Ohmsett Test Basin Gets a Face LiftOcean Imaging RemoteSensing System

Continued on page 2

What’s InsideTraining .......................................... page 2

Korean Visitors .............................. page 3

Ohmsett Maintenance ............. page 4 & 5

Clean Gulf Conference .................. page 6

Leonardo, New Jersey

GazetteOhmsett--The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility

Fall/Winter 2006Test with oil. Train with oil.

The

In May 2006, Ocean Imaging (OI)Corporation of Solana Beach, CA came

to Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Re-sponse Test Facility to test the efficacy of aportable aerial remote sensing imager to mapthe thickness of oil slicks. Building on suc-cessful research funded by California's Of-fice of Oil Spill Prevention and Response(OSPR) to develop an aerial sensor systemfor mapping the extent of an oil spill in near-real-time, OI and OSPR teamed up to addoil thickness sensing capabilities to the sys-tem with funding from Minerals Manage-ment Service (MMS).

OI developed the initial thickness detec-tion algorithm in laboratory tests using oilsamples supplied by Ohmsett, and then ex-panded the work to tests overflights of thenatural oil seeps in the Santa Barbara Chan-nel in California in October 2005. The nextstage of this project took place in theOhmsett test tank. The May, 2006 tests in-volved imaging oil-containing targets in thetank, each with a specific predetermined oilfilm thickness, first from OI's sensormounted on Ohmsett's high bridge crow'snest over the tank, then using the same sen-

In June 2006, after years of testing, train-ing and research projects taking their toll

on the Ohmsett test basin, the tank wasdrained for maintenance, upgrades and re-pairs. The last time the tank was completelydrained was 2003.

Before discharge of the tank could begin,the water was treated through a newly in-stalled zinc remediation system. After thebasin water was tested and Ohmsett receivedapproval from the New Jersey Departmentof Environmental Protection, over two andhalf million gallons of saltwater from thebasin was discharged into Sandy Hook Bay.Once drained, the hard work began.

Critical to the maintenance project weremajor concrete repairs. Salt water had pen-

etrated the concrete in some spots, corrod-ing the rebar, which expanded and crackedthe concrete. Old concrete was chipped awayand molds were formed in preparation fornew concrete to be poured.

To help maintain the integrity of the testbasin, seven custom made seals were re-placed. These seals run the width of the tankto maintain water-tightness, and expand andcontract with seasonal temperature changes.The six viewing windows were also re-moved, cleaned, resealed and reinstalled.

The upgrades completed at Ohmsett in-clude the installation of a new compressoron the main bridge, new pumps on the main,auxiliary, and vacuum bridges, tank farm,

Continued on page 4

Ohmsett technicians prepare the test basin for maintenance, repairs and upgradesthat took place during the summer.

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Ecomex Europa Oil Spill Responder Attends TrainingWhen Ecomex Europa decided to ex-

pand its oil spill response opera-tions in Mexico and open a new operationscenter, they selected Mr. Omar Pineda, theirresearch and development director, to be theProgram Manager for researching newequipment and responder training opportu-nities. During his search, he came across theOhmsett training web site.

What a better way to learn about spill re-sponse, he thought, then along-side fellowresponders from the U.S. Coast Guard andcompanies such as ChevronTexaco,ExxonMobil, and Florida Power & Light.

In May, Mr. Pineda attended a week-longtraining course at Ohmsett, the first of threespill response courses scheduled for 2006,conducted by instructors from Texas A&MUniversity National Spill Control School(NSCS).

"We needed to train our personnel for ouroil spill program," explained Pineda. "Wewere very interested in your value addedservices and how it could help with our spillresponse center based in Villahermosa,Tabasco, Mexico."

"I wanted to know about equipment andtraining operations, and to train on some ofthe equipment in your tank," he said.

Ecomex Europa is an international firmthat has spent 12 years in Mexico develop-ing environmental protection services. Theyspecialize in oil tank cleaning technology,wastewater treatment, contaminated soilremediation and simultaneous combustionincinerators. They partnered with SaintMartin Construcciones, a leader in the Mexi-can market, for the clean-up of the PrestigeTanker disaster in Galicia near the Spanishcoast.

"During the Prestige spill in November2002, we realized we needed stronger re-sponse services and [a need] to train spillresponders," Pineda said. "You don't get totrain personnel on a real scenario until thereis a spill. That's why I have found theOhmsett facility very useful."

Ohmsett training is unlike other trainingsites that use popcorn or other substitutesfor oil. The NSCS program taught at Ohmsettis divided into two parts: classroom and tanktraining. Classroom instruction was taughtusing the National Incident Management

System which was broken down into threemodules: management and safety, GIS/GPSdocumentation, and planning.

Students put their classroom skills to thetest during a Table Top drill by incorporat-ing an oil spill response contingency plan,assigning staff roles, identifying environ-mental and economic resources at risk, anddeveloping a demobilization plan.

During the tank training students experi-enced the challenges of removing real oilspilled in currents and waves. They werealso able to practice collecting and measur-ing recovered oil while using several skim-mer systems. During these exercises, the stu-dents test their ability to handle the skim-ming equipment and measure how much oilthey are able to skim.

"The program is excellent," Pineda said."It covers the different aspects of an event,especially programming, operations, cost,insurance, dealing with the media - all the

sor mounted aboard a helicopter hoveringone thousand feet over the tank. The dataare being used to fine-tune the oil detectionthickness algorithm.

In addition to imaging the sample targetsof known oil thicknesses, several differenttypes of oil were free-released and imagedin the Ohmsett tank under various wave con-ditions generated by the tank's wave maker.This allowed OI to study the behavior andspectral properties of different oil productsas they would appear immediately after anat-sea accident.

The final report to MMS summarizing theresults of the project, including the Ohmsetttests, is available at www.mms.gov/tarprojects/544.html.

Remote Sensing SystemContinued from page 1

Spill response students receive hands-on training with real oil during the week-longtraining course at Ohmsett.

things that may actually appear during anevent."

3

USCG National Strike Force Trains at OhmsettIn June 2006 six members from each of

the U.S. Coast Guard National StrikeForce teams (USCGNSF) came to Ohmsettfor Oil Spill Responder Technician Train-ing (OSRT). The week long course coveredclassroom topics as well as hands-on train-ing in the Ohmsett tank using USCG oil spillrecovery equipment in realistic conditions.

The USCG Strike Teams provide rapid re-sponse support in incident management, sitesafety, contractor performance monitoring,resource documentation, response strategies,hazard assessment, oil spill dispersant andoperational effectiveness monitoring, andhigh capacity lightering and offshore skim-ming capabilities.

Students started with classroom training

which focused on general Coast Guard oilspill response, a safety briefing, and specificSORS/VOSS oil spill response equipmentsystems. Afterwards, students were dividedinto groups and rotated through "engineer-ing" and "deck" equipment stations.

Ohmsett's half-hull ship model, set up inthe Ohmsett facility lot, was the site for in-struction on how to rig equipment with theUSCG's VOSS.

Other stations for engineering and ancil-lary system operations included pumping/skimming in a Fast Tank, boom deploymentand temporary storage device.

In the tank, NSF personnel experiencedrecovery operations in calm water condi-tions, harbor chop and waves using USCG

oil spill response equipment stored atOhmsett.

"We want them to learn what we teach inthe OSRT course," said USCG Trainer DaleHemenway. "We include an additional runon the tank - harbor chop - to really honetheir skills because they are the experts atsea with the VOSS, SORS, and skimmingequipment."

This was the second of four OSRT train-ing sessions the USCG conducts each yearat Ohmsett, where personnel train using oilspill response equipment systems onboardJUNIPER Class WLB's (SORS) and DistrictDRAT/NSF Strike Team (VOSS) equip-ment.

Korean Coast Guard Tours OhmsettOn September 13, members of the

Korean Coast Guard Pollution Re-sponse Division visited Ohmsett. DeputyDirector Dr. Seung-Hwan Lee, Mr. Jong-Wook Choi, and interpreter Ami Kang, wereaccompanied by Ed Levine from the Na-tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration (NOAA).

"Our intention of the trip [to the U.S.] wasto understand the U.S. national and regionaloperations and management systems [so wecan] build new marine response systems

against chemical spill incidents," Dr. Seung-Hwan Lee said.

The group viewed the Ohmsett video inthe training room, followed by a questionand answer session. Afterwards they weregiven a tour of the facility. The group wasvery interested in how the Ohmsett test tankoperates, including how waves are gener-ated, how the moveable bridges work, andto gain knowledge about Ohmsett's uniquecombination of classroom and hands-ontraining.

"We observed the realistic tests and edu-cation programs for oil spills at Ohmsett. Wealso learned the practical facilities and in-situ operation mechanisms for maritime ac-cidents at U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Atlan-tic Strike team visiting," said Dr. Lee.

Ohmsett was one of many stops for thegroup as they sought an understanding ofthe Incident Command System regardingnational disasters and to gain general ideasof response programs to incorporate withtheir new program for preventing and re-sponding to ocean chemical spills.

"We also had a chance to investigate thein-situ operational responsive system againstmarine spills from USCG sector in Seattle.[The] Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) Headquarters explained their perspec-tive on the National Response Systems, theroles of EPA, and National/ Regional Re-sponse Teams of USCG," said Dr. Lee.

"[The] EPA in Edison gave us the chanceto see the field responsive operations andrelated facilities dealing with land-basedhazardous chemical spill incidents. USCGsector New York showed us the pollutionprevention operations."

"We will apply what we have gained fromthis trip, as much as we can, to build ournew national programs for ocean chemicalspills. All the information provided us willhave a large effect on our new systems."Pictured from left: Ed Levine from NOAA, Interpreter Ami Kang, Dr. Seung-Hwan

Lee, Mr. Jong-Wook Choi.

4

Ohmsett Test Basin GetsContinued from page 1Before...Before...Before...Before...Before...

Maintenance at Ohmsett.....Test Tank Discharge, Maintenance at Ohmsett.....Test Tank Discharge, Maintenance at Ohmsett.....Test Tank Discharge, Maintenance at Ohmsett.....Test Tank Discharge, Maintenance at Ohmsett.....Test Tank Discharge,

and south end of the tank. In addition, the sacrifreplaced. Also installed in the past year was a state-onent oil/water laboratory, and a 50 ton hydraulic deck

In the final steps, all three movable bridges werebeaches were repaired, a non-slip coating was appliesure washed and repainted.

By mid-September the upgrades, repairs and cleaGuard working around the clock for four days, the bathe tank water to open ocean salinity, 200 tons of salbring it back to crystal clear visibility and the tank wathe Coast Guard, Texas A&M National Spill Controment Assessment Team (IMAT).

5

s a Face Lift After...After...After...After...After...

Repairs, and Cleaning Repairs, and Cleaning Repairs, and Cleaning Repairs, and Cleaning Repairs, and Cleaning

ficial zinc anodes used for corrosion protection wereof-the art computerized bridge drive system, a perma-k crane with an extendable boom.e bead blasted and repainted, several sections of theed to the east deck, and the whole test basin was pres-

aning were completed. With help from the U.S. Coastasin was refilled with sea water from the bay. To bringlt was added. The water was filtered for two weeks toas ready for the next round of oil response training withl School Spill, and ConocoPhillips Incident Manage-

6

Ohmsett Exhibits at the New Orleans Clean Gulf ConferenceIn October 2006, Ohmsett staff members

attended the 16th Annual Clean GulfConference and Exhibition. This year, theconference was held in the city of New Or-leans, known for its food, French Quarter,and of course, Mardi Gras.

Clean Gulf is devoted to bringing the best,and most up-to-date information to the oiland hazardous material spill prevention, re-sponse and technology industry in the GulfCoast region. This was the best year everfor the conference with over 2,000 attend-ees visiting the 170 exhibitors showcasingthe top spill prevention, emergency response,security, clean-up, fire and salvage firmsserving the Energy Industry.

Ohmsett Program Manager Bill Schmidt,Mechanical Engineer Paul Meyer, and Mar-keting Specialist Jane Delgado greeted visi-tors at the Ohmsett booth, where they ex-hibited the latest full-scale dispersant effec-tiveness testing and research conducted atthe facility, as well as the current oil spillresponder training courses.

The keynote speaker was Admiral ThadAllen, Commandant, United States CoastGuard. He spoke on the experience and per-spectives of the 2005 hurricane season. Heis most well-known for his widely-praisedperformance directing the federal responseto Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the GulfCoast region.

Admiral Allen noted that what transpiredduring Hurricane Katrina was a significantevent, both personally and professionally andthat no pictures can describe the devastationthat took place from Alabama to Texas.

He also described a recent shift in the U.S.Coast Guard's organization and its placewithin the Department of Homeland Secu-rity (DHS). This shift has resulted in theUSCG's movement to the Sector structure,Admiral Allen explained, and represents afundamental change in USCG policy. Themove will combine existing Group and Ma-rine Safety Offices into one unified com-mand required by the Incident CommandSystem.

Conference sessions of special interestincluded a track on Science and Technology.Focusing on the research and developmentin the spill response industry, session speak-ers discussed new technologies, tactics andtools that are available to address spill re-

sponse solutions and preparing for naturaldisasters.

During the session, Matthew Quinney,Mineral Management Service (MMS) Con-tracting Officer and Technical Representa-tive (COTR), presented Ohmsett's capabili-ties and systems upgrades that have takenplace over the last year; changes that willmake oil spill response research and testingmore repeatable with computerized equip-ment.

In addition, Sharon Buffington, MMS

Chief of the Engineering and ResearchBranch , shared the results of the HurricaneIvan research. She spoke about the projectsMMS has commissioned that have assessedthe actual wind, wave and current forces thatwere present in Hurricane Ivan, analyzed andassessed the consequential damage to struc-tures and pipelines, determined the effective-ness of current design standards and pollu-tion-prevention systems, and developed rec-ommendations for changes to industry stan-dards and MMS regulations.

Top: Bill Schmidt, Ohmsett Program Manager greats visitors at Clean Gulf 2006.Bottom: Bill Schmidt with MMS’s Sharon Buffington and Matthew Quinney.

7

The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of theMMS. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This document has been technically reviewedby the MMS according to contractual specifications.

Community Relations

Would You Like to Visit Ohmsett?If you’re in the area and would to visit the Ohmsett facility, please call JoyceRosenberg at 732-866-7183 ext. 10 or e-mail jrosenberg@ohmsettnj.com to makearrangements.

In March 2006, PetroCanada, in conjunc-tion with S.L. Ross Environmental Research,Ltd., performed large-scale effectivenesstesting of chemical dispersants in coldweather conditions at Ohmsett.

Over the past year, dispersant effective-ness testing and research involving severalcold water/ice research and investigationssponsored by Minerals Management Service(MMS) have taken place at Ohmsett.PetroCanada joined the test scenario byevaluating dispersants in somewhat the sameconditions taking advantage of the availabletest basin chiller system that was on handfor the other tests.

Using the dispersant effectiveness proto-col developed by S.L. Ross and Ohmsettengineers, the test objective was to determinethe level of energy needed to initiate disper-sion and the difference in effectiveness be-tween premixed dispersant in oil and dispers-ant sprayed over the slick, using White Rosecrude oil, in cold water conditions.

ExxonMobil, in conjunction with S. L.Ross Environmental Research, Ltd., con-ducted large-scale testing on dispersant ef-fectiveness in cold water and ice conditionsat Ohmsett in mid-March 2006.

Dispersant effectiveness testing and re-search has been conducted at Ohmsett, dur-ing the past year using the dispersant proto-col developed by S.L. Ross and Ohmsett en-gineers. In the winter of 2006 several MMS-sponsored dispersant studies included usingAlaskan crude oils in cold water.

Taking advantage of the available icefields, test basin chiller, and ice storagescapabilities that were on hand at Ohmsett,the objective of the ExxonMobil test was todetermine the level of energy need to ini-tiate dispersion and the difference in effec-tiveness between premixed dispersant in oiland dispersant sprayed over the slick in coldweather and ice conditions.

News BriefsPetroCanada Joins DispersantEffectiveness Tests

Dispersant Effectiveness inCold Water & Ice

ConocoPhillips Hold IMATTraining at Ohmsett

ConocoPhillips Corporate Oil Spill Inci-dent Management Assessment Team (IMAT)Training was held at Ohmsett on October 2through October 4, 2006. The training con-sisted of classroom discussion presented byDennis McCarthy of Clean HarborsCoorperative (CHC) and hands-on trainingexercises in the test tank using an assortmentof skimmers and pumps provided by CHC.

The objective was to provideConocoPhillips Corporate Oil Spill Schoolwith management training and experience,or refresher exercises on the set-up, opera-tion, recovery, maintenance, and decontami-nation of recovery equipment using real oil.

ConocoPhillips Corporate Oil SpillSchool receives hands-on training atOhmsett.

Port Monmouth Cub Scout Pack #88 vis-ited Ohmsett on June 14, 2006. The troopconsisted of 16 scouts from the ages of sixto 12 and were accompanied by eight adultleaders. Paul Meyer, mechanical engineer,showed them a ten minute video of the fa-cility before taking their questions aboutOhmsett. Afterward, he guided the groupon a walk along the deck of the tank basinso they could view the size of the test tank.Meyer also brought them up to the top ofbuilding R-26 for the spectacular view ofthe test basin, Sandy Hook Bay and the NewYork City skyline. ~Joyce Rosenberg

Cub Scouts Visit Ohmsett

Members of the Port Monmouth CubScout Pack #88 tour the Ohmsettfacility during a field trip.

Editor & Graphics ........... Jane DelgadoTechnical Editors ............. Dave DeVitis,....................Alan Guarino, Paul Meyer,........................................ Susan Cunneff

The Ohmsett Gazette is publishedby Ohmsett--The National Oil SpillResponse Test Facility--to update

our readers on activitiesat the facility.

Ohmsett FacilityMAR, IncorporatedPO Box 473Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716(732) 866-7183

Train with oil Test with oil

Managed by the U.S. MineralsManagement Service. Operated by

MAR, Incorporated. For moreinformation call (732) 866-7183.

Or visit our web page atwww.Ohmsett.com