No way to clean up oil spill under ice: Canadian expert
There is really no solution or method today that we’re aware of that can actually recover oil from the Arctic ice, says a senior official with a Canadian firm that specializes in oil-spill response.
- You can’t lay boom on ice, said Ron Bowden of the Canadian company Aqua-Guard Spill Response to a Canadian parliamentary committee. - You can’t recover oil from the surface, because it’s hampered by the ice or under the ice, so it’s quite a different scenario, he added, Vancouver Sun writes.
In the wake of the Gulf Coast disaster, serious questions are being raised about the ability of oil companies and government responders to clean up a major spill in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. U.S. President Barack Obama has suspended all applications for offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and Norway has stalled all deep-water drilling following the huge spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Read also: Spills in Mexico Gulf might curb Arctic oil
According to Bowden, many of the techniques being used in the Gulf would be useless if a big spill were to occur under the Arctic ice:
- There does not exist today technology that can recover oil from ice. He explained that traditional methods of cleaning up spills, such as the use of containment booms, would be ineffective at capturing oil trapped under the ice.
A report made by scientists funded by Shell and six other oil companies in November 2009 contradicts what the Canadian expert says. According to the scientists, ice can act as a natural blockade that traps the oil and gives responders more time to clean it up.
Read also: Oil spill preparedness particular important in Arctic oil plans
