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Scientific and Environmental Issues

National Maritime Chemical Spill Contingency Plan

A chemical spill contingency plan was circulated in draft form in early 1995.

The plan, presently being redrafted to include an operations and procedures section, is designed to maximise existing State/NT, Federal and industry resources. As the frequency of chemical spills in the marine environment is low, the existence of land-based chemical spill response expertise and combat equipment is vital to the success of the plan.

The Steering Group has agreed to and NPAC has endorsed the proposal that AMSA would be the managing agency for the plan and that State/NT Fire Brigades and specialised HazMat groups would have the combat role in a chemical response at sea under the direction of a State/NT appointed Incident Controller. The Incident Controller would in most cases be a Harbour Master or other regionally based experienced mariner and would require some training in chemical spill response, but would rely primarily on the Fire Brigade as the competent combat authority.

The State/NT Marine Pollution Committees are well placed to adopt the responsibilities of ChemPlan with a representative of the Fire Brigade or HazMat unit becoming a member of the committee.

It has been recommended that the State/NT Committees designate a regional or local Incident Controller for chemical spill incidents, in a fashion similar to the nomination process under the National Plan oil spill arrangements, and commence the documentation of call-out arrangements and local contingency arrangements.

Oil Spill Trajectory Modelling

When an oil spill occurs in the marine environment the first concerns are where the oil will go - its direction, speed of movement and spreading characteristics - and what coastal and marine environmental resources are at risk.

Oil spill computer models have been used:

For operational use in oil spill events in Australian waters to determine the spill trajectory, spreading and fate of the oil on water. This information is vital for the effective and efficient deployment of response equipment and personnel and to determine coastal and marine resources under risk;
For the training of operational staff - State/Territory, Federal and industry - in the movement of spilled oil and processes that may affect decisions made in the field;
For contingency planning in the case of oil spills in an area of interest and the running of "what-if" hypothetical scenarios of different weather and sea conditions;
For risk analysis associated with oil spills from oil exploration, drilling and production installations;
For the identification of and assistance with possible prosecution of vessels discharging oil at sea.

In 1995, AMSA developed a joint Search and Rescue/Oil Spill Trajectory Model (SAR/OSTM) request for proposals for the provision of near real time meteorological and oceanographic data as well as drift and trajectory modelling capabilities for Australian waters.

In 1996, AMSA selected as preferred tenderer a consortium headed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The consortium included the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, which will provide the OILMAP® modelling software; the National Tidal Facility and the CSIRO Division of Oceanography.

The project is expected to involve two main phases. It is envisaged that during the first phase in 96/97 new OILMAP® front end modelling software will be acquired and existing On Scene Simulation Model (OSSM) hydrodynamic data will be converted into the OILMAP® current atlas format. This will provide a much improved, user friendly and versatile trajectory model for the present geographic areas covered under OSSM. It will also provide an improved capability to model the changing properties of the spilled oil or fuel and provide an interface with the National Plan Coastal Resource Atlas (CRA) in a geographic information system (GIS) format.

The second and main phase involves the development of almost real time access to a vast array of land-based, in-situ and satellite-derived oceanographic and meteorological data from the consortium over all Australian Territorial waters and the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone. Also covered will be all Australian Search and Rescue areas. The present Australian search and rescue responsibility area corresponds to one-ninth of the world's ocean surface or 47 million square kilometres.

National Plan Coastal Resource Atlas Program

Coastal Resource Atlases (CRAs) are essential tools in contingency planning and in decision-making during marine pollution incidents. CRAs provide a means of determining marine and coastal areas of sensitivity that could be affected in the event of a pollution incident. They also provide valuable resource and logistical information for combat authorities.

All States and the Northern Territory have embarked on programs over the past five years to record and document their coastal and marine resources in the form of either a computerised or hard copy Coastal Resource Atlas (CRA). Most State and Territory CRAs are now geographic information systems (GIS) based on PCs. Many of these programs were initiated and continue to be supported by funding from AMSA under the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil.

These detailed computerised atlases identify marine and foreshore ecosystems and biological resources for the determination of protection priorities. They also provide information to authorities on response options such as boom deployment, dispersant use, foreshore clean-up techniques to be employed and disposal sites for generated waste.

During 1995-96, NPAC endorsed a new CRA policy and strategy for the CRA program. AMSA is currently revising the National Plan CRA Technical Specification for NPAC endorsement.

National Oil on the Sea Identification Database

The National Oil on the Sea Identification Database (NOSID) project is partly funded under the National Plan by AMSA and the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO). The Australian Government Analytical Laboratories (AGAL) and the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) also combine resources on this initiative.

The aim of NOSID is to improve the quality, reliability and discriminating power of oil fingerprinting techniques in Australia for forensic, general environmental or geochemical purposes.

For oil spill investigations and prosecution purposes, it is necessary to chemically match a sample of the spill to that of the suspect samples to positively identify the polluter. Where a suspect oil is not available to investigators, a library of reference oil samples will assist the laboratory in identifying the ship or other source of the spill.

Presently the NOSID database consists of 30 reference oils which represent:

oils currently transported around Australia
crude oils being produced in Australia's offshore basins
oils which strand on the Australian coast as a result of long distance transport.

The database, once fully complete, will be administered by the curator of standards at AGAL in WA.

The project is nearing completion and has attracted considerable interest both locally and overseas. A paper on NOSID was presented at the Oil Spill Analysis Workshop in Canberra during August 1995 and at AMSAT workshops in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand during 1995.

Contingency Planning for Wildlife during Oil Spills

Coastal maritime oil pollution incidents result in inevitable oiling of birds, marine mammals and other wildlife.

The impact on wildlife depends upon the type and quantity of oil, the location of the spill, the environmental sensitivity and biodiversity of the area affected. Oiled fauna attract significant community and media attention and are often the public face of the spill response.

Under State, Territory and Federal legislation and an array of international treaties and conventions, an obligation exists in Australia to protect and preserve flora and fauna, including endangered species, migratory birds, dolphins, seals, whales and their habitats. A humanitarian and moral obligation also exists for response agencies.

The primary responsibility for oiled wildlife response and planning lies with State/NT Marine Pollution Committees and associated agencies. It is now recognised, however, that the response also requires National coordination, support and funding.

The Review of the National Plan response to the Iron Baron Oil Spill in Tasmania recommended that a National Wildlife Response Plan should be pursued as a matter of priority and included as part of the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil.

A Working Group of the National Plan Advisory Committee (NPAC) has been formed to ascertain Australia's ability to respond effectively in managing wildlife cleaning and rehabilitation after an oil spill.

AMSA, the Australian Nature Conservation Agency and Taronga Zoo have developed terms of reference for the Working Group which have now been endorsed by the National Plan Advisory Committee.

The Terms of Reference of the National Wildlife Response Plan (NWRP) Working Group include:

Undertake a comprehensive assessment of the present National capability to respond to the rescue, transport, cleaning, treatment, rehabilitation and release of wildlife during oil spill events
Assess the suitability and adequacy of present State/NT equipment and personnel for oiled rescue, cleaning and rehabilitation
Determine appropriate National call-out and activation mechanisms for trained wildlife responders
Produce a draft National Wildlife Response Plan (NWRP) as part of the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil for consideration by NPAC.

The planned implementation date for the National Wildlife Response Plan is March 1997.

National Plan Bioremediation R&D Project

AMSA, managing agency for the National Plan, has signed a contract with the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences to undertake a two year research program into the use of bioremediation to clean up oil spills.

Bioremediation, the enhancement of naturally occurring oil degrading microbes, offers great potential in the clean up of oil spills, especially in environmentally sensitive foreshores.

Much of tropical Australia is not only environmentally sensitive to oil spills but vast and remote. The use of mechanical or physical clean up techniques in mangrove and saltmarsh habitats can cause extensive damage to these foreshores and is extremely difficult and expensive to undertake.

This innovative program will involve both laboratory and field research into the use and optimisation of bioremediation. The objective of the project is to assess the feasibility of bioremediation to clean up oil spills in environmentally sensitive tropical foreshore environments and to incorporate the findings into the overall planning and response systems for oil spills in Australia.

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last updated:
18 June 2001