UTILIZATION OF DISPERSANTS IN OFFSHORE AREAS

ABSTRACT The use of dispersants to control marine oil spills is common practice in many areas throughout the world. In the United States, the use of dispersants has been discouraged up to this time by federal regulations. A Task Force was appointed by the American Petroleum Institute to make recommendations on the utilization of dispersants based on studies of current information on dispersants and mechanical recovery equipment. The use of dispersants should be encouraged where it is justified. The Task Force believes that the use of dispersants can at times be the most effective and biologically sound method of controlling offshore oil spills. For this reason, we would like to see the National Contingency Plan revised so that the responsible On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) has more authority over the use of dispersants. The OSC should be able to decide to use dispersants to control offshore oil spills that threaten to move into sensitive environmental or commercial areas. If the plan is revised, then oil spill cleanup organizations would be encouraged to have stocks of low toxicity dispersant, and suitable spraying systems.