Oil Spill Responder Training
In January 2012, the CRREL hosted a three-day advanced
ice safety and response training workshop for Arctic oil spill
responders. The course consisted of an interactive classroom
lecture and a feld practical setting.
The practical portion included hands-on profciency checks with
the oil spill responder's equipment, as if responding to an oil
spill in and under ice. The exercise included spill site safety, site
setup, ice profling, and delineation using ground-penetrating
radar and underwater lights.
Mechanical skimmer tests were conducted using
afull-scalespillrecoveryunitwiththreedifferent
oilsandsevendrumsmodifedwithvaryingsurface
geometriesforthehighestoilrecoverypotentialina
coldenvironment.Thegoalofthesetestsistoevaluate
theeffectivenessofoiladhesionondifferentdrums
undervaryingconditions.
Preliminaryresultsshowedthatsomemodifcations
are better than others at collecting crude. At one
point,drumswererecovering40gallonsperminute
ofcrude,ascomparedwithaconventionaldrumof
onlyfvegallons.Theresultswillhelpimproveexistingmechanicalresponseequipmentthatcanbemore
effcientlyusedundericeconditions.
Whilesafety,prevention,andpreparednessarehigh
prioritiesformany,Arcticoilspillsremainapossibility.Familiaritywithresponseequipmentwillresultin
amoretimelyandeffcientcleanup.Thisisaworkin
progress, as limitations are realized in existing technologiesandnewtechnologiesaredeveloped.
As part of the hands-on training, oil burns in a recovery trench at CRREL's
Geophysical Research Facility. In situ burning is considered one of the most
effective means to mitigate an oil spill.
goodenvironmentalstewards,"hesaid."Testingin
theuniqueCorps'facilitieshelpsdevelopconfdence
innovelmitigationtechniques."
Mechanical Skimmers
Insomeinstancesmechanicalinterventionistheonly
viablealternative,buticeimpedestheoilfowtothe
recoveryequipmentorclogsthepumpsandhoses
usedforthecapturedoil.
Oilspillrecoveryequipmentcurrentlyusedinwarmer
watersisnotdesignedtocollectthemoreviscousoils,
oroil-icemixtures.However,noveldrumskimmer
surfacegeometryandmaterials,tailoredtotheconditionspresentundercoldclimates,areexpectedto
signifcantlyincreasetherateofoilrecovery,reducing
cost and minimizing the impact of an oil spill.
82
Proceedings
Summer 2013
About the author:
Ms. Marie C. Darling is a public affairs specialist with the Army
Corps' Engineer Research and Development Center. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Trinity College, and is
a graduate of the Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade,
Md.
Endnotes:
1. nformationisavailableatwww.bsee.gov/Research-and-Training/TechI
nology-Assessment-and-Research/Project-517.aspx.
2. rctic Environmental Test Basin information is available at www.
A
hydralab.eu/facilities_view.asp?id=4.
3. .L.RossEnvironmentalResearchLtd.Mid-Scale Test Tank Research On
S
Using Oil Herding Surfactants To Thicken Oil Slicks in Broken Ice. U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior'sBureauofSafetyandEnvironmentalEnforcement
(formerlytheMineralsManagementService).Availableatwww.bsee.
gov/Research-and-Training/Technology-Assessment-and-Research/
Project-554.aspx.
For more information:
Follow research activity via the CRREL
innovative oil spill research website at
www.crrel.usace.army.mil/
innovations/oil_spill_research/.
www.uscg.mil/proceedings
