A controlled burn technique being used to stem the advance of a massive Gulf of Mexico oil slick was first tested on a large scale in Newfoundland, an event that an Environment Canada scientist says proved its effectiveness.
The Gulf of Mexico oil slick formed when a BP-operated oil rig exploded 10 days ago. Since then, an underwater well has spewed an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil each day, creating an environmental calamity approaching the size and scope of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.
Dr. Carl Brown said an offshore burn conducted on the Grand Banks in August 1993 -- called the Newfoundland Oil Burn Experiment or NOBE – showed that it could serve as a useful approach for cleaning up oil spills.
"It's very effective in removing oil, you can remove about 90 per cent of the oil in a short period of time," Brown told CTV's Canada AM during an interview from Ottawa on Friday morning. "So, under the right conditions, it will remove a lot of oil quickly."
A recent Associated Press report said the 1993 experiment managed to get rid of between 50 and 99 per cent of the captured oil. The NOBE burn occurred after the technique was tested in labs for about 10 years.
Brown said the technique involves having a series of marine vessels drag booms -- or barriers -- around the oil spill so it can be contained.
"You have to corral the oil," he said.
"The oil has to be a certain thickness -- at least two or three millimetres before it will sustain a burn. And you want to tow the oil away from the source."
The oil is then ignited with the use of a torch or gel gasoline that is dropped down by helicopter, Brown said.
"You don't want the winds to be too heavy, because you don't want the oil to blow out the back of the boom. You want to contain it and be able to maintain that thickness," he said.
The goal of a controlled burn is to produce the best possible outcome, Brown said, hopefully "removing as much of that oil before it reaches the shoreline."
While burning off the oil does produce carbon dioxide, Brown said it produces fewer emissions of volatile organic compounds than would be released if the oil was allowed to evaporate on the surface of the water.
The same method is being used to reduce the amount of oil headed towards the U.S., though poor weather conditions have halted the use of technique on Friday.
With files from The Associated Press
