Bears in Alaska

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 299530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Majors ◽  
Susanne Miller ◽  
Shannon Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Fish And Wildlife Service ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Oil Spill Response

Oil spill response in the Alaska Arctic can be difficult. Responding to marine mammals which inhabit this area is even more challenging. One of these marine mammals is the polar bear which was listed as a threatened species in 2008. Recognizing the need for improved capabilities, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Zoo, and Alaska Clean Seas have been working together to improve the capabilities in Alaska. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has developed the Oil Spill Response Plan for Polar Bears in Alaska which identifies the resources available and response strategies. The Alaska Zoo led an experiment to determine the best method to remove oil from a polar bear hide and conducted a limited test on one of the polar bears at the zoo. Agreements and contracts have been put in place and equipment designed, constructed, and staged on the Alaska North Slope for polar bear response. During the annual North Slope Mutual Aid Drill in 2013, Alaska Clean Seas developed a short scenario to test these capabilities and identify additional improvements. The poster will describe these efforts for continued improvements for oil spill response in the Alaska Arctic.

NET ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT ANALYSIS BY APPLICATION OF GIS-A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH IN A REGION OF HIGH BIODIVERSITY AND INCREASING COMPLEXITY IN OIL PRODUCTION

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 1095-1098
Author(s):  
Geir Morten Skeie ◽  
Frode Engen ◽  
Odd Willy Brude ◽  
Marit E. Randall
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Alternative Response ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT The Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) extends from latitude 56° to 71°. Along the 82,000 km coastline and offshore, biodiversity is high, with large populations of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. In terms of oil and gas production, there is an increasing diversity in technical structures, water depth, and oil types, as recovery proceeds to smaller reservoirs. This calls for a high degree of flexibility in oil spill response strategies. According to Norwegian regulations, alternative response strategies must be analysed in a standardized way, including Net Environmental Benefit Analyses (NEBA). For this purpose, a GIS based method has been developed for net environmental benefit analysis of different oil spill response options for the NCS. Through a GIS interface, the user can interactively select a release location, an oil type, and a month for the oil spill. A standard map is generated, showing areas where different oil response strategies pose a net environmental benefit, net environmental loss, or a conflict.

Mobile Treatment and Rehabilitation Enclosure (MTRE) for small pinnipeds

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300054
Author(s):  
Brett Long ◽  
Chip Arnold ◽  
Carrie Goertz ◽  
Lee Majors
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Life Support ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The North ◽  
Care Groups ◽  
North Slope Of Alaska

The North Slope of Alaska is a demanding and harsh environment. Being prepared for an oil spill involving wildlife in this region requires training, innovation, and partnerships. For the past three years animal care groups, industry oil spill response organizations, and federal agencies have been collaborating to prepare for such an event. Protocol development is an essential and initial process to accomplish response goals. In 2011, protocols were developed for the care of oiled affected phocid seals in Alaska, focusing on the need for remote, deployable operations in the arctic. While developing these protocols, authors drew from their experiences caring for pinnipeds at their facility as well as from involvement in the statewide marine mammal stranding network. As the only institution authorized to rehabilitate stranded marine mammals in Alaska, we are uniquely positioned to assist in mitigating risks associated with possible oil exposure to these animals. Finding resources to treat oiled wildlife is a challenge on the North Slope, especially for medium to long term care. With that in mind, we designed and developed a Mobile Treatment and Rehabilitation Enclosure (MTRE). This deployable enclosure and pool with a life support system meets Animal Welfare Act holding specifications for small pinnipeds including harbor seals, spotted seals, ringed seals, and ribbon seals. The enclosure is designed to be assembled by 2 to 4 individuals and ready for use within 12 hours. While it is purpose built for small pinnipeds it would also be appropriate for short term, triage care of other marine mammals such as walrus calves, polar bear cubs, and sea otters. As a test of our oiled pinniped protocols and the MTRE this system was deployed during the mutual aid drill on the North Slope in August of 2013.

scholarly journals MUTUAL AID IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE: THE ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE MODEL

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Bruce McKenzie ◽  
Norman Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Oil Fields ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
The North ◽  
Response Team ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Alaskan North Slope

ABSTRACT The Alaskan Arctic Region provides one of the world's most remote and challenging environments in which to mount an oil spill response. To facilitate the timeliness and appropriateness of the response, Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) and the operators of the North Slope oil fields have implemented a mutual aid concept for spill response. The concept is based upon each operator on the North Slope maintaining its own inventory of personnel [a spill response team (SRT)] and equipment that is available on short notice to respond to a spill. If the spill exceeds the responsible operator's resources, additional resources can be obtained from other operators and/or ACS through mutual aid. Individuals from diverse organizations are brought together in a mutual aid event. To allow different organizations to function effectively in a multi-organizational environment, a common management structure was required. The structure chosen for the North Slope was the incident command system (ICS). A key concern when discussing mutual aid is the provision of indemnification from liability for responders. For the North Slope, ACS and its member companies are indemnified when responding to a spill through provisions in the ACS charter and the ACS response action contract.

Recent Results from Oil Spill Response Research

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 673-676
Author(s):  
Edward Tennyson
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Yield Information ◽  
Environmental Test ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT Recent large oil spills from tankers have reaffirmed the need for continuing technology assessment and research to improve oil-spill response capabilities. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) remains a lead agency in conducting these studies. This paper discusses MMS concerns, as reinforced by the acceleration of its research program in 1990. It briefly assesses the current state-of-the-art technology for major aspects of spill response, including remote sensing, open-ocean containment, recovery, in-situ burning, chemical treating agents, beach-line cleanup, and oil behavior. The paper reports on specific research projects that have begun to yield information that will improve detection and at-sea equipment performance. The first detection project, for which MMS has patent pending, involves the use of shipboard navigational radar to track slicks at relatively long range. The second project involves the use of conventional containment and cleanup in a downwind mode, which is contrary to the traditional procedures. The paper also discusses current research projects, including the development of an airborne, laser-assisted fluorosensor that can determine whether apparent slicks contain oil. Additional projects involve the development of improved strategies for responding to oil in broken-ice conditions, for gaining an improved understanding of the fate and behavior of spilled oil as it affects response strategies, and for reopening and operating the oil and hazardous materials simulated environmental test tank (OHMSETT) facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. Recent progress on the development of safe and environmentally acceptable strategies to burn spilled oil in-situ is also discussed. The OHMSETT facility is necessary for testing prospective improvements in chemical treating agents and to develop standard procedures for testing and evaluating response equipment.

BEHAVIOR-BASED SAFETY PROCESSES IN ARCTIC OIL SPILL RESPONSE

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 703-705
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Hall ◽  
Walter J. Henry
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Safety Plan ◽  
The Face ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Behavior Based ◽  
Field Workers

ABSTRACT The Alaska North Slope region is a challenging operating environment. During spill response operations, worksite hazards are magnified and ensuring safety of response personnel becomes more difficult. In the Incident Management Team, the Safety Officer develops a Site Safety Plan to identify hazards and establish guidelines for safe operations. This information is typically communicated to the field workers when they check-in at the Staging Area or other assigned location. The Site Safety Plan alone, however, fails to address specific behaviors of the personnel that lead to unsafe activities. Behavior-Based Safety Processes fill in this missing piece. The PIRATE Process is an example of behavior-based safety at work. PIRATE - Personal Involvement Reduces Accidents to Everyone - is a fundamental part of the safety culture in the Greater Prudhoe Bay operating area. The March 2006 Gathering Center 2 (GC-2) Transit Line oil spill response presented significant challenges to all involved: extreme weather conditions, congested work areas, spilled oil on frozen lake and tundra environments, and complex field operations competing for personnel and resources. Daily involvement with PIRATE (and similar North Slope Behavior-Based Safety Processes) has made the workforce acutely aware of each individuar'S role in workplace safety, enhancing the overall safety performance of the organization. This poster shows some of the difficulties of a complex arctic oil spill response, and the application of Behavior-Based Safety Processes to enable safe and efficient operations in the face of these challenges.

Response Plans for Arctic Oil and Ice Encounters

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 639-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick W. Glover ◽  
David F. Dickins
Keyword(s):  
Open Water ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Arctic Conditions ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Ground Truthing ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Alaskan North Slope

ABSTRACT Ice conditions, in dynamic stages of development and degradation, are present for over 280 days out of every calendar year in the Beaufort Sea adjacent to the operating oilfields on the Alaskan North Slope. Additionally, wind driven ice invasions during the open water season, July through September typically, may also occur for short periods throughout the season. This presence combined with extreme arctic conditions routinely presents a challenge to mounting a safe and effective oil spill response action. In order to overcome this challenge responders must develop response action plans not only with an understanding of the physical environment but also with a basic understanding of the effect this environment will have on the fate and behavior of the spilled oil. Arctic spill response strategies, worldwide, have been developed through years of experience with both offshore and onshore drilling and production operations in all types of sea and ice conditions. North Slope response action plans are based on this experience, intense field training, and ground truthing of related research and development projects.

Brazil Case Study - Tactical Response Plans and Voo's Program - A New Approach to Shoreline Protection Preparedness

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-25
Author(s):  
Lucas Fantinato ◽  
Adriano Ranierin ◽  
Pedro Martins ◽  
Gustavo Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Shoreline Protection ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive Areas ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive ◽  
Definition Of

ABSTRACT In the past, Brazilian Oil Spill Response Plans focused on the definition of response strategies in offshore environments, but were insufficient when it came to shoreline protection. After the occurrence of major oil spill accidents around the world and events of great repercussion in Brazil and with the intensification of oil and gas E&P activities in locations close to the coast and near environmentally sensitive areas in the country (such as Camamu-Almada and the Jequitinhonha basin), the need for additional nearshore response studies became of the utmost importance. Recently developed documents address the environmental characterization of the coast and indicate the appropriate response strategies, but a more action-oriented approach is needed. For that purpose, based on the best practices in shoreline protection worldwide, a methodology is being implemented so as to provide consistent preparedness support for the protection of nearshore resources. The methodology uses the Brazilian licensing mandatory documents in order to identify the appropriate level of protection preparedness for each of the vulnerable segments of shoreline within the domain of the E&P activity. Once the proper level of preparedness has been identified, the method indicates how to attain such result by presenting a set of tools, such as: TRP (Tactical Response Plan), VoOs (Vessel of Oportunity) Program, Advances Bases and Full Deployment Exercises. This paper provides an overview of the methodology, followed by a case study in Brazil which helps illustrate how the level of preparedness is determined and how the proposed tools help achieve such result. Therefore, it allows assessing the effectiveness of this new approach in the country. Considering Brazil's growing E&P potential, the long extent of its coastline and the abundance of sensitive resources alongshore, the methodology should be applied to other E&P projects developed in the country.

DEVELOPING A GUIDELINE FOR OIL SPILL RISK ASSESSMENT AND RESPONSE PLANNING FOR OFFSHORE INSTALLATIONS

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-327
Author(s):  
Torild Ronnaug Nissen-Lie ◽  
Odd Willy Brude ◽  
Ole Oystein Aspholm ◽  
Peter Mark Taylor ◽  
David Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Offshore Installations ◽  
Oil Spill Response

ABSTRACT Following the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico (Macondo) oil spill and the 2009 Montara incident in Australia, the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) formed the Global Industry Response Group. This Group identified nineteen oil spill response recommendations (OGP, 2011) that are being addressed via an Oil Spill Response Joint Industry Project (OSR-JIP) during 2012–2014. The OSR-JIP is managed by IPIECA on behalf of OGP, in recognition of IPIECA's long-standing experience with oil spill response matters. One of the nineteen recommendations concerned the development of an international guideline for offshore oil spill risk assessment and a method to better relate oil spill response resources to the risk level. Consequently, the OSR-JIP has published a guideline covering oil spill risk assessment and response planning for offshore installations. This paper describes the development and content of the guideline, including how the oil spill risk assessment process provides structured and relevant information to oil spill response planning for offshore operations. The process starts by defining the context of the assessment and describing the activity to be assessed. Thereafter it addresses a series of key questions:What can go wrong, leading to potential release of oil?What happens to the spilled oil?What are the impacts on key environmental - both ecological and socio-economic - receptors?What is the risk for environmental damage?How is the established risk utilised in oil spill response planning? The guideline draws on existing good practices in the determination of oil spill response resources. It promotes consideration, in tactical and logistical detail, of the preferred and viable response strategies to address scenarios covering the range of potential oil spills up to the most serious. The methodology to evaluate the potential spill scenarios utilizes a series of questions:What are the viable techniques/strategies to deliver response with greatest net environment benefit?What are the tactical measures required to implement the identified response strategies, considering technical, practical and safety factors?What Tiered resources are required to mount the tactical measures and achieve effective response? The paper summarizes the useful tools, key information and the necessary level of detail essential to perform an oil spill risk assessment for use in oil spill response planning.

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