Oil spill risk assessment and response planning for Canadian estuarine shorelines

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Canada has the longest coastline in the world. Spilled oil often reaches the shoreline and damages the shoreline ecosystems. The treatment of oiled shoreline is a complex process involving many environmental, technical, social and economic considerations. There is still a lack of effective solutions for oil spill response, particularly for the estuarine shorelines in Canada. The project will integrate oil behavior simulation, vulnerability identification, washing agent development, oil removal assessment, process optimization, and decision support within a general framework. In detail, the proposed project involves four tasks: (i) modeling the fate and transport of oil spill in estuaries, (ii) assessment of the vulnerability of estuarine shorelines to oil spills from the perspective of ecosystem services, (iii) development of an integrated estuarine shoreline cleanup tactic for oil removal, and (iv) best management practices for oil response in Canadian estuarine environments. A strong multidisciplinary research team with complementary expertise of oil spill response, risk assessment and pollution control has come together to develop this research. This team has the best expertise from Québec and the rest of Canada to achieve the research objectives about oil spill risk assessment and response planning. The proposed project represents an integration of innovative efforts beyond established approaches in oil spill response. The developed methodologies can be applied to oil spill response and management within a Canadian estuarine shoreline context, and the proposed project will considerably contribute to filling the gaps of technique, regulation, and policy for oil spill responses. The project will facilitate inter-partner collaboration and policy delivery through provision of a scientific proof regarding the oil spill response in estuarine areas. Technologies developed through this initiative will benefit Quebec and Canada by providing efficient approaches for oil spill risk mitigation subject to various social, economic and environmental criteria. The HQPs will also be trained for tackling spill response problems during this three-year project.