Measures to Combat Offshore Artie Oil Spills

Abstract This paper is based on a portion of a continuous current-awareness literature survey on the varied facets of the overall problems of pollution by oil spills. Statistics and information on 15 Arctic and subarctic oil spills, their locations, the amount of oil spilled, combatant schemes used, direct cleanup costs, and causes for the spills were culled from the literature. This information was used to analyze the effectiveness of available chemical, mechanical, and destructive combatant techniques as methods of oil recovery or disposal under Arctic and subarctic conditions. The choice of the best cleanup procedures to follow in any particular instance is clouded by a number of variables and must be weighed against such considerations as, for example, wind, sea, and ice conditions, properties of the oil, and effects of chemicals on marine and wildlife. The problem is further complicated by the fact that publications on oil spills tend to be incomplete. What little information is provided is often contradictory with regard to the effectiveness of the various methods. Reference is made to legislative and insurance considerations. Brief mention is made of Port Cooperatives and contingency planning activities set up to deal with oil spill emergencies in the Canadian and U. S. Arctic and subarctic. Introduction For the purpose of this paper, temperature is the only criteria used to define the limits of the Arctic and subarctic regions (Fig. 1). The Arctic is described as the region in which the mean temperature for the warmest month is below 50°F and the average annual temperature is no higher than 32°F(1). The subarctic is the region in which the mean temperature for the coldest month is below 32°F, where the mean temperature of the warmest month is above 50°F, but where there are less than 4 months with a mean temperature above 50°F. The total Arctic and subarctic water area is almost 10 million square miles as compared to approximately 2 million square miles for the Arctic and subarctic land area. The total land and water area is more than twenty percent of the area of the earth. In 1960 petroleum exploration and drilling moved from the Canadian subarctic to the Arctic islands. Offshore drilling in the Canadian subarctic started in 1966. Since then the petroleum industry has extended its interest to the offshore oil reserves of the Arctic Basin. As of 1971, federal permits issued on offshore Arctic and subarctic areas (North American continent) embraced nearly one million square miles. Oil companies operating in the Arctic and subarctic regions are taking greater precautions than ever before to protect the environment. In part this action has been forced upon them by public outcry, but is also because of technical problems associated with the environment as well as an increased awareness of responsibility to future generations. Their greatest concern is probably associated with the subsequent distribution of the oil (Fig. 2). Shipping operations in both the North American and USSR Arctic and subarctic have improved steadily in recent years. In 1969 and 1970, we witnessed the voyages of the USS Manhattan through the Northwest Passage.