Ohmsett--The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility The

Continued on page 5

What’s InsideUSCG Training ............................... page 3

Dispersant Testing ........................ page 4

JBF Skimmer Test ......................... page 6

MAR Awarded Ohmsett Contract . page 6

Leonardo, New Jersey

GazetteOhmsett--The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

Spring/Summer 2007Test with oil. Train with oil.

The

Continued on page 2

Ohmsett Oil Spill Training AttractsMultinational Students

Mohsen Almousawi of Bunduq Co., Ltd. and other international students practiceusing oil spill response equipment during hands-on training.

When an oil spill occurs, do your re-sponders know how to establish an

incident command post? Do they know howthe surrounding environmental factors willaffect the behavior of the spill and whatequipment to deploy?

At Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Re-sponse Test Facility, that is exactly what stu-dents learned during the week-long Oil SpillManagement course held May 14-18. Re-sponse personnel attending the training ac-quired the skills necessary to make quick andinformed decisions during oil spill incidents.They also received hands-on spill responseequipment handling and oil recovery train-

ing using full-scale equipment with real oilin the Ohmsett test tank.

The training course was taught by first-class instructors from Texas A&M Univer-sity-Corpus Christi (TAMU) National SpillControl School, and drew spill response per-sonnel from all over the world. Students likeMohsen Almousawi, an environmental en-gineer for Bunduq Co., Ltd. in the UnitedArab Emirates and Rolando ChávezPeñaherrera, a regional manager for Ro-Clean Desmi A/S in Ecuador, came to gainknowledge of the latest spill response tech-niques to train other company respondersand their customers.

In their on-going research of variousoleophilic recovery surface configura-

tions, the University of California SantaBarbara (UCSB) Bren School of Environ-mental Science and Management conducteda study of "Oil Recovery with Novel Skim-mer Surfaces Under Cold Climate Condi-tions" at the Cold Regions Research andEngineering Laboratory (CRREL) inHanover, NH during the weeks of February26 and March 7.

Due to the increase in oil exploration, pro-duction and transportation in Arctic water,there is an increase in the risk of an oil spilloccurring in cold and ice-infested waters.According to researchers at UCSB, the me-chanical oil spill recovery equipment cur-rently used in warmer waters is not designedto collect more viscous oils, let alone oil-ice mixtures.

Funded by the Minerals Management Ser-vice (MMS), the study will provide a com-prehensive analysis of the adhesion pro-cesses between oil or ice-in-oil mixtures,various surface patterns, and materials thatare being used or proposed for use in oilskimmers conducted under cold climate con-

Ohmsett PersonnelProvide Technical Support

2

"I provide sales and training courses tomy customers," said Chávez Peñaherrera. "Icame to this course so that I can talk to mycustomers about operations and oil spillmanagement. It will help me provide themwith additional training to handle oil spillsand provide better response with our equip-ment."

The class was divided and students rotatedbetween the morning and afternoon sessionseach day. Students started in the Ohmsettclassroom, where they learned about con-tingency plans, operational phases for oilspill response, spill documentation, how toestablish a command post and assign rolesand responsibilities, environmental fates andeffects of oil spills, and spill response tech-nologies and recovery strategies. The in-struction also included over eight hours ofsafety topics associated with an oil spill in-cident. The course curriculum covers theNational Incident Management System(NIMS) 700 series and ICS 100 series sanc-tioned by FEMA. At the completion of thecourse, students received FEMA certifica-tions.

"This was more than I thought. I did notexpect to get good structure and proceduresof incident command," explainedAlmousawi. "This is what is most importantbecause you need proper training, to havethe structure and procedures in place [dur-ing a spill]."

In the afternoon, students moved outdoorsto the Ohmsett tank. There they participatedin recovery of oil released into the tank andobserved the effectiveness of responseequipment in varying water conditions.

"Ohmsett is the only place in the worldwith a tank this size where you can spill realoil and clean it up with skimmers andbooms," remarked Almousawi. "It's very in-teresting and useful to be here. The fun partis I see people from all over the world. It isnice to talk to them and share our back-grounds. It adds to further discussion thanoil spills."

In addition, students learned about the useof Geographic Information Systems (GIS)and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) ap-plications in oil spill response.

"GIS is a computer-based real-time situa-

tion map, sometimes called a Common Op-erational Picture (COP)," explained TAMUinstructor Devon Humphrey. "GIS is usedto view maps in layers, such as aerial pho-tos, roads, shoreline types and various re-sources-at-risk. GPS-linked digital photosare used to provide visual intelligence andare automatically encoded with [latitude andlongitude] location and date/time stamps foreach photo. This is useful for pre-event fieldinventories and damage assessment anddocumentation after a spill. The results ofGPS photo mapping can be viewed by click-ing on the GIS situation map. This allowsfor better decisions to be made in the Inci-dent Command Post and provides a recordof what, where and when response activitieswere conducted."

The training included a field trip alongSandy Hook Gateway National RecreationArea and the Raritan Bay, where collectionand integration of GPS photos and other use-

Multinational StudentsContinued from page 1

ful data were captured for use in spill plan-ning and response exercises.

As Humphrey guided students through thesteps in setting up the GPS unit and how tosynchronize it with their digital cameras, heencouraged them to look at the area veryclosely for terrain features and possible stag-ing areas.

"Think about your role during the re-sponse," Humphrey said. "Use your eyes andthink about the environment - sand, vegeta-tion, docks, launch areas - and look for ac-cess and usable roads."

The last day of training was a classroomexercise that incorporated everything the stu-dents learned during the week.

“At Ohmsett, we had a lot of different lan-guages, cultures and nationalities where wehad to work together and communicate invery professional way - like it is [in a] realincident,” commented Almousawi. “It wasworth a million dollars!”

GIS situation map: This is used in the Incident Command Post to represent thecurrent status of the spill response. All protection and cleanup strategies are postedon this display and other information such as resources-at-risk, real-time weatherand aerial photography are all included for planning purposes. The GPS photos arehot-linked to this GIS situation map, so that by clicking on the map, the photo froma particular location can be viewed. This includes both pre-spill inventory photosand post-spill damage assessment photos.

3

Joint Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard Training at Ohmsett

In March , the United States Coast Guard(USCG) came to the Ohmsett facility for

the Oil Spill Response Technician(OSRT)course, the first of three trainingcourses this year. Not only does this train-ing draw USCG members from all over theUnited States, but also Coast Guard mem-bers representing other countries.

Phillip Walker of Halifax, Nova Scotia,

Canada has been a member of the CanadianCoast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) Pre-paredness Office for the past 10 years. Whenasked by his supervisor if he wanted to at-tend the USCG OSRT at Ohmsett on behalfof environmental response, he jumped at theopportunity.

Even though their mission is slightly dif-ferent, SAR works together with environ-

mental response teams towards a commongoal - to save and protect lives in the marineenvironment and to minimize loss of life,injury, property damage and risk to the en-vironment.

"We [at SAR] work in the same arena asenvironmental response," Walker explained."We have dual roles - we're the same depart-ment, just a different section."

"We have a long history with the USCG.We share the largest border in the world andwe work together in environmental responseand search and rescue," Walker said. "Envi-ronmental and Search and Rescue do nothave a border so we all have to be there andwork together."

According to Walker, there was an inci-dent in Canadian waters few years ago inwhich the USCG Atlantic Strike Force teambrought their equipment to help with theclean up.

Because of this inter-service relationship,Walker looked forward to networking withhis counterparts in the U.S., to see whatequipment and procedures the USCG is us-ing, and to train alongside oil spill responsecrews.

The USCG OSRT training emphasizedclassroom exercises and practical hands-onuse of oil spill equipment in realistic condi-tions. Classroom training focused on gen-eral Coast Guard oil spill response, safetybriefings, and specific SORS/VOSS re-sponse equipment systems.

The Ohmsett facility provides students anopportunity to experience real oil spill re-covery operations using Coast Guard equip-ment in the test tank. There they practicedrecovering oil with actual spill equipmentused in the field under conditions that simu-late an actual oil spill by generating wavesand currents.

USCG training includes half hull rigging during the hands-on portion of the course.

Ohmsett Oil Spill TrainingOhmsett training can be configured tomeet your specific needs. Hands-on

training sessions are available with orwithout classroom instruction.

Tank training can even be conductedusing your own equipment.Contact us at 732-866-7183

to design a class for you!

4

Scientists and Observers at Ohmsett for Dispersant TestsOn January 31, more that 80 scientists

from private industry, academia andgovernment agencies including ten observ-ers from Canada, France, Norway and theUnited Kingdom gathered at Ohmsett - TheNational Oil Spill Response Test Facility inLeonardo, NJ to observe two cold water dis-persant effectiveness (DE) experiments.

The Ohmsett Visitor's Day event was partof a two week experiment program fundedby the Minerals Management Service(MMS) to determine the dispersibility offresh and weathered Alaskan crude oils(Alaska North Slope, Endicott, Northstarand Pt. McIntyre) in very cold water andwaves using Corexit 9500 and 9527 dispers-ants.

"Large-scale test basin research atOhmsett is an important link between small-scale laboratory tests and field studies. TheOhmsett experiments simulate real-worldconditions without the high costs and regu-latory difficulties of at-sea field trials," saidJoseph Mullin, MMS program manager forOil Spill Response Research.

The U.S. Coast Guard - Atlantic StrikeTeam (USCG-AST) and the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency - Emergency Re-sponse Team (USEPA-ERT) acceptedMMS's invitation to participate in the dis-persant effectiveness experiments, using theOhmsett DE test as a training exercise forthe SMART (Special Monitoring for AppliedResearch Technologies) dispersant monitor-ing protocol and the use of fluorometers.The USCG-AST sent a ten-man detachmentand the USEPA-ERT sent a four-man detach-ment to train, demonstrate and answer ques-tions related to the SMART protocol.

"There is no unique solution to the engi-neering problems of oil spills," said LeonardZabilansky, a research civil engineer for theU.S. Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Re-search and Development Center (CRREL)in Hanover, NH. Zabilansky conducts re-search of oil herding in ice. "Oil dispers-ants are different then oil herding - oil herd-ing is on top of the water and dispersantsmix in water below. It's an interesting, butdifferent approach."

Visitors huddled in groups against thebrisk winter wind off the Sandy Hook Bayas they gathered on the deck of the Ohmsetttank to observe the dispersant experiment.

During the first experiment, a control test,technicians discharged approximately 100liters of weathered Alaska North Slope(ANS) crude oil onto the waters surface,without dispersants being applied. Every-one watched as the oil spread out in the wa-ter while the wave action moved the oil tothe north side of the tank. After 30 minutesthe waves were shut off. Since no dispers-ant was applied there was no dispersion ofoil into the water column. The Ohmsett staffrecovered approximately 90 liters of ANScrude oil. Of the remaining 10 liters that wasnot recovered, some evaporated, and the re-mainder was assumed to adhere to the tankside walls, the end containment boom andrecovery hoses.

For Norwegian Ingeborg Ronning, a toxi-cologist with Statoil, this was her first visitto Ohmsett and her first time to observe thistype of experiment. "I deal with the effectsof dispersants on the ecosystem, [so] it isreally good to see the demonstration insteadof reading about it," said Ronning. "This isalso the first wave tank I've seen. It is goodto compare it to other [facilities]."

Following the control test, visitors had theopportunity to divide into smaller groups fora tour of the Ohmsett facility.

"I'm very impressed with the facility andwhat it has to offer," said Brent King, U.S.Coast Guard, Sector Delaware Bay, Phila-

Continued on page 5

Above: Visitors gather on the deck ofthe Ohmsett tank to observe theapplication of dispersant on an oil slick.

Below: A particle size analyzer is usedto quantify the dispersed oil dropletsize and oil concentration in the watercolumn.

5

Technical SupportContinued from page 1

ditions. This will help develop new and pos-sibly improve existing mechanical responseequipment so that skimmers can be usedmore efficiently under these conditions.During the study, novel drum skimmer sur-

delphia, PA. "This is my first exposure to dis-persant testing. I'm looking forward to com-ing here for [oil spill responder] training inthe spring."

During the second experiment, with visi-tors on the bridge, tank deck and at the ob-servation windows, approximately 100 li-ters of weathered ANS crude oil was dis-charged onto the waters surface, but in thiscase a 1:20 dosage of Corexit 9500 dispers-ant was sprayed onto the slick . Within min-utes the observers could see the effects of thedispersant on the oil slick and watched aswave energy dispersed the crude oil from thewater's surface into the water column and the10 million liters of crystal clear salt water in

Dispersant TestContinued from page 4

the tank turned into a muddy brown color.During both experiments, particle size

analyzers and fluorometers mounted on themain bridge quantified the dispersed oildroplet size and oil concentration in thewater column. Grab samples of water werealso taken throughout the tank for analysesin the Ohmsett chemistry laboratory.

The observers' consensus was that theseexperiments accurately simulate real-worldconditions. Francois-Xavier Merlin, thehead of research and development atCEDRE in France, was on the bridge dur-ing the dispersant experiments.

"We do not [test] dispersants the sameway because we do not have a large facil-

ity like Ohmsett," commented Merlin. "It isgood to consider all [methods] to do thesame type of job."

MMS believes that the results fromOhmsett dispersant testing will assist Re-gional Response Teams in making science-based decisions on the use of dispersants asa response tool in U.S. waters. These ex-periments also demonstrate that standard-ized tests conducted in the Ohmsett tank area reliable way to measure dispersant effec-tiveness.

face geometries and materials, tailored toincrease the rate of oil recovery in cold andice infested marine conditions, were tested.

Previous tests conducted at Ohmsett inAugust and October 2005 proved the con-

cept that grooved or pleated surface geom-etries and novel surface materials could dra-matically enhance oil recovery in temperateconditions. Data for this series of testsshowed that while the selection of the re-covery surface material can increase recov-ery rates up to 20%, the novel surface pat-tern can increase the recovery efficiency upto 200%. These results were used to sup-port the concept of similar tests of oil spillrecovery in cold-water conditions and iceinfested waters.

For the CRREL test series, all necessaryequipment related to oil handling, distribu-tion and recovery, and monitoring was onloan from Ohmsett. Having already used thisequipment and successfully tested the ex-perimental procedure at Ohmsett, the re-searchers felt that this would help ensure asuccessful and repeatable test program at theCRREL facility.

An Ohmsett technician and engineer, bothof whom worked with UCSB on the previ-ous Ohmsett tests, traveled to CRREL to as-sist with equipment set up, oil distributionand recovery, data collection and analysis,and quality assurance monitoring.

The novel drum skimmer test atCRREL was part of an on-goingresearch project conducted by UCSBBren School of Environmental Scienceand Management

To schedule a test at Ohmsettcall 732-866-7183 ext. 11

6

JBF Skimmer is Tested at Ohmsett

Slikbar tests the JBF skimmer in the Ohmsett test tank. The skimmer separates thefloating oil layer from the water surface.

MAR Incorporated awarded contract for the operation of Ohmsett

MAR, Incorporated (MAR) has beenawarded a contract by the U.S.

Department of Interior, Minerals Manage-ment Service (MMS) to operate and main-tain the Ohmsett facility for a base and fouroption periods. MAR has provided opera-tions and maintenance for the Ohmsett fa-cility since 1991.

MAR, a small business, is a professionalservices firm based in Rockville, MD. Thecompany specializes in Systems Engineer-ing and Integration, Intelligence and Spe-cial Programs, Marine Services, FacilitiesManagement, and Information Technology.

"We are enthused about continuing to pro-

vide quality support to MMS and the pre-mier oil spill response testing facility in theworld," said MAR Chairman and Chief Ex-ecutive Officer Mike Norcio. "Our strongdesire is to provide exceptional customerservice to MMS and those who use theOhmsett facility for testing, research andtraining."

Ohmsett is the only facility in the world

where full-scale oil spill response testing,research and training can be conducted withoil in a realistic simulated marine environ-ment under controlled conditions. The fa-cility consists of a large test basin measur-ing 667 feet long by 65 feet wide by 8 feetdeep filled with 2.6 million gallons of crys-tal clear salt water, conference rooms, main-tenance/machine shop, chemistry laboratory,and offices.

Under the new contract, MAR will con-tinue to support and conduct research anddevelopment tests and evaluations of oil-spillresponse equipment and technology, as wellas oil spill responder training.

In December 2006, Slickbar ProductsCorporation of Seymour, CT came to

Ohmsett to test and evaluate the perfor-mance of the Slickbar JBF 420/DIP-400skimmer.

The JBF oil recovery skimmer system isa submersion moving plane type skimmerthat operates in front of a 28 foot vessel.

During oil recovery operations, the ves-sel is operated in the forward direction withthe oil containment sweeps extended to en-trap and direct surface oil into the DIP400oil recovery system. The skimmer separatesthe floating oil layer from the water surfaceby redirecting the oil below the waterlineand down the moving plane (belt). Whenthe oil reaches the end of the belt, it entersinto, and floats to the top of, the collectionwell. The collected oil is typically pumpedinto an onboard collection tank. The skim-mer system was also tested in waves formechanical integrity and wave followingcharacteristics using a harbor chop.

Using diesel fuel, the objective of the re-search conducted at Ohmsett was to quan-tify how efficiently the system performs incalm water and waves under conditions rep-resentative of those encountered during ac-tual spill response operations using thisequipment.

An oil distribution rate ranging from 10 -50 gpm per run was targeted, dependingupon tow speed, to create a 1mm slick thick-ness for recovery. A hose running from the

main bridge oil distribution system down tothe water surface created an oil slick in frontof the JBF 420/400 skimmer system. Tworuns were performed at each tow speed tosimulate a greater volume of oil distributedto the skimmer, ideally a total of 160 gal-lons. Longer duration tests increase the totalvolume of oil distributed and recovered,

minimizes inherent measurement error, andimproves measurement resolution.

Slickbar is looking forward to continuedtesting and development of various spill re-covery and containment equipment atOhmsett.

7

The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of theMMS. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This document has been technically reviewedby the MMS according to contractual specifications.

The Ohmsett Gazette is available by Mail or in Electronic FormatThank you for reading The Ohmsett Gazette, a biannual publication filled with informative reports on the testing,research, and training, conducted at the Ohmsett Facility located in Leonardo, NJ, USA. If you would like to continueto receive The Ohmsett Gazette, please complete and return the form below with your mailing preference:

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Mail back to: MAR Inc./OhmsettPO Box 473Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716USA

Fax back to: 240-453-9871 E-Mail back to: [email protected]

Ohmsett is a major sponsor of the WorldCatalog of Oil Spill Response Products, animportant reference book for the spill re-sponse community for almost 20 years.

Work has started on the Ninth edition, andthe publishers, SL Ross Environmental Re-search Limited, are soliciting updates andnew information from manufacturers andsuppliers that wish to be part of the catalog.The catalog contains detailed equipmentspecifications and descriptions of howequipment works, how to select equipmentfor different applications, and summaries offield and tank tests, including Ohmsettperformance tests on booms, skimmers,pumps, and dispersants. For more informa-tion, go to www.slross.com/WorldCat/WorldCatmain.htm.

The Ohmsett Gazette is published byOhmsett -The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

to update our readers on activities at the facility.

Editor & Graphics ................................................................. Jane-Ellen DelgadoTechnical Editors ................................ Dave DeVitis, Alan Guarino, Paul Meyer,.........................................................................................................Susan Cunneff

Visit Us At These Conferences!Clean Pacific Conference & Exhibition

September 13-14, 2007Seattle, WashingtonBooth #201

World Catalog of Oil SpillResponse Products

Clean Gulf Conference & ExhibitionNovember 15 - 16, 2007Tampa, FloridaBooth #401

International Oil Spill Conference 2008May 4 - 8, 2008Savannah, GeorgiaBooth #700

Ohmsett FacilityMAR, IncorporatedPO Box 473Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716(732) 866-7183

Test with oilTrain with oil

Test With Oil! Train With Oil!Ohmsett is managed by the U.S. Minerals Management Service

and operated by MAR Incorporated.For more information call (732) 866-7183

or visit our web site at www.Ohmsett.com