https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526095451.htm
[image in on-line article]
Small offshore oil spills put seabirds at risk
Industry self-monitoring is failing, say researchers
Date:
May 26, 2016
Source:
York University
Summary:
Seabirds exposed to even a dime-sized amount of oil can die of
hypothermia in cold-water regions, but despite repeated requests by
Environment Canada, offshore oil operators are failing when it comes to
self-monitoring of small oil spills, says new research. Chronic
pollution from many small oil spills may have greater population-level
impacts on seabirds than a single large spill, suggest researchers.
Seabirds exposed to even a dime-sized amount of oil can die of
hypothermia in cold-water regions, but despite repeated requests by
Environment Canada, offshore oil operators are failing when it comes to
self-monitoring of small oil spills, says new research out of York
University.
Chronic pollution from many small oil spills may have greater
population-level impacts on seabirds than a single large spill, suggest
researchers Gail Fraser and Vincent Racine of York U's Faculty of
Environmental Studies. However, seabirds are rarely considered in the
monitoring of small spills from offshore oil production projects in
Newfoundland and Labrador even though Environment Canada has asked that
they be included.
In an article published in the international journal, Marine Pollution
Bulletin, Fraser and Racine looked at how offshore oil operators
monitored and responded to small spills (less than 1,000 litres) for
three production projects off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In three high-profile environmental assessments Environment Canada
repeatedly requested that impacts on seabirds be monitored following
small spills, but this has not happened.
"Industry self-monitoring of spills has failed to collect information
that would allow researchers to understand the impact of chronic oil
spills on seabirds," said Fraser, who along with Racine is calling for
independent observers on the offshore platforms. "Many seabird
populations are declining and understanding sources of mortality is
critical to their conservation."
Fraser and Racine looked at reporting and monitoring of spills between
1997 and 2010. The researchers obtained operator spill reports under an
Access to Information request. They found there were 220 daytime spills.
Reporting on the presence or absence of seabirds was done in only 11
(five per cent) of the cases. The Canadian Wildlife Service's seabird
survey protocol should be followed when a spill occurs, but none of the
reports showed evidence of that. The time it takes for a small spill to
dissipate was also not in the spill reports and this information is
required to estimate possible interactions of oil spilled with seabirds.
"The lack of information on seabirds during oil spills indicates a need
for third-party observers," said Fraser.
The joint federal and provincial Newfoundland & Labrador the
Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) is
responsible for administering environmental assessment follow-up
procedures, including monitoring and responses to oil spills. The
C-NLOPB has repeatedly rejected calls for independent, third party
observers on platforms while seemingly being incapable of enforcing
Environment Canada's recommendations.
However, during the White Rose environmental assessment process the
C-NLOPB publicly acknowledged "that should such circumstances arise, it
is fully prepared to adopt a different regulatory approach, including
consideration of full-time on-site oversight of the operations
concerned." While the circumstances were not defined, Fraser argues that
"A failure to collect information on seabirds during oil spills for 13
years is sufficient to demand the regulatory approach be changed to
include third-party observers."
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by York University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Gail S. Fraser, Vincent Racine. An evaluation of oil spill
responses for offshore oil production projects in Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada: Implications for seabird conservation. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, 2016; 107 (1): 36 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.04.026
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel