DISCOBIOL: Assessment of the impact of dispersant use for oil spill response in coastal or estuarine areas (2014)

Stéphane Le Floch, Mathieu Dussauze, François-Xavier Merlin, Guy Claireaux, Michael Theron, Philippe Le Maire, Annabelle Nicolas-Kopec

Paper presented at the 2014 International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC), 6-8 May 2014, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Dispersants are known to be an appropriate solution for offshore spill response when sea conditions provide enough energy to disperse and then dilute oil into surface waters. In shallow coastal areas, the use of dispersant is restricted due to the potential that the dispersed oil might come into contact with sensitive resources before dilution can take place. However, after assessing the advantages and potential risks of dispersing oil in coastal areas, it may emerge after careful consideration that and in some cases the use of dispersants could provide a net environmental benefit.

The DISCOBIOL research program aimed to provide practical recommendations on dispersant use in coastal and estuarine areas by acquiring relevant (in terms of likely dispersed oil concentrations) and robust experimental information on the impact of mechanically and chemically dispersed oil on living resources.

Categories: Response Techniques, Dispersants, Papers