DEC Sponsored Response Research

As a result of judgements entered in the criminal cases for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, funds were appropriated for use by the State of Alaska to enhance the ability of the State and industry to respond to oil spills. A total of $2,500,000 was made available to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for projects under this program.

DEC worked with its Alaska stakeholders and other key players to identify and develop projects that were the greatest benefit to all Alaskans. Research was conducted in cooperation with the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Councils, industry spill-response cooperatives and other state and federal agencies, including Alaska Clean Seas, Environment Canada, the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Alaska, and Prince William Sound Community College. Private consultants from throughout the United States and Canada have also been involved in the projects.

Following is a list of projects that have been completed, are in progress or have been proposed for inclusion in DEC's research and development program. Due to size or complexity, some reports are only available in hard copy.

Containment and Cleanup

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Tundra Treatment Manual	Literature review, evaluation of Alaska North Slope cleanups, and development of wetland tundra cleanup guidelines.	Complete	Manual
Field Guide for Oil Spill Response in Arctic Waters	Environment Canada. Development of a guide for cleanup of oiled Arctic shorelines.	Complete
Optimizing Hydraulic Cleaning Techniques for Oiled Coarse Sediment Beaches, Meso-scale Field Trials, Final Report	Environment Canada, Emergencies Science Division. Evaluation of the effectiveness of various response methods used on a pipeline spill.	Complete	Summary (PDF 166K)

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Non-Mechanical Response Techniques

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Smoke Plume Trajectory from In Situ Burning of Crude Oil in Alaska -- Field Experiments and Modeling of Complex Terrain	K. B. McGrattan, H. R. Baum, W. D. Walton, and J. Trelles. Refinements to Alaska's in-situ burn predictive model and application for regulatory approval by EPA.	Complete	Executive Summary (PDF 78K)
Efficacy of Burning Alaska North Slope Crude	Alaska Clean Seas. Laboratory-scale testing and evaluation of the use of emulsion breakers to enhance the window of opportunity for ignition and in situ burning of four Alaska crude oils based on emulsion burning studies initiated in Alaska in 1994.	Complete
Emulsion Breaker Research	Alaska Clean Seas. Construction of a wave tank in Alaska to conduct mid-scale emulsion ignition and burn tests with Alaska North Slope crude oil.	Complete	No report
Fireproof Boom Technology	Minerals Management Service. Development and testing of stainless steel fireproof boom.	Complete
Dispersion of Emulsified Oils at Sea -- Laboratory Study	L. Davies, A. Lewis, T. Lunel, A. Crosbie. AEA Technology, Nation Environmental Technology Centre. Offshore field testing of multiple applications of Corexit 9500 dispersant to evaluate its effectiveness on weathered Alaska North Slope crude and other heavy fuel oils.	Complete	Summary (PDF 39K)
Oil Spill Dispersant Workshop	U.S. Coast Guard. Development of a conference on dispersant application in Alaska.	Complete
DRAFT Standard Air Modeling/Monitoring Operating Procedures for In Situ Oil Spill Burns	Washington Department of Ecology. Participation in the testing of in-situ burning techniques off the Washington coast and development of an air-quality operations manual.	Complete	Report without appendices (PDF 99K)
Effectiveness Testing For COREXIT 9500 On Alaska North Slope Crude Oil In Prince William Sound Seawater At 8C	Laboratory testing and evaluation of mixing, temperature and other selected parameters that affect the effectiveness of dispersant application in Alaska waters.	Complete	Report (PDF 375K)

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Fate and Effects

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Assessment of Freshwater Biodegradation Potential of Oils Commonly Transported in Alaska	S. Blenkinsopp, Z. Wang, J. Foght, D.W.S. Westlake, G. Sergy, M. Fingas, M. Landriault, L. Sigouin and K. Semple. Prepared by Environment Canada for Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Determination of the biodegradability potential of common Alaskan oils in a freshwater environment.	Complete
Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance and Ecological Receptors and Indicators for Risk Assessments	Shannon & Wilson. Review of risk assessment guidelines and development of parameters for the use of ecological receptors and indicators in the 20 currently identified Alaska ecoregions.	Complete	Report (PDF 477K)
General Guidance for Selecting Petroleum Hydrocarbon Field Screen Methods	Prepared by IT Corporation and US ARMY Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Evaluation of the reliability of petroleum field-test kits under Alaskan conditions and comparison with laboratory confirmation tests.	Complete	Report excluding tables (PDF 36K)
Part 1: Acute Toxicity Of The Oil Dispersant COREXIT 9500, And Fresh And Weathered Alaska North Slope Crude Oil To The Alaskan Tanner Crab (C. bairdi) Two Standard Test Species, And V. fischeri (MICROTOX® Assay)	Prepared by University of Alaska Fairbanks. Expansion of ongoing toxicity tests to include weathered oil and dispersant mixtures.	Complete	Part 1 (PDF 1.7M)
Part 2: Assessment Of Alaskan Marine Species For Toxicity Tests	Prepared by University of Alaska Fairbanks. Expansion of ongoing toxicity tests to include weathered oil and dispersant mixtures.	Complete	Part 2 (PDF 172K)
Biodegradation of Dispersed Oil Using Corexit 9500	J. E. Lindstrom, D. M. White, and J. F. Braddock, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Laboratory tests on the biodegradation of dispersed oil.	Complete	Report (PDF 372K)
Biodegradability of Chemically-Dispersed Oil	AEA Technology Environment. Louise Davies, Fabien Daniel, Richard Swannell, Joan Braddock. Determination of the fate and effects of chemically dispersed oil at sea through field and laboratory tests.	Complete	Report (PDF 487K)

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Contingency Planning and Preparedness

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Cleanup Alternatives for Alaska	McDowell Group, Inc. Identify and evaluate alternative regulatory regimes and approaches for spill response and cleanup and the cost/benefit of each.	Complete
Northern Alaska Shoreline Mapping	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Survey and inventory of available data for environmental sensitivity mapping of the northern Alaska coastline.	Complete	Maps available from NOAA, John Whitney, 907-271-3593
Prince William Sound Environmental Sensitivity Mapping	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Update of available data for environmental sensitivity maps of Prince William Sound.	Complete	Maps available from NOAA, John Whitney, 907-271-3593
Southeast Alaska Environmental Sensitivity Mapping	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Update of available data for environmental sensitivity maps of Southeast Alaska.	Complete	Maps available from NOAA, John Whitney, 907-271-3593
Identification and Evaluation of Remote Sensing Technologies for Oil Spills in Alaska	A. M. Sienkiewicz and W. J. Stringer, Prism Environmental. Evaluation of available remote sensing options and determination of the most cost-effective system for use in Alaska.	Complete	Summary (PDF 7K)
Evaluation of Forestry Call Out System for Oil Spill Response	E-Tech Inc. Assessment of the Alaska Division of Forestry call-out system for applicability to oil spill responder emergency mobilization.	Complete
Geographic Response Plan - Northern Lynn Canal, Haines to Skagway	Prepared by Shannon & Wilson for Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Analysis of equipment and manpower needs to establish a plan to protect sensitive nearshore resources in upper Lynn Canal.	Complete	Report excluding appendices (PDF 229K)
Cook Inlet Geographic Response Strategies	Establishment of a stakeholder forum to address strategies to protect sensitive nearshore resources in middle and lower Cook Inlet.	Complete

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Training and Spill Management Systems

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Prince William Sound Drill Simulator	PWS Community College. Acquisition and development of a system for conducting simulated spill responses.	Complete	Information on Simulator available from PWSCC
Data Repository Design Pilot Project	Resource Data, Inc. Analysis of existing databases and data-management practices to determine feasibility of a client/server system for spill prevention/response.	Complete

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Spill Prevention

Title	Description	Status	Availability
Technical Review of Secondary Containment System Technology for Alaska	Golder Associates. Development of procedures for testing permeability of proposed secondary containment methods for bulk fuel storage facilities.	Complete	Introduction (PDF 24K)
Technical Review of Leak Detection Technologies	Prepared by Oasis Environmental for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Evaluation of the effectiveness of technology currently in use in Alaska to detect leaks.	Complete	Report Volume I (PDF 88K) Report Volume II (PDF 144K)

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