Oil Spill Response
Project Co-ordinator: Rob Owen (1996)
Environmental Emergencies
Hotline: 1-800-565-1633
Information which should be given when you call:
• The source of the spill.
• What is spilled, how much, and where?
• Is the spill on land, in the water, and is it moving?
• Any immediate threat to public safety or business.
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Each year in Atlantic Canada thousands of oil and chemical spills cause a great deal of harm to our environment and natural resources. In Lunenburg County, where this project was developed, over 250 spills have been reported to the Environmental Emergencies hotline since 1983, some as large as 250,000 litres. However, it is these small spills whose cumulative damage is responsible for the majority of the impact on people, property, and the environment.
At Indian Point, near the town of Mahone Bay, over 200 litres of heating oil spilled overland and found its way into nearby coastal waters through a drainage culvert. Even though this spill did not result in significant harm to the environment, the ability of the community to respond was limited. The Oil Spill Response Project provided the community with knowledge of what observations to make when a spill occurs, whom to call regarding a spill, along with access to, and the ability to deploy, absorbent materials. The latter would enable the community to contain much of the spill until authorities could properly evaluate the situation and reduce the need to excavate any contaminated soils after the spill.
The main components of the project undertaken by BCAF, was to evaluate the appropriateness and financial feasibility of absorbent materials, select storage locations for absorbents, involve community businesses, evaluate existing resources for absorbent materials, determine parameters for disposal of used absorbents, train community volunteers, identify training personnel, develop a spill response list (contacts), and promote awareness and education.
BCAF provided oil and chemical response materials to fire departments and businesses within Lunenburg County, initiated training sessions, and provided information packages to those departments. These fire departments are listed as follows: Blockhouse, Cornwall, Indian Point, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay.
The Project also provided materials to the following local businesses: Bailly's Fuels Ltd., Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering Plant #2, and Indian Point Marine Farms. In addition to the community owned materials stored in the above locations, there are further spill control resources located at the National Sea Products in Lunenburg and Michelin in Bridgewater.
Last Modified: Tue, Dec 14, 2004
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