Oil Dispersants: Additional Research Needed, Particularly on Subsurface and Arctic Applications Page: 2 of 73
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GAO
Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
Highlights
Highlights of GAO-12-585, a report to
congressional requesters
Why GAO Did This Study
In April 2010, an explosion onboard the
Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the
Gulf of Mexico led to a release of
approximately 206 million gallons of oil.
When an oil spill occurs, responders
have several options for managing the
environmental impacts, including using
chemical dispersants to break the oil
into smaller droplets, which can
promote biodegradation and help
prevent oil from coming on shore. GAO
was asked to review (1) what is known
about the use of chemical dispersants
and their effects, and any knowledge
gaps or limitations; (2) the extent to
which federal agencies and other
entities have taken steps to enhance
knowledge on dispersant use and its
effects; and (3) challenges, if any, that
researchers and federal agencies face
in their attempts to enhance
knowledge. GAO collaborated with the
National Academy of Sciences to
identify and recruit experts on
dispersant use and conducted
interviews with these experts, agency
officials, and other specialists, and
reviewed key documents and reports.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends, among other
things, that the Interagency
Coordinating Committee on Oil
Pollution Research periodically provide
updated information on key dispersant
research by nonfederal sources. Also,
the Interagency Committee should
ensure that subsurface and Arctic
applications are among the future
priority research areas. The
Departments of the Interior,
Commerce, and Homeland Security,
and the EPA generally concurred with
the recommendations made to them.
View GAO-12-585. For more information,
contact David C. Trimble at (202) 512-3841 or
trimbled@gao.gov.OIL DISPERSANTS
Additional Research Needed, Particularly on
Subsurface and Arctic ApplicationsWhat GAO Found
According to experts, agency officials, and specialists, much is known about the
use of chemical dispersants on the surface of the water, but gaps remain in
several research areas. For example, experts generally agreed that there is a
basic understanding of the processes that influence where and how oil travels
through the water, but that more research was needed to quantify the actual rate
at which dispersants biodegrade. In addition, all the experts GAO spoke with said
that little is known about the application and effects of dispersants applied
subsurface, noting that specific environmental conditions, such as higher
pressures, may influence dispersants' effectiveness. Knowledge about the use
and effectiveness of dispersants in the Arctic is also limited, with less research
conducted on dispersant use there than in temperate or tropical climates. For
example, one expert noted that more research is needed on biodegradation rates
for oil in the Arctic because the cold temperature may slow the process down.
Federal agencies have funded over $15.5 million of dispersant-related research
since fiscal year 2000, with more than half of the total funding occurring since the
Deepwater Horizon incident. Most of these 106 projects were funded by the
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
(BSEE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). Over 40 percent of the research projects were focused
at least in part on testing dispersant effectiveness. For example, BSEE funded 28
projects on the efficacy of dispersants on different types of oil and under different
ocean conditions. In contrast, relatively few projects were focused on applying
dispersants subsurface or in the Arctic. Specifically, NSF funded three projects
looking at the use and effects of subsurface dispersant application, and BSEE
and EPA funded the eight projects related to the use of chemical dispersants in
Arctic or cold water environments.
Researchers face resource, scientific, and communication challenges related to
dispersant research. Agency officials, experts, and specialists identified
inconsistent and limited levels of funding as a challenge to developing research
on the use and effects of chemical dispersants. For example, because support
for dispersant research fluctuates, with temporary increases following a major
spill, it is difficult for federal agencies to fund longer term studies, such as those
needed to understand chronic toxicological effects of dispersants. In addition,
researchers face scientific challenges with respect to dispersants, including being
able to conduct research that replicates realistic oil spill conditions. Conducting
research in the open ocean faces several logistical barriers, and laboratory
experiments are unable to fully approximate the scale and complexity of ocean
conditions. Lastly, agency officials, experts, and specialists told GAO that it can
be a challenge to communicate and track research. Although some organizations
have attempted to compile lists of dispersant-related research, currently there is
no mechanism that tracks dispersant research across all sources and highlights
past and ongoing research projects. For example, the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on Oil Pollution Research-a multi-agency committee chaired by the
Coast Guard-maintains a list of federally sponsored oil spill related research,
but does not track or cross-reference related research that has been funded
solely by industry or nongovernmental sources.United States Government Accountability Office
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Oil Dispersants: Additional Research Needed, Particularly on Subsurface and Arctic Applications, report, May 30, 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc301778/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.