Projects
REFERENCES
RELATED PROJECTS
BSEE Oil Simulants Permitting Project (2015)
In 2015, BSEE funded a national Oil Spill Simulants Workgroup to foster consensus and consolidate existing knowledge about oil simulant and surrogate materials and federal regulatory requirements for releasing them in U.S. waters. A decision-making tool was developed with input from NOAA, USCG, BSEE, SCAA, and APICOM. It includes basic terminology, characteristics of various simulant and surrogate substances, and several flow charts to guide decision-making regarding the type of surrogate to use based on the purpose of the release and the physical and environmental parameters. The National Response Team Science and Technology Committee reviewed the tool and received it favorably.
PWSRCAC Oil Spill Simulants Review (2008) and Workshop (2013)
PWSRCAC convened a high level workgroup of spill response and marine environmental experts from Alaska and around the U.S. to identify preferred substances for use as simulants in on-water oil spill response training and exercises. Additional funding and support was provided by OSRI and SCAA. This workshop was the impetus for the BSEE-funded follow-on project.
Final Report
Briefing Document
PWSRCAC Oil Spill Simuation Materials Review (2008) A report commissioned by PWSRCAC to review materials used as oil surrogates and simulants worldwide.
SIMULANTS RESEARCH
Environmentally Benign Oil Simulants to Mimic the Behavior of Oil Droplets in the Ocean (ongoing)
BSEE-funded project conducted by EPA scientists to develop a simulant to mimic dispersed oil droplets on the surface and subsea.
Vegetable Oil Spills: Oil Properties and Behavior - Fingas (2013)
A study of vegetable oil spill fate and behavior. Vegetable oils are not a permissible alternative to petroleum oils in U.S. waters.
Patent for Non-Emulsion Based Oil Simulant (2009)
University of Utah researchers developed and patented a simulated oil. According to personal communications with the researchers, this oil has never been released to the environment as a surrogate or simulat for oil spill response training or research.
Reports and Articles about Oil Surrogate or Simulant Releases
ARCTREX Tests Arctic Oil Spill Tracking Techniques (Alaska Public Media, 23 January 2015)
The Arctic Tracer Release Experiment - or ARCTREX - released red non-toxic dye in the US Arctic Ocean to understand how oil and other contaminants would spread in the ocean.
Tracking the Last Mile Before Oil Meets the Beach (Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, 17 January 2015)
Researchers studied the mechanisms that bring contaminants to shore using an EPA-approved red dye along with tracking devices in Florida.
Fake oil spill to be conducted Wednesday in Lake Pontchartrain (The Times-Picayune, 27 August 2014)
Officials staged a fake oil spill in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The drill was part of the annual conference for the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals, held in New Orleans during the last week of August. No liquids were "spilled" or put into the water during the simulation; instead responders pretended there was oil and used standard practices to contain it.
Oil Spill Simulated on B.C.'s Fraser River, Burrard Inlet (HuffPost British Columbia, 27 August 2014)
Researchers dumped hundreds of bright yellow cards into B.C.'s Fraser River and Burrard Inlet to simulate how far a potential oil spill from the Trans Canada pipeline would spread.
N.J. criminal justice department investigates Washington Township oil spill with green dye (South Jersey Times, 18 July 2014)
Washington Township's fire department assisted with an investigation into the dumping of more than 2,700 gallons of cutting oil into a local small pond and lake by injecting a non-toxic green dye into an upstream storm drain.
'Oil Spill' cleaned up during demo on Savannah River (Savannah Morning News, 7 May 2014)
This article mentions the used of "not-so-disastrous dog food" during an on-water oil spill response during IOSC 2014 in Savannah, Georgia.
How scientists are using drones to fight the next big oil spill (Grist, 3 December 2013)
This article details efforts to predict the path of potential future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico using drone technology and surface and seabed sensors to track colored dye moving with the ocean current. This project illustrates simulants being used for spill response research purposes.
From Rubber Ducks to Dog Food, Spilling Everything but Oil (NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration Blog, 22 March 2013)
This article ties together seemingly random objects, such as rubber ducks, dog food, oranges, and wood chips, as the materials used to mimic the movement of oil in water that are currenty used during oil spill simulations. It highlights the "need for materials that both realistically mimic oil behavior and are safe for use in the environment" to sufficently test computer forecasting software and on-water spill response tactics.
Historic plastic drift card washes up on Alaskan beach after 33 year sea voyage (UK Daily Mail, 11 May 2012)
This article details how a young boy in Alaska found a drift card released by NOAA during an ocean current study after 33 years at sea.
Oil workers scramble to clean a giant popcorn spill (www.treehugger.com, 5 December 2010)
During an oil spill response drill, unsalted popcorn was released into the Amazon River in Brazil to prepare for a potential disaster given drilling deep in the Amazon rainforest. Oil company Petrobras, along with the Brazilian navy, carried out the exercise.
The Report of the Exercise Evaluation Team (EET) from Balex Delta 2006 Exercise in Gdynia, Poland (November 2006)
The results of this exercise report are mentioned in the SAIC 2008 report; perlite was released.
Slick Response: Mock Oil Spill Near Santa Barbara Tests Clean Up Crews' Readiness (Los Angeles Times, 15 April 1993)
This article highlights the use of rice hulls as a surrogate for oil in California. It mentions that researchers expected the rice hulls to "sink and become fish food" and that rice hulls "are not a perfect simulation of floating oil", but add a realistic element to the drill.