UK – Recent counter pollution R&D
activities
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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CPR Research Projects
• Currently - 9 research projects running
• All collaborative – unusual in MCA
• Approx £670,000 worth of funding
• Feed into or back up NCP philosophy
• Support operational requirements
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Objectives
• Move “far from market” project areas
• Target stakeholder beneficiaries
• Fair stakeholder funding
• Reduce financial burden on MCA
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Historic
• Project origins
– Common stakeholder interests
• Involvement can stimulate interest
– Multifarious stakeholder benefits
– Project rationale/extent/scope
– Often through multi agency working gps
• Project funding
– More for less?
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Collaborative Research
• Range of stakeholders contributing
• Advantages/disadvantages
– Project management by committee
– Government/Industry mix
– Clash of objectives/project direction
– Time consuming
– Maintaining momentum/direction
– All on board / signed up
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Limiting viscosity project
• Controversial issue
• Innovative approach
• 4 stakeholders
• Responder, regulator, industry, MMS
• Contributions in kind
• Limited funding available
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Sea trials - 2003
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Outcomes
• sea temperature of 15ºC
• oil viscosities of 2,000 cP (IFO-180)
• 7,000 cP (IFO-380)
• waves associated with wind speeds of
between 7 and 14 knots
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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IFO 180
• IFO- 180 fuel oil totally and rapidly dispersed by
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Corexit 9500 at a nominal DOR of 1:25 at 12
knots wind speed.
Superdispersant 25 and Agma Superconcentrate
DR 379 somewhat less effective, but still
moderate dispersion when use at a nominal DOR
of 1:25.
At lower wind speeds of 7 to 8 knots, Corexit
9500 at nominal DOR of 1:25 was seen to be
less effective, but still caused moderately rapid
dispersion of IFO-180.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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IFO 380
• IFO -380 fuel oil was not rapidly and totally
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dispersed by any of the three dispersants at any
of the treatments rates, ranging from nominal
DORs of 1:25 to 1:100 at wind speeds of 7 to 9
knots.
At wind speeds of 13 - 14 knots, the
performance of both Superdispersant 25 and
Corexit 9500 at a DOR of 1:25 improved to
produce moderately rapid dispersion of IFOIFO-380.
The performance of Agma Superconcentrate DR
379 was less than that of the other two
dispersants, but was not tested at the highest
wind speeds.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Consequences of not doing
• Myths remain intact
• Effectiveness argument continues
• Potential for hindering cost recovery
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Ecological effects of dispersant use
• Primary UK response method
• Controversial, often disputed
• Operator/regulators/industry funding
• Will feed into Defra review
• Competent contractor
• Benefits – All stakeholders involved and
agreed
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Consequences of not doing
• MCA open to
challenge on
dispersant philosophy
(happens anyway)
• Limited data to
demonstrate benefits
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Summary conclusions
• Although chemically dispersed oil may initially impact
mussels and amphipods to a greater extent than would
untreated oil, organisms are mostly able to recover to
the same extent as control organisms or to those
exposed to oil alone.
• The exception to this were some exposures of CC-9527
dispersed waterwater-accommodated fractions of ANS oil to
mussels and amphipods where dispersion led to the
highest concentrations of oil in the water and sediments.
• Thus, in scenarios where successive tides further dilute
these dispersant- treated oils, a net environmental
benefit may be maintained and the goal of dispersant
use achieved.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Resource mapping project
• Update 1990 paper based maps and
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produce new digitised maps
10 stakeholders – public/private
Challenging project management
Essential stakeholder involvement
Question of contractor competence
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Project Funding Partners
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Outcomes
• Highlighted the need for government wide
standards of data collection, storage, etc
• MAGIC website is maintained / regularly
updated by Defra
• We can add new data – places of refuge?
• www.magic.gov.uk
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Consequences of not doing
• MCA name on out of date maps
(reputation)
• Old maps remain basis for regional cp’s
• Decisions made on out of date data
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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VHFO Risk Assessment Project
• To id quantities and routeings of VHFOs being
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transported within and through the Bonn
Agreement pollution control zone.
To assess the env and economic risks posed by
this transport.
To evaluate, plan and implement appropriate
counter--pollution measures.
counter
To produce the risk assessment on a GIS
platform.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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TOTAL_TONNAGE_CARGO_ROUTE by Tonnages
0 t o 1, 000, 000
1,000,000 t o 2, 000, 000
2,000,000 t o 5, 000, 000
5,000,000 t o 10,000, 000
10,000,000 t o 20,000, 000
20,000,000 t o 30,100, 000
Annual tonnages of VHFO cargoes
along routes passing through the UKPCZ in 2003
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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scenario locations (green stars).
ECE monitoring
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Anglo / French joint ops
Qu of phosphate impact on ecosystem
Deliberate release or recover – cost?!
Defra / MCA – collaboration / funding
PML / Soton Uni – 2 discrete projects
Outcome – no real impact – OK to release
W re c k s ite
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Project outputs
• Project evaluation
• Marine Information Note
• Project Report – on MCA site
• Greater benefits through collaboration
with OGD’s and Industry
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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New projects
• Waste management (potential showstopper)
– Not mainstream MCA work area
– But successfully pulling stakeholders together
– Overall benefits to UK plc
• Potentially polluting shipwrecks
• Surface cleaner efficacy
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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New projects 06/07
• Design of large scale waste treatment
plant
• Techniques for dealing with submerged
and sunken oil
• HNS Risk assessment
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Waste treatment options
• To identify all sites for final recovery and disposal of
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hazardous waste in the UK.
To identify oil treatment facilities (both fixed and mobile)
available in the UK and their capacity for all available
treatments: incineration, oily water separation, the
outcome being a comprehensive inventory of the UK
infrastructure for dealing with oily waste.
To investigate and collate the contingency arrangements
of all UK maritime local authorities..
Develop a UK guidance document for handling large
quantities of oily waste to achieve national consistency
of approach on infrastructure design criteria.
Identify any new waste management technologies
dealing with oil related wastes
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Potentially polluting wrecks
• To identify locations and identity all potentially
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polluting wrecks in UK waters.
Establish methodology to best calculate
quantities and types of pollutants are present on
each wreck type.
Agree best format for database structure –
including how best to categorise information.
To provide a clear, well structured and
searchable, dynamic GIS based database
creating a knowledge platform which will readily
facilitate risk assessment exercises for all UK
waters and coastline.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Evaluation of surface cleaners
• To develop robust protocol in electronic format for
cleaning hard rock surface and man made structure
using a range of cleaning techniques
• Development of a decision making tool to aid the
identification of appropriate, fit for purpose techniques
for a range of oil and emulsion types over a range of
hard substrates. To produce a guidance manual for
shoreline cleanclean-up operatives describing best practice for
cleaning hard coast structures.
• To develop a robust guide for developing environmental
impact assessments for each cleaning technique, to
include primary methodology for mitigating
environmental damage.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Design of large scale waste
treatment plant
• To design a treatment plant capable of dealing with
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thousands of tonnes oily waste.
To determine best technology and specific machinery for
each element of the operation taking into account a
range of waste types.
Critically appraise relative costings for each available
process
Identify sourcing of appropriate equipment
To establish relationships between process treatment
technology and nature of material to be processed.
Water content, sand and gravel, fines, large foreign
debris
To establish criteria for siting of waste process plant logistics, to the satifaction of all UK environmental
regulators.
To determine plant Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
footprint requirements.
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Techniques for dealing with
submerged and sunken oil
• To identify parameters and their significance
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essential to develop realistic modelling of
partially submerged and sunken VHFO’s in
seawater.
Develop a methodology to incorporate such
algorithms into existing modelling capability.
To determine appropriate and realistic oil
recovery techniques for submerged and sunken
oils.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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HNS Risk assessment
• To identify the highest risk HNS for the UK PCZ
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and determine priorities for modelling and
practical work.
To determine the fate and effects of higher risk
HNS in the marine environment.
Produce a guidance document, easily searchable
for prediction of fate and effects of generic
higher risk HNS.
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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Thank you for listening
That’s the sharp end - not so sharp
as it used to be of course .
Questions?
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
Kevin.colcomb@mcga.gov.uk
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