Oil Spill

The analysis may consider the release location and time, oil type, winds, currents, tides, river flow, shoreline configuration, field observations, aerial imagery, and trajectory modeling. NOAA's oil-spill modeling tools use information such as winds, currents, product type, and turbulence to estimate where spilled oil may move, while also accounting for uncertainty in environmental inputs.

A suitably qualified oil spill expert can compare response plans and deployment records with the timing of containment, recovery activities, shoreline conditions, cleanup methods, recovered-oil quantities, waste records, and repeated field assessments. NOAA's Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique uses systematic shoreline surveys to document oiling conditions, develop cleanup recommendations and endpoints, monitor treatment effectiveness, and evaluate conditions after cleanup.

Useful materials may include incident and notification reports, photographs and video, source inventories, transfer and pumping records, tank-gauge information, response plans, field notes, trajectory analyses, weather and current data, oil and environmental sampling results, shoreline assessments, cleanup logs, contractor records, recovered-product volumes, and disposal documentation. EPA's oil-spill prevention framework includes facility-specific spill-prevention planning where applicable, while facilities subject to the federal Facility Response Plan requirements must also document response organization, equipment, trained personnel, and other response capabilities.