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The Value of Dispersants for Oil Spill Response

The Value of Dispersants for Oil Spill Response. Tom Coolbaugh (EMRE) CRRT Committee Meeting St. Thomas, May 9, 2012. Introduction. Topics of Discussion Oil spill response options Background on dispersants Deepwater Horizon Incident Summary.

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The Value of Dispersants for Oil Spill Response

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  1. The Value of Dispersants for Oil Spill Response Tom Coolbaugh (EMRE) CRRT Committee Meeting St. Thomas, May 9, 2012

  2. Introduction Topics of Discussion • Oil spill response options • Background on dispersants • Deepwater Horizon Incident • Summary

  3. Dispersants Enhance Removal of Oil from the Environment Through Biodegradation

  4. Spill Response Options: The Toolbox Mechanical Recovery: Booms & Skimmers Monitor & Evaluate In-Situ Burning The goal is to design a response strategy based on Net Environmental Benefit Analysis Aerial Dispersants Subsea Dispersants

  5. Encounter Rate is Key to Offshore Response Courtesy of Ocean Imaging

  6. Spill Conditions Limit Response Options Wave Height (feet) 18 Natural Degradation and Dispersion 14 10 Mechanical Recovery 6 Dispersant Sea Application Conditions 4 In-Situ Burning 2 0.5 0.25 Courtesy of Al Allen -2 -1 Millimeters 10 10 1 10 Average Oil Thickness

  7. Dispersants – What are they? • Dispersants are solutions of surfactants dissolved in a solvent • Surfactants reduce oil-water interfacial tension – allows slicks to disperse into very small droplets with minimal wave energy • Dispersed oil rapidly dilutes to concentrations <10 ppm within minutes, <1 ppm within hours, ppb range within a day • Each dispersed oil droplet is a concentrated food source that is rapidly colonized and degraded by marine bacteria • Dilution allows biodegradation to occur without nutrient or oxygen limits Graphic consistent with Venosa & Holder, EPA 2007

  8. Environmental Impacts Other Uses of Corexit 9500 Ingredients (from Nalco website) • Toxicity of oil > toxicity of the dispersant • Modern dispersants use ingredients found in household products 6 mm Organisms used in EPA’s toxicity tests

  9. Relative Toxicity: Environment Canada Study (96 HR Rainbow Trout LC50) AGENT TOXICITY (ppm) Palmolive Dish Soap 13 Sunlight Dish Soap 13 Mr. Clean 30 Corexit 9527 108 BP 1100 WD 120 Corexit 9500 (27 times less toxic than dish soap) 350 BP 1100X 2472

  10. Subsea Injection of Dispersants • Preliminary observations of DWH experience • Benefits of subsea injection • Long-term fate and effects

  11. Release Site May 9: Prior to Injection Courtesy of Ocean Imaging Winds @ 0850 40 / 16 knots Avg winds 64 / 16 knots Wind direction

  12. Release Site May 10: 3 hrs of Injection Wind direction Courtesy of Ocean Imaging Winds @ 0850 40 / 12 knots Avg winds 91 / 10 knots

  13. Release Site May 10: 11 hrs of Injection Wind direction Courtesy of Ocean Imaging Winds @ 1700 120 / 14 knots Avg winds 91 / 10 knots

  14. Release Site May 11: 5 hrs after Injection Ended Wind direction Courtesy of Ocean Imaging Winds @ 1700 140 / 8 knots Avg winds 134 / 10 knots

  15. Release Site May 12: 28 hrs After Injection Ended Courtesy of Ocean Imaging Winds @ 0850 150 / 7 knots Avg winds 130 / 7 knots Wind direction

  16. Summary • Along with prevention, robust oil spill response (OSR) is critical • Highest priority in emergency response is human health and safety • Basic strategy for addressing oil spilled from an offshore well • Respond as close to the source as possible • Utilize all appropriate tools to keep oil from reaching shorelines • Dispersant use presents a necessary tradeoff given the limitations of mechanical recovery and should be a primary response option • Subsea injection is a step-change advance that may reduce spill impacts by an order of magnitude • More research is needed to optimize subsea injection and better understand the long term effects of dispersed oil in deep waters

  17. The End

  18. Recent News • Headline – Florida: Coast Guard plans to use dispersants if Cuban drilling produces oil spill – Tampabay.com (Coastal News Today, Wednesday, December 21, 2011; http://coastalnewstoday.com/florida-coast-guard-plans-to-use-dispersants-if-cuban-drilling-produces-oil-spill-tampabay-com/) • As Cuba prepares to begin allowing a Spanish company to drill for oil 12 miles north of Havana next year, U.S. Coast Guard officials say they have learned from the mistakes made during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and will be prepared for the worst should a spill happen so close to the Florida Keys. • “We will attack it quickly, aggressively and as far from our shores as we can,” Rear Adm. William Baumgartner told reporters during a news conference Tuesday. • Attacking an offshore spill from Cuba would include spraying dispersants such as Corexit on any oil slick, to break it up and make it degrade more quickly, Baumgartner said.

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