Oil Dispersants: Additional Research Needed, Particularly on Subsurface and Arctic Applications
Highlights
What 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.
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.
Recommendations
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.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard | To ensure existing and ongoing dispersant research is adequately captured and broadly available to different groups and generations of researchers, to ensure that new research undertaken by the federal government will not duplicate other research efforts, and to ensure that adequate attention is given to better understanding dispersant use in deep water and Arctic environments, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct the Chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research to, in coordination with member agencies, ensure that in the course of revising the Interagency Committee's research and technology plan, applications of dispersants subsurface and in Arctic conditions are among the areas prioritized for subsequent research. |
In September 2015, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) completed an update of its Oil Pollution Research and Technology Plan to implement a federal research and development program, as required under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The plan identifies "dispersant priorities" among the Standing Research Areas, and, more specifically, describes six subcategories of research needed on dispersants. Among these six are "cold weather and ice conditions" and "subsurface". Within the area of cold weather and ice conditions, the research needs identified in the plan include understanding the "window of opportunity" for potential deployment of all dispersants in the Arctic and sub-Arctic environment and the studying the best dispersants for different types of oil over a range of environmental conditions including ice infested waters. Within the area of subsurface application, the research needs identified in the plan include conducting research involving the application of dispersants at high pressure and low temperatures (including quantifying the mixing energy at the wellhead) and developing conditions of operability for dispersant use in the subsea, including the characteristics of the most effective dispersants, application methods, and dispersant to oil ratios. ICCOPR intends to update this research plan every six years to reflect advancements in oil pollution technology and changing research needs.
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| United States Coast Guard | To ensure existing and ongoing dispersant research is adequately captured and broadly available to different groups and generations of researchers, to ensure that new research undertaken by the federal government will not duplicate other research efforts, and to ensure that adequate attention is given to better understanding dispersant use in deep water and Arctic environments, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct the Chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research to, in coordination with member agencies, as part of the Interagency Committee's efforts to help guide federal research, identify information on key ongoing dispersant-related research, including research sponsored by state governments, industry, academia, and other oil pollution research organizations. This information should be provided in the planned and future revisions to the research and technology plan. In addition, periodically update and disseminate this information, for example, as part of the Interagency Committee's biennial report to Congress on its activities. |
According to an update received from Coast Guard officials on July 10, 2014, while the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) remains interested in the concept of a master library of research into dispersants and other oil pollution subjects, ICCOPR does not have the specific funding required for developing and maintaining such a database. Thus, in order to fund such an effort, an individual member agency would need to absorb the costs within their current budgets and at the expense of other agency priorities and mandated efforts. The Coast Guard stated that to overcome this problem ICCOPR leverages existing efforts by member agencies, universities, and other organizations to promote awareness of dispersant research results by: providing links to databases and other sources on the ICCOPR and member agency websites; hosting and sponsoring conferences, workshops and other forums dealing with dispersant research; and publishing dispersant research results. This appears to be the same list of activities conducted by ICCOPR as at the time of GAO's report in 2012. According to GAO's 2012 findings, no comprehensive mechanism or database existed, but such a mechanism would be helpful in ensuring that new research will not duplicate prior research and that key knowledge can more easily transfer from one spill or generation of researchers and responders to the next. GAO continues to believe that identifying, periodically updating, and disseminating such information would be useful for decision makers in need of timely and reliable scientific information related to dispersants and for guiding federal research efforts.
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| Department of Commerce | To enhance the knowledge of the effectiveness and potential environmental effects of chemical dispersants, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior, the Administrator of EPA, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct their respective agencies, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, to coordinate and explore ways to better obtain more scientifically robust information during spills without hindering response efforts through enhancement of monitoring protocols and development of new data collection tools. |
NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard coordinated to develop new guidance and research to enhance monitoring protocols and develop new data collection tools to provide more robust scientific information on dispersant use and effects. Specifically, in May 2013, the National Response Team, with core contributing agencies of NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, issued guidance titled Environmental Monitoring for Atypical Dispersant Operations, Including Guidance for Subsea Application and Prolonged Surface Application. This new guidance builds upon existing SMART protocols and focuses on various enhancements seeking to provide more information on the concentrations of dispersed oil in the water column (loading) and the environmental effects that may occur. Such environmental effects are not measured under existing SMART protocols, which are focused on operational effectiveness. The guidance calls for a variety of oil and water sampling and creates a new entity in the response structure called the Dispersant Environmental Monitoring Unit (DEMU) to coordinate and oversee implementation of sampling and monitoring activities. The guidance highlights new data collection tools such as measuring oil droplet size distribution with particle size analyzers and oil analysis of water samples to determine the effects of the dispersed oil plume on aquatic life, two aspects of data collection and monitoring that experts cited in our May 2012 report told us were lacking. In addition, BSEE and Coast Guard entered into an agreement in August 2013 to undertake a research effort with the goal of also updating the base SMART protocols, particularly with a focus on the use of new technologies and the development of new data collection tools. As a result of the above listed action, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| Department of the Interior | To enhance the knowledge of the effectiveness and potential environmental effects of chemical dispersants, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior, the Administrator of EPA, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct their respective agencies, NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, to coordinate and explore ways to better obtain more scientifically robust information during spills without hindering response efforts through enhancement of monitoring protocols and development of new data collection tools. |
NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard coordinated to develop new guidance and research to enhance monitoring protocols and develop new data collection tools to provide more robust scientific information on dispersant use and effects. Specifically, in May 2013, the National Response Team, with core contributing agencies of NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, issued guidance titled Environmental Monitoring for Atypical Dispersant Operations, Including Guidance for Subsea Application and Prolonged Surface Application. This new guidance builds upon existing SMART protocols and focuses on various enhancements seeking to provide more information on the concentrations of dispersed oil in the water column (loading) and the environmental effects that may occur. Such environmental effects are not measured under existing SMART protocols, which are focused on operational effectiveness. The guidance calls for a variety of oil and water sampling and creates a new entity in the response structure called the Dispersant Environmental Monitoring Unit (DEMU) to coordinate and oversee implementation of sampling and monitoring activities. The guidance highlights new data collection tools such as measuring oil droplet size distribution with particle size analyzers and oil analysis of water samples to determine the effects of the dispersed oil plume on aquatic life, two aspects of data collection and monitoring that experts cited in our May 2012 report told us were lacking. In addition, BSEE and Coast Guard entered into an agreement in August 2013 to undertake a research effort with the goal of also updating the base SMART protocols, particularly with a focus on the use of new technologies and the development of new data collection tools. As a result of the above listed action, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | To enhance the knowledge of the effectiveness and potential environmental effects of chemical dispersants, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior, the Administrator of EPA, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct their respective agencies, NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, to coordinate and explore ways to better obtain more scientifically robust information during spills without hindering response efforts through enhancement of monitoring protocols and development of new data collection tools. |
NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard coordinated to develop new guidance and research to enhance monitoring protocols and develop new data collection tools to provide more robust scientific information on dispersant use and effects. Specifically, in May 2013, the National Response Team, with core contributing agencies of NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, issued guidance titled Environmental Monitoring for Atypical Dispersant Operations, Including Guidance for Subsea Application and Prolonged Surface Application. This new guidance builds upon existing SMART protocols and focuses on various enhancements seeking to provide more information on the concentrations of dispersed oil in the water column (loading) and the environmental effects that may occur. Such environmental effects are not measured under existing SMART protocols, which are focused on operational effectiveness. The guidance calls for a variety of oil and water sampling and creates a new entity in the response structure called the Dispersant Environmental Monitoring Unit (DEMU) to coordinate and oversee implementation of sampling and monitoring activities. The guidance highlights new data collection tools such as measuring oil droplet size distribution with particle size analyzers and oil analysis of water samples to determine the effects of the dispersed oil plume on aquatic life, two aspects of data collection and monitoring that experts cited in our May 2012 report told us were lacking. In addition, BSEE and Coast Guard entered into an agreement in August 2013 to undertake a research effort with the goal of also updating the base SMART protocols, particularly with a focus on the use of new technologies and the development of new data collection tools. As a result of the above listed action, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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| United States Coast Guard | To enhance the knowledge of the effectiveness and potential environmental effects of chemical dispersants, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior, the Administrator of EPA, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard should direct their respective agencies, NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, to coordinate and explore ways to better obtain more scientifically robust information during spills without hindering response efforts through enhancement of monitoring protocols and development of new data collection tools. |
NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard coordinated to develop new guidance and research to enhance monitoring protocols and develop new data collection tools to provide more robust scientific information on dispersant use and effects. Specifically, in May 2013, the National Response Team, with core contributing agencies of NOAA, BSEE, EPA, and the Coast Guard, issued guidance titled Environmental Monitoring for Atypical Dispersant Operations, Including Guidance for Subsea Application and Prolonged Surface Application. This new guidance builds upon existing SMART protocols and focuses on various enhancements seeking to provide more information on the concentrations of dispersed oil in the water column (loading) and the environmental effects that may occur. Such environmental effects are not measured under existing SMART protocols, which are focused on operational effectiveness. The guidance calls for a variety of oil and water sampling and creates a new entity in the response structure called the Dispersant Environmental Monitoring Unit (DEMU) to coordinate and oversee implementation of sampling and monitoring activities. The guidance highlights new data collection tools such as measuring oil droplet size distribution with particle size analyzers and oil analysis of water samples to determine the effects of the dispersed oil plume on aquatic life, two aspects of data collection and monitoring that experts cited in our May 2012 report told us were lacking. In addition, BSEE and Coast Guard entered into an agreement in August 2013 to undertake a research effort with the goal of also updating the base SMART protocols, particularly with a focus on the use of new technologies and the development of new data collection tools. As a result of the above listed action, we consider this recommendation closed and implemented.
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