Arctic Oil Spill Preparation Inadequate, Report Finds

“Current personnel, equipment, transportation, communication, navigation, and safety resources for overseeing a spill response in the Arctic are not adequate,” according to a report released last week by the National Research Council. The report notes that the warming climate will increase pressure by oil companies to commercially develop drilling sites in Arctic waters. But a difficult challenge lies ahead for such projects because of extreme weather and environmental settings, limited available operational support, and the vast Arctic geographic area, which contains vulnerable species, ecosystems, and culture, the report says. It recommends development of a “full suite of proven oil response tools” as well as an additional spill response infrastructure. New testing protocols should also be developed, the report says, which may include “carefully controlled” field experiments that release oil into Arctic waters.