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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Oct. 7, 1998
98-172
Contacts: Curt Hart, Dept. of Ecology Public Information Officer,
(360) 407-6973
Shelly Freier, U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer, (206) 220-7243
OLYMPIA -- On Oct. 13 and 14, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and other Northwest spill-response organizations will gather in Port Angeles, Wash., to test the region's ability to safely use controlled in situ, or "in place," burning as a response tool.
No oil will actually be discharged or ignited during the drill. The drill will simulate a 210,000-gallon crude-oil spill from an oil tanker involved in an accident. The location of the spill will be approximately three to four miles west of Port Angeles.
Oil burns are short in duration (45-60 minutes), but they typically produce a cloud of heavy black smoke that can rise thousands of feet into the sky before dissipating. A primary goal of the drill is to verify that smoke from a proposed burn can be monitored to ensure it will not harm public health.
When an in-situ burn is being considered or in process, air quality experts from the Department of Ecology (Ecology) provide spill responders with real-time weather information and run computer-based models to determine the fate of the potential smoke plume. If responders determine that smoke levels would violate federal health standards in inhabited areas, in-situ burning would not be approved and any ongoing burns would have to be shut down.
To burn oil on the water, part of the spill must be corralled inside a special fireproof oil-containment boom pulled in tandem by two response vessels. Once the oil is concentrated to about one-tenth of inch thick, it can be ignited. This technique can remove up to 99 percent of the oil captured for burning and drastically minimize shoreline and marine damage from a spill.
If wind and weather conditions change during burning operations, spill responders could quickly extinguish a burn by releasing one end of the containment boom or by speeding up the vessels so the oil goes under or over the boom. The fire would cease almost immediately once the oil thinned out on the water.
On Oct. 14, two response vessels will practice pulling a boom in tandem at the simulated spill site. Part of the drill will also test how quickly responders on shore can communicate with vessel crews to shut down a burn.
Another goal of the drill is to determine if responders can notify residents that controlled burning is being considered in the overall response to an oil spill that has occurred near their community.
On Oct. 8, Ecology will hold a public meeting in Port Angeles to discuss the scheduled drill. The U.S. Coast Guard and other Northwest spill-response organizations will also participate. The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Clallam County Board of Commissioners conference room, located in the Clallam County Courthouse at 223 E. Fourth St.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
