Experts to convene at oil spill symposium

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, says that the Oil Spill Technology Symposium being held March 6 to 7 in Fairbanks will bring together a variety of spill response experts, regulators, emergency responders and energy producers. Organizations participating in the event include the University of Alaska, DEC, NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency. People from oil spill response organizations and industry will participate in the event.

Symposium participants will learn about the latest oil spill response tools and research. The symposium will include an overview of the incident command system, the management framework widely used in the United States to organize a response effort. Other presentations will review current and projected research programs; the capabilities and limitations of response technologies; common response challenges; and future research needs, DEC said.

The symposium will particularly provide an opportunity for an interchange of information between government agencies, academia and responders on research needs, while also helping graduate students better prepare for work in oil spill preparedness and response.

For further information and registration in the symposium, contact DEC.

—Alan Bailey