June 8, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kate or Ken Gooderham, (239) 489-2616 or exdir@asbpa.org

Oil and water: Spills and the shoreline, part 1

As oil continues to leak into the Gulf, what does it mean to beaches and the critters who rely on them? Answers to some of the common questions.

FORT MYERS -- The ongoing crisis surrounding the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has grabbed the nation's attention, as what is being dubbed as perhaps the nation's worst environmental disaster has released an untold amount of crude oil into the Gulf. This disaster has far too many aspects to be addressed in one sitting, but there have been numerous questions to ASBPA as to how the spill will impact the coastline. Therefore, the following FAQs will look at how the spill and the shoreline (and its users) interact.

Question: Can beaches be a good buffer in an oil spill?

Answer: YES. Oil washing up on a sandy shoreline is actually far easier to deal with than oil that impacts wetlands or marshes. Cleaning up a beach from a spill is a matter of collecting tar balls (in a limited spill) or scraping up the oil-fouled sand once it has all washed ashore to dispose of in an environmentally safe fashion ( in the case of an extensive spill). Marshes or wetlands are far more complicated to clean, and the oil's impact is far more devastating to the grasses and habitats in these fragile areas.

Question: Are containment booms effective methods of protection for beaches faced with oil washing on shore?

Answer: NO. Booms are more often used to protect non-sandy shorelines or to funnel floating oil to a collection point. Since beaches are easier to clean of oil -- and since a boom's effectiveness is severely diminished in a surf zone -- booms are not the most effective line of defense for most sandy beaches in the instance of a widespread spill. But they can and have been used, even in this spill, to protect beaches that cannot safely be scraped clean (say, perhaps, because of nesting birds) or to help funnel oil into a containment area...or, sometimes, as simply a show of preparedness.

Question: Are tar balls the only way oil makes it onto a beach?

Answer: NO. Sometimes oil is reduced to what is called a "mousse" -- a foamy oily mass that's brown or rust in color with a pudding-like consistency, which can sometimes be confused for algae. This is considered more weathered oil, somewhat broken down by waves and weather...but still messy to deal with. To see current water and sediment monitoring data, go to http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/water.html or http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/sediment.html .

Question: If you find a tar ball on a beach, should you remove it?

Answer: NO. Current recommendations are to take a picture of it, measure it and note color, appearance, location, date and time, and call 1-866-448-5816 to report it to authorities. (If you do touch it, they recommend flushing the skin with water to avoid irritation, or using baby oil to remove residue.)

Question: Are oil dispersants a good first-strike option against spills?

Answer: IT DEPENDS ON THE SPILL. While dispersants do help break up the oil and make it easier to be neutralized, these chemicals carry some toxicity of their own which needs to be factored in to the benefit equation. Also, dispersants can make it easier for oil to sink into deeper waters or the ocean floor, where it can coat and smother corals and other reef organisms. The use of dispersants can depend on the spill size and location, adjacent ecosystems and general conditions. Other options often used (again depending on conditions) can be bioremediation (microorganisms or biological agents), skimming (in calm waters only), controlled burns...or "watch and wait" to see if doing nothing is the less harmful response.

Question: Can offshore oil and gas production coexist with beaches?

Answer: YES. Offshore oil and gas has been produced in the Gulf of Mexico since the early-mid 1900s, and there are more than 100 rigs in place today. In many states, offshore oil drilling and beaches have found a balance. In fact, under the Coastal Impact Assistance Program a four year program established by Congress in 2005, royalties from offshore oil and gas production operations totaling $250 million a year are passed on to six coastal states for coastal restoration, mitigation, infrastructure and management to offset the impacts of offshore activities.

For updates on the Deepwater Horizon spill, go to www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com . To learn more about beach issues and management, visit www.asbpa.org .

# # #

ABOUT ASBPA: Founded in 1926, the ASBPA promotes the integration of science, policies and actions that maintain, protect and enhance the coasts of America. For more information on ASBPA, go to www.asbpa.org, facebook or www.twitter.com/asbpa.