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OIL SPILL CONFERENCE Mayor Tom Bradley will wel- come more than 1,200 academic, government, and industry leaders to the 1985 Oil Spill Conference in Los Angeles February 25-28. Speakers from 35 countries will explore new ways to fight oil pollution at this ninth biennial meeting, which will be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. It is sponsored by the Ameri- can Petroleum Institute, the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Conference delegates can choose from 110 presentations that will spotlight the latest pollution re- sponse equipment and research. Topics scheduled include the case histories of several oil spills, new cleanup techniques and equipment, legal concerns, contingency plans for spills around the world, and a discussion of how oil affects the marine and inland environment. A member of the Swedish Space Corporation will present a remote sensing system for maritime surveil- lance developed with the Swedish Coast Guard. Refinements to this technology include a scanning mi- crowave radiometer that measures oil spill thickness. Future experi- ments with this system will be per- formed on the Space Shuttle. Computers will take the stage when a U.S. Coast Guard speaker shows how portable computers can help salvage masters save stranded tankers, and a representative from the Institute for Water Research in West Germany discusses the com- puterized collection of data about more than 200 types of crude oil. A variety of presentations will ad- dress the future use of chemical dis- persants to combat oil spills. At one time dispersants were used cau- tiously or only in special circum- stances. Now they are getting a sec- ond chance because of increased ef- fectiveness and reduced toxicity. Discussions on dispersants will in- clude their use for inland spills, comparisons between oil slicks ap- plied with dispersants and those not, application of dispersants from boats, and the use of dispersants in southern California. One session will highlight the interagency dis- persant decision process. In-depth case histories of oil spill cleanup efforts will detail a pipeline rupture near Fresno, Calif., an oil barge discharge on the Arkansas River, the grounding and breakup of the cargo vessel Blue Magpie off the Oregon Coast, a gasoline spill from a ruptured pipeline in northern Ida- ho, and the removal of fuel oil spilled when an underground stor- age tank leaked in suburban New Castle County, Delaware. The need for an international conference on oil spills was demon- Prevention, Behavior, Control, Cleanup Los Angeles, February 25-28 strated by an oil well blowout six miles southeast of Santa Barbara in 1969. Tons of crude oil poured from offshore drilling Platform A, and winds drove the oil ashore, contami- nating beaches, harbors, and rocky coastlines. Later that year members of the academic community, govern- ment officials, and industry leaders met at the first Oil Spill Conference in Los Angeles to share emerging technologies, innovative ideas, and test results. The Conference has been held every two years since then. Equipment Demonstration On Monday, Februrary 25, an Oil Spill Equipment Demonstration will be held in Long Beach Harbor. The program will feature the state- of-the-art offshore and harbor spill equipment and response systems available in southern California. Participants will be able to observe the equipment at close hand from the deck of a comfortable Catalina ferryboat. The Long Beach program will consist of three phases: • Execution of spill containment and removal operations at a marine terminal with boom, skimmers, vac- uum truck, and response boats. • Deployment of on-scene re- sponse equipment for exploratory drilling and production from an off- shore supply boat with reeled boom, skimmers, and oil-water separator. Also included will be a helicopter boom deployment demonstration. • Deployment of response equip- ment by two local cooperatives. This demonstration will include two ded- icated response vessels augmented by rapid response boats, advancing and stationary skimmers, open- ocean booms, and dispersant appli- cant techniques from boats and air- craft. The demonstration will be nar- rated by U.S. Coast Guard and industry representatives. The obser- vation boat will have exhibits and information packages for all partici- pants. Following the Oil Spill Equip- ment Demonstration there will be a welcoming reception sponsored by the Conference organizers and ex- hibitors in the Exhibit Hall of the Bonaven^ ire Hotel from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. This year the Conference will again feature two luncheons. On Tuesday, February 26, Kenneth Biglane of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the former chairman of the National Response Team, will give the principal ad- Right, the Westin Bonaventure Los An- geles—site for the 1985 Oil Spill Confer- ence. dress. On Thursday, February 28, Dr. Reinhard Ganten will be the main speaker. Dr. Ganten, director of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund during the re- cent Diplomatic Conference to re- vise the 1969 Civil Liability and 1971 Fund Conventions, will com- ment on that Diplomatic Confer- ence. A Hospitality Suite for spouses and children of delegates will be open from 8:00 to 10:00 am Tuesday through Thursday in the Los Cerri- tos Room of the hotel. Hostesses familiar with the Los Angeles area will be on hand to offer guidance on tours and other local attractions. Exhibits by companies, organiza- tions, institutions, and government agencies involved in the manufac- ture, sale, or use of equipment and professional or technical services will be open February 25-27 in the Exhibition Hall of the Hotel, one level below the lobby. Petroleum Institute (Chevron USA, Inc.) 10:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Exhibit Hall Foyer Tuesday Poster Session Chairman: John S. Farlow, U.S. Environmen- tal Protection Agency, Edison, New Jer- sey Vice Chairman: William Keffer, U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency, Kansas City, Missouri 10:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Measures for Combating Oil Pollution at Coast and Sea in the Federal Republic of Germany M. Wunderlich, Federal Institute of Hydrolo- gy, Koblenz, Federal Republic of Germany 10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Considerations (continued on page 32) FINAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM Tuesday, February 26 9:00 a.m. Sacramento/San Francisco Rooms Plenary Session Tom Bradley, Mayor, City of Los Angeles Commodore John W. Kime, Chief, Office of Marine Environment and Systems, United States Coast Guard Judith E. Ayers, Regional Administrator, Region IX, United States Environmental Protection Agency Richard W. Kreutzen, 1985 Oil Spill Conference Chairman, American 30 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
