Popcorn Is Used In Simulated Norway Oil Spill

 

 

 

A major exercise focused on cleaning up ocean oil spills is

 bound to be popular with the wildlife of a Norwegian fjord.

 

Instead of creating a mess of sticky crude,

 the experts are dumping popcorn!

 

"We didn't want to spill real oil, but wanted the exercise

to be as realistic as possible while also being environmentally

friendly," says operation adviser Kaare Joergensen.

 

When popcorn absorbs water it forms an emulsion that is

very similar to spilled oil, & mimics the effect of ocean currents on oil.

 

Joergensen said they had tried it before & it worked well.

 

They plan to dump 175 cubic feet of popcorn, enough to

create a roughly 330 by 660 foot slick, just off

Norway's west coast on Wednesday, he said.

 

Then about 300 people in more than 30 boats, plus observation

aircraft, will respond as they would if it had been a real oil

spill from one of the many offshore oil platforms that make

Norway the world's third largest oil exporter.

 

The boats will use oil spill booms to contain & clean

up the popcorn at sea, while people on shore will

practice cleanup techniques on land.

 

Joergensen said the best thing about using popcorn is

any part of the spill that gets past the human

clean up crews will vanish anyway.

 

"It'll end up as a little food supplement

for fish, birds and wildlife," he said.

 

The exercise, which lasts through Thursday, is being held near

the western city of Molde, some 230 miles northwest of Oslo.

 

It's organized & funded by the Norwegian Clean Seas Association

for Operating Companies, an organization

of 13 oil companies operating in Norwegian waters.