Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook

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Edited by Sharon Hook, Graeme Batley, Michael Holloway, Paul Irving and Andrew Ross

Paperback

January 2017

9781486306343

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$67.95

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Oil spills can be difficult to manage, with reporting frequently delayed. Too often, by the time responders arrive at the scene, the slick has moved, dissolved, dispersed or sunk. This Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook provides practical advice on what information is likely required following the accidental release of oil or other petroleum-based products into the marine environment.

The book focuses on response phase monitoring for maritime spills, otherwise known as Type I or operational monitoring. Response phase monitoring tries to address the questions – what? where? when? how? how much? – that assist responders to find, track, predict and clean up spills, and to assess their efforts. Oil spills often occur in remote, sensitive and logistically difficult locations, often in adverse weather, and the oil can change character and location over time. An effective response requires robust information provided by monitoring, observation, sampling and science.

The Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook completely updates the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s 2003 edition of the same name, taking into account the latest scientific advances in physical, chemical and biological monitoring, many of which have evolved as a consequence of major oil spill disasters in the last decade. It includes sections on the chemical properties of oil, the toxicological impacts of oil exposure, and the impacts of oil exposure on different marine habitats with relevance to Australia and elsewhere. An overview is provided on how monitoring integrates with the oil spill response process, the response organization, the use of decision-support tools such as net environmental benefit analysis, and some of the most commonly used response technologies. Throughout the text, examples are given of lessons learned from previous oil spill incidents and responses, both local and international.

General guidance of spill monitoring approaches and technologies is augmented with in-depth discussion on both response phase and post-response phase monitoring design and delivery. Finally, a set of appendices delivers detailed standard operating procedures for practical observation, sample and data collection.

The Oil Spill Monitoring Handbook is essential reading for scientists within the oil industry and environmental and government agencies; individuals with responder roles in industry and government; environmental and ecological monitoring agencies and consultants; and members of the maritime sector in Australia and abroad, including officers in ports, shipping and terminals.

Features:
• Practical advice on what information is required following an oil spill
• The latest scientific advances in physical, chemical and biological monitoring
• Examples of lessons learned from previous oil spill incidents and responses, both local and international
• A set of appendices with standard operating procedures for practical observation, sample and data collection

Foreword
Preface
About the editors
About the authors
Disclaimer
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction to Oil Spill Monitoring
1.1 Stages of a spill response
1.2 Scale of the oil spill and the response strategy

2 Spilled Oil: Overview of Composition, Fate, Effects and Response Options
Properties of oils; Fate of oils in the environment; Weathering; Bioaccumulation and toxicity of oil; Narcotic toxicity; Developmental impacts; Phototoxicity; Metabolism of oil; Trophic transfer of oil; Chronic toxicity of oil; Indirect effects; Summary; Effects of oil in marine habitats; Organisms in open ocean environments; Organisms in near-shore environments; Oil spill response options; Recovery at the source: ship lightering; At-sea response options; Shoreline response options

3 Preparing for Oil Spill Monitoring
Designing a monitoring program; Setting objectives; Study design for environmental monitoring; Determining the scale and location of the monitoring; Critical sampling design considerations; Field sampling program; Initial reconnaissance; Sampling of waters, sediments and biota; Collection of baseline data; Time-of-impact data; Monitoring QA/QC; Laboratory analyses; Data handling and management

4 Responding to an Oil Spill: Initial Assessment
Functions, roles and structures; Preparedness and contingency planning; Field monitoring capability readiness; Team roles and qualifications; Health and safety considerations; Logistical requirements; The spill response process; Spill notification and developing situational awareness; Initial assessment; Contingency plan activation; Response decisions

5 Response Option Assessment
Evaluating response options: Net Environmental Benefit Analysis; Decision making for shoreline cleanup and assessment; Response evaluation

6 Response Phase Monitoring
Introduction; Oil-spill trajectory modelling; Support to oil spill monitoring; Physical monitoring; Observation; Remote-sensing surveillance; Sensors; Platforms; Wide-area coverage; Localised coverage; Other factors to consider when choosing a remote sensing method; Vessel-based surveillance; Generic vessel operational considerations; Visual observations; Sea state; Oil identification and volume estimation; Vessel based surface slick identification systems; Vessel-based water column monitoring; Chemical monitoring; Sampling; Dispersant efficacy monitoring; Hazard assessment following an oil spill; Habitat monitoring; Identification of potential receptors

7 Recovery-phase Monitoring
Monitoring designs to detect impacts and recovery; Control-Impact or reference studies; Gradient designs; BACI design; Oil concentration and composition in the environment; Hydrocarbon source identification; Hydrocarbon biomarkers; Direct laboratory toxicity assessment of environmental samples; Molecular biomarkers; Community structure analysis; Ecological variables; Ecosystem recovery

References
Appendices
Appendix A. Standard operating procedure for shipboard collection of surface waters using wide-mouth jars
Appendix B. Standard operating procedure for collection of waters for dissolved hydrocarbon analysis from a Niskin bottle
Appendix C. Standard operating procedure for the collection of waters for volatile organic compound (BTEX) analysis
Appendix D. Standard operating procedure for shipboard collection of surface oil using GO nets
Appendix E. Standard operating procedure for the collection of thin sheens using slick samplers
Appendix F. Use of sensors for oil spill monitoring
Appendix G. Standard operating procedure for grab sample collection of sediment for PAH, biomarkers, and TOC analyses
Appendix H. Standard operating procedure for collection of overlying waters plus sediment from corers for PAHs and biomarker analysis
Appendix I. Taking sediment samples with a manual push corer
Appendix J. Standard operating procedure for pre-cleaning of equipment prior to sampling for headspace gas and organic geochemistry
Appendix K. Standard operating procedure for collection of sediments for molecular microbial analysis
Appendix L. Standard operating procedure for collection of seafood samples for analysis of taint
Appendix M. Standard operating procedure for the collection and archiving of tissue samples for biomarker analysis
Appendix N. Standard operating procedure for sampling plankton community structure and biomass
Appendix O. Collecting samples for sediment infaunal analysis
Appendix P. Standard operating procedure for sampling intertidal and subtidal areas for community composition
Appendix Q. Standard operating procedure for surveying the impacts of oil spills on bird populations
Appendix R. Standard operating procedure for surveying the impacts of oil spills on non-avian marine wildlife
Appendix S. Examples of sample data sheets
Appendix T. Overview of shoreline assessment
Appendix U. Standard operating procedure for determining shoreline gradient
Appendix V. Standard operating procedure for requesting oil spill trajectory modelling
Appendix W. Example of the activation pro-forma used for team deployment Glossary of terms and acronyms
Index

Sharon Hook

Sharon Hook is a Senior Ecotoxicologist with CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Sydney. Sharon has over 20 years of experience in aquatic ecotoxicology and oceanography. Her research interests include applying modern omics-based approaches to environmental problems, determining the impacts of low-level, long-term toxic responses, and the design and implementation of toxicity testing. She has been involved in the risk assessments following several oil spills, including the Exxon Valdez, the Selendag Ayu spills (both before joining CSIRO) and the Montara well release. She is involved in ongoing projects for BP and Chevron characterizing the Great Australian Bight. Sharon has authored over 60 scientific publications.

Graeme Batley

Graeme Batley is a Chief Research Scientist with the CSIRO Land and Water Flagship and past Director of the Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research based in Sydney. He is one of Australia’s leading researchers of trace contaminants in aquatic systems, actively researching this area for over 40 years. He was a lead author of the water and sediment quality guidelines for Australia and New Zealand in 2000 and of the Australian Guidelines for Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting, and has recently led the updating of toxicant guidelines for both waters and sediments. Graeme is author of over 400 scientific publications.

Michael Holloway

Michael Holloway is Environment and Scientific Coordinator for marine oil spill preparedness and response for the Victorian Government. He trained in marine ecology with a quantitative experimental focus, and has worked at the interface between marine science and management for much of his career. His breadth of interests has led to publications on a range of marine topics including invasive species impacts, ecosystem-based management and risk assessment methods, the national policy on aquatic biosecurity and management of environmental monitoring programs in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. He is currently interested in the application of decision analytic techniques to the complex environmental problems encountered during oil spill response.

Paul Irving

Paul Irving is Scientific Coordinator at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, responsible for marine environment protection and maritime spill response science and advice. A diverse 30-year background across many aspects of marine and coastal science, conservation and management, from tropical to Antarctic, provides a unique perspective on Australasian and Pacific marine pollution response. As a firm believer in collaboration and partnership to provide practical solutions, Paul spends much of his considerable energies looking for ways to incorporate new science and research knowledge into spill planning, so that communities (social and ecological) affected by maritime pollution get the effective response they deserve.

Andrew Ross

Andrew Ross is a research scientist with CSIRO. He leads research projects focused on hydrocarbon seeps, the development of new hydrocarbon sensor devices and baseline and oil spill monitoring. He and his team were involved in the Gulf of Mexico MC252 spill response, spending 4 months monitoring surface waters in 2010 and undertaking hydrocarbon seep surveys close to the MC252 incident location in 2011. More recently he has commenced a series of research projects to characterize the baseline hydrocarbon concentrations and geology of the Great Australian Bight. Andrew joined CSIRO in 2004 and has qualifications in marine biology, oceanography and petroleum geoscience.