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7/5/2016 1 Oil Spill Response: Offshore Spill Response Options NRPT St. Petersburg, FL 28 June 2016 Charlie Henry Director, NOAA’s GOM Disaster Response Center Disclaimer: The information presented reflects only the views of the presenter, and does not necessarily reflect the official positions or policies of NOAA or the Department of Commerce.

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Page 1: Oil Spill Response: Off shore Spill Response Options - … · Oil Spill Response: Off ... reduce the overall impact of an oil spill to the environment as a ... 3 Tuesday NRPT Florida

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Oil Spill Response:

Off‐shore Spill Response OptionsNRPT ‐ St. Petersburg, FL 

28 June 2016

Charlie HenryDirector, NOAA’s GOM Disaster Response Center

Disclaimer:The information presented reflects only the views of the presenter, and does not necessarily reflect the official positions or policies of NOAA or the Department of Commerce.

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The Scientific Support Coordinator’s view of an oil spill can seem an endless series of questions:

• What was spilled? (Oil Chemistry - Changes)

• Where is it going? (Oil Forecasts)

• What’s at risk? (RAR/ESI)

• How will it hurt? (Potential Impacts)

• What can be done to mitigate the hurt?

DO NO MORE HARM THAN GOOD

Fundamental Oil Spill Response Strategy

• Prevention

• Protection of Life

• Source control

• Contain the oil at or near the source

• Protect sensitive habitats/environments

• Recover spilled oil

• Mitigation - Minimize environmental impact from the spill and enhance natural recovery

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Fundamental Oil Spill Response Strategy

• Prevention

• Protection of Life

• Source control

• Contain the oil at or near the source

• Protect sensitive habitats/environments

• Recover spilled oil

• Mitigation - Minimize environmental impact from the spill and enhance natural recovery

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(Day 3)

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Oil Recovery:  Brush‐Type Skimmer 

What did each of the last five pictures have in common?

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What did each of the last five pictures have in common?

Very Calm Weather Conditions

What about fire? Let’s think about burning it.

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Exxon Valdez, PWS, Alaska (1989)

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Was there any in‐situ burns during the Exxon Valdez Response?

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Burning Oil at Sea Research

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Review  ‐ Basics of Burning Oil at Sea

• Oil must be several mm thick to support sustained combustion on water – thicker better.

• Requires mechanical recovery prior to burning.

• Oil must not be emulsified (water‐in‐oil) more than 50% (maybe a bit higher water content if you can get a hot enough fire initiated).

• Ignition systems maybe hand deployed or helio‐torch (jellied gasoline).

• Not 100% Efficient (is anything 100% efficient?)

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Burn Effectiveness In General

• 90‐98% Effective at removing surface oil.

• Primary products are CO2 and H2O.

• Some 5% of the oil removed from the surface are incomplete combustion by‐products:  – particulates such as smoke and soot

– Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (pyrogenic) 

• Plume monitoring may be required (SMART).

• Surface residues are highly distilled oil residues and may sink especially after the begin to cool.

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PROS: Removes a large amounts of oil very fast (>2000 bbl/hr) – much faster than a skimming system.

No storage capacity issues.

Removes the bulk of the oil from the water surface with no significant increase in dissolved hydrocarbons into the water column.

May have a relatively broad window of opportunity (often days – often not!).

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CONS: Limited to same mechanical encounter rate challenges as skimming operations.

Moves pollution from water to air.

Highly visible plume (public is often alarmed).

Combustible liquids only (not emulsified oil).

Requires specialized fire boom systems.

May require air monitoring (SMART and maybe other requirements).

Will likely require wildlife monitoring.

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CONS: May require RRT approval (Preauthorization)

Residues may sink (often sink) – exclusion zones pre‐identified in RRT6 Authorization 

(Tar and Live Coral – How could it hurt?).

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Fundamental Oil Spill Response Strategy

• Prevention

• Protection of Life

• Source control

• Contain the oil at or near the source

• Protect sensitive habitats/environments

• Recover spilled oil

• Mitigation - Minimize environmental impact from the spill and enhance natural recovery

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Why consider using dispersants?

Aerial application of dispersants can mitigate large amounts of oil if treated promptly – oil that would not likely be recovered mechanically.

Mitigate -- reduce the overall impact of an oil spill to the environment as a whole.

Dispersant use is a trade-off: increased risked to the water column to reduce injury to surface water and nearshore and shoreline resources.

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Charlie Henry

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Bejarano AC, Levine E, Mearns AJ, 2013

Total Dispersant Summary

* Data as of 6/4 22:00 hrs.

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

4/2

1

4/2

3

4/2

5

4/2

7

4/2

9

5/1

5/3

5/5

5/7

5/9

5/1

1

5/1

3

5/1

5

5/1

7

5/1

9

5/2

1

5/2

3

5/2

5

5/2

7

5/2

9

5/3

1

6/2

6/4

Dai

ly D

ispe

rsan

t A

pplic

atio

n (G

allo

ns)

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

Cum

ulat

ive

Dis

pers

ant

App

licat

ion

(Gal

lons

)

Daily Subsea Daily Surface Cumulative

Roughly 1.8 M gallons appliedTOTAL

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A Few Sampling Highlights…

• Water – 28,850 samples (12,038 with lab results)

– All samples below EPA benchmarks for protection of Human Health

– All dispersants below EPA benchmarks, detected in 7 samples

– 83 samples above EPA benchmarks for aquatic life

Did we do no more harm than good?

Charlie’s Final Thoughts:

• Oil and chemical spills are unplanned and uncontrolled events.

• The job of a spill responder is to protect life, establish control of the spill if it can be done safely, and prevent or reduce environmental injury (NEBA).

• There is no such thing as “Net Environmental Benefit.”• Most of the early information known during an emergency

response is wrong, and response decisions must be made anyway.

“Dealing with uncertainty is just part of the job.”

• Most everything we know about how to best respond to an emergency is based on success and mistakes of the past.