Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea
Use of dispersants requires assessment of which environmental values are at stake. In the Barents Sea this issue is of high concern as large oil spills can cause transboundary pollution, affecting the interests of two neighbouring countries. The Joint Contingency Plan in the Barents Sea does not set...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2015-04-01
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| Series: | Polar Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/24326/pdf_18 |
| _version_ | 1811250336558481408 |
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| author | Natalia Belkina Olga Sarkova Ståle Jensen |
| author_facet | Natalia Belkina Olga Sarkova Ståle Jensen |
| author_sort | Natalia Belkina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Use of dispersants requires assessment of which environmental values are at stake. In the Barents Sea this issue is of high concern as large oil spills can cause transboundary pollution, affecting the interests of two neighbouring countries. The Joint Contingency Plan in the Barents Sea does not set any specific requirements for use of dispersants and lets Norway and Russia follow their national procedures. The Plan emphasizes that in case of transboundary pollution the decision to use dispersants shall only be undertaken upon common agreement. The paper presents a comparison of the national regulatory approaches of Norway and Russia to using dispersants. The research is based on the analysis of legislative documents and interviews with oil companies, oil spill responders and relevant national authorities. The research reveals that in both countries use of dispersants requires preliminary authorization of the national agencies. In Norway the pre-approval procedure and the algorithm of dispersants involvement in response to a real accident are clearly documented and are regularly tested. This has made the process of approval for using dispersants more efficient. In Russia the lack of practical experience in using dispersants and well-established approval procedures can result in a long and unclear permitting process for each oil spill case. This could seriously hinder the use of dispersants to combat transboundary pollution in the Barents Sea, even if it is considered to be beneficial. We conclude that the development of a harmonized approach for dispersants use in the Barents Sea should be thoroughly assessed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:03:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-243863aac4fe4948af6ceea3df6c4927 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1751-8369 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:03:06Z |
| publishDate | 2015-04-01 |
| publisher | Norwegian Polar Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polar Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-243863aac4fe4948af6ceea3df6c49272022-12-22T03:26:09ZengNorwegian Polar InstitutePolar Research1751-83692015-04-0134011010.3402/polar.v34.2432624326Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents SeaNatalia Belkina0Olga Sarkova1Ståle Jensen2 Lundin Norway AS, Strandveien 50B, NO-1366 Lysaker, Norway IS-Systems, Portovyj proezd 31a, Murmansk 183038, Russia Ramboll Oil & Gas, Sjøhagen 6, P.O. Box 8058, NO-4068 Stavanger, NorwayUse of dispersants requires assessment of which environmental values are at stake. In the Barents Sea this issue is of high concern as large oil spills can cause transboundary pollution, affecting the interests of two neighbouring countries. The Joint Contingency Plan in the Barents Sea does not set any specific requirements for use of dispersants and lets Norway and Russia follow their national procedures. The Plan emphasizes that in case of transboundary pollution the decision to use dispersants shall only be undertaken upon common agreement. The paper presents a comparison of the national regulatory approaches of Norway and Russia to using dispersants. The research is based on the analysis of legislative documents and interviews with oil companies, oil spill responders and relevant national authorities. The research reveals that in both countries use of dispersants requires preliminary authorization of the national agencies. In Norway the pre-approval procedure and the algorithm of dispersants involvement in response to a real accident are clearly documented and are regularly tested. This has made the process of approval for using dispersants more efficient. In Russia the lack of practical experience in using dispersants and well-established approval procedures can result in a long and unclear permitting process for each oil spill case. This could seriously hinder the use of dispersants to combat transboundary pollution in the Barents Sea, even if it is considered to be beneficial. We conclude that the development of a harmonized approach for dispersants use in the Barents Sea should be thoroughly assessed.http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/24326/pdf_18Oil spillArcticBarents SeadispersantsNorwayRussia |
| spellingShingle | Natalia Belkina Olga Sarkova Ståle Jensen Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea Polar Research Oil spill Arctic Barents Sea dispersants Norway Russia |
| title | Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea |
| title_full | Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea |
| title_fullStr | Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea |
| title_short | Regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the Barents Sea |
| title_sort | regulatory policies for using oil dispersants in the barents sea |
| topic | Oil spill Arctic Barents Sea dispersants Norway Russia |
| url | http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/24326/pdf_18 |
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