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Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects (2005)

Chapter: Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
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Appendixes

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
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A
Committee and Staff Biographies

COMMITTEE

Jacqueline Michel (Chair) received her Ph.D. in geology from the University of South Carolina in 1980. Currently, she is the President of Research Planning, Inc. She is an expert in oil and chemical response and contingency planning. Dr. Michel has been providing scientific support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hazardous Materials Response Division since 1978. She has served on several NRC committees including the Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, the Committee on Marine Transportation of Heavy Oil, and chaired the Committee on Spills of Emulsified Fuels. Dr. Michel is currently a member of the NRC’s Ocean Studies Board.


E. Eric Adams gained his Ph.D. in Hydrodynamics from Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) in 1975. He is a Senior Research Engineer and Lecturer for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. Dr. Adams is also the Director of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Master of Engineering Program and serves as the Associate Director for Research for the MIT Sea Grant College Program. His research specializes in environmental fluid mechanics, physical and mathematical modeling of pollutant transport and mixing, and hydrologic tracer studies. His articles span topics such as modeling descending carbon dioxide injections in the ocean, as well as the role of slip velocity in controlling the behavior of stratified multi-phase plumes. Dr. Adams is a member of the Massachusetts Bays Circulation and Water Quality

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×

Modeling Model Evaluation Group and serves on the Technical Advisory Committee for the Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project.


Yvonne Addassi received her Master of Science in Ecology with emphasis in Environmental Policy from the University of California, Davis in 1997. Currently, she is a staff environmental scientist for the Office of Spill Prevention and Response for the California Department of Fish and Game. Her primary responsibilities include program coordination for the statewide licensing, approval and use of oil spill cleanup agents as well as the use of applied response technologies (ART), such as in-situ burning and dispersants; primary research and policy development for preparation and updating the legislative report on the feasibility of requiring alternative oil spill clean-up technologies; serving as state liaison for applied response technologies including Western States Task Force ART subcommittee, Regional IX Regional Response Team ART subcommittee; development and implementation of state-policies for the use of ARTs, specifically in-situ burning and dispersants, coordination of three dispersant area subcommittees utilizing net environmental analysis as a means of trade-off quantification. Ms. Addassi has published several papers on in-situ burning and NEBA including: Utilizing Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA), the Use of In-Situ Burning as a Mechanism to Minimize Environmental Impacts of a Marine Oil Spill, and Case Study: SS JACOB LUCKENBACH: Adaptation of Traditional Incident Command Structure to Meet the Unique Needs of Long-Term Wildlife Operations. She serves as an advisory board member for the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and also serves on the board of directors for the California Association of Professional Scientists.


Tom Copeland received B.A. degrees in English and Economics from Whitman College in 1971. He has been a commercial fisherman in Alaska from 1963 until his recent retirement. Currently, Mr. Copeland farms bamboo in Everson WA. In 1989, he responded to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, worked for passage of OPA 90, and eventually was a founding member of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Committee of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council. One of the committee’s duties is to advise the council on questions concerning dispersants. Before his recent retirement, Mr. Copeland served 12 years on the committee along with three terms on the council representing both aquiculture and environmental groups.


Mark S. Greeley holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Greeley is a research scientist in the Environmental Sciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He man-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×

ages the Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory at ORNL and the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 National Security Complex. Dr. Greeley’s research interests focus on reproductive and developmental toxicology, aquatic ecotoxicology, biomarkers of contaminant exposure and effects, and methods of environmental assessment. He has been involved in a number of projects assessing the effects of environmental pollution on aquatic and terrestrial communities. His research projects include the use of zebrafish as a model for studying the functional relationship between gene and protein expression in response to toxicant exposure.


Bela James graduated in 1972 from Texas A&M University with a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography. He presently is a spill response, environmental specialist for Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. in Houston and has been Shell’s leading spills technology expert for the past 13 years. Dr. James has been involved for many years with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientific Support Coordination staff, Regional Response Teams, and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) spill response subcommittees. He worked on a recent deepwater discharge study off Norway and developed deepwater spill modeling and response guidelines.


Beth McGee has a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia, a M.S. in Ecology from the University of Delaware, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland. Dr. McGee is currently the Maryland Senior Scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Her background and expertise is in environmental toxicology and benthic ecology, particularly the fate and effects of contaminants on aquatic organisms. For over 15 years, Dr. McGee has been very active in Chesapeake Bay water quality issues, conducting research and serving on several technical subcommittees and advisory groups. In addition, she has worked for a variety of state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA, and the Maryland Department of the Environment, giving her extensive knowledge of the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, CERCLA, and the Oil Pollution Act. She is currently a Board Member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry—North America.


Carys Mitchelmore gained her Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham in 1997 investigating toxicity processes in aquatic organisms. Dr. Mitchelmore is an Assistant Professor for the University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, in Solomons, Maryland. Her expertise lies in aquatic toxicology and her research expe-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×

rience includes investigating the basic processes involved in contaminant driven toxicity in a variety of aquatic organisms including coral reefs, and in developing novel tools (biomarkers) to assess contaminant impacts. Dr. Mitchelmore has authored and coauthored several journal articles in the areas of aquatic biochemistry, genetic toxicology and endocrine disruption in both vertebrate and invertebrate species.


Yasuo Onishi received a Ph.D. in Mechanics and Hydraulics from the University of Iowa in 1972. He is a Chief Scientist in the Environmental Technology Directorate of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Dr. Onishi is also a member of the Graduate Adjunct Faculty for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Washington State University. His principal discipline is fluid mechanics/hydrology, environmental risk assessment, and reactive fluid dynamics; specifically, transport and fate of sediment/contaminants (e.g., toxic chemicals, heavy metals, radionuclides, oil) in natural environment, aquatic biota/human health assessment, and chemical reactions/transport of multi-component, multi-phase, Newtonian/non-Newtonian fluids with chemically active solids, liquid, and gaseous chemicals. Dr. Onishi served as the U.S. Coordinator for “Radionuclide Behavior in Soil-Water” of the bilateral “U.S./(former) U.S.S.R. Joint Coordinating Committee on Civilian Nuclear Power Safety”, and has been working for over ten years with scientists from the former Soviet Union to assess impacts on aquatic environment and human health caused by the Chernobyl plant nuclear accident.


James R. Payne received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 1974, and he was a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Postdoctoral Scholar from 1974 to 1975. Currently, he is the President of Payne Environmental Consultants, Inc., which specializes in oil and chemical pollution studies for government and industry. Over the 30 years of his professional career, Dr. Payne has been involved in numerous projects dealing with marine- and water-pollution issues, including laboratory-scale and outdoor flow-through wave-tank studies of oil weathering behavior in arctic and subarctic environments. He has also supported NOAA natural resource damage assessment efforts after the Exxon Valdez, American Trader, Kuroshima, New Carissa, and Westchester oil spills. As a result of his environmental studies and field investigations, Dr. Payne has authored or co-authored three books and chapters in four others. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and/or papers in various conference proceedings, and he has prepared over 45 environmental reports for use by various governmental agencies and private clients. In addition to his other publications, Dr. Payne contributed background chapters for the 1985 NRC publication Oil in the Sea—Inputs, Fates,

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×

and Effects, and he was a member of NRC Ocean Studies Board Committees dealing with the Effectiveness of Oil Spill Dispersants (1985–1988) and Spills of Emulsified Fuels (2001). He also served on the NRC Polar Research Board Committee to review the Oil Spill Recovery Institute’s arctic and subarctic research programs (2002).


David Salt has an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Mechanical Engineering. He currently serves as Technical Director for the Oil Spill Response Limited, Global Alliance with responsibility for the technical response preparedness of the Alliance and all technical issues related to the response activities of the organization. Previously, Mr. Salt joined Oil Spill Response Limited-Southampton in 1981, where he served for several years as Operations Manager and two years as General Manager. Formerly, Mr. Salt worked as an engineer officer for BP on tankers for five years. After his time at sea, he transferred to Sullom Voe terminal, where he became Pollution Officer and was responsible for the maintenance and operation of the response stockpile and leading the response to terminal based incidents. In 1992, Mr. Salt was posted to East Asia Response Limited to establish the center in Singapore. He currently serves as Secretary to the International Technical Advisory Committee, a pan-industry and response community technical group looking at best practice and response issues. Mr. Salt has been particularly involved in the use of dispersants and the introduction of a number of aerial dispersant platforms to satisfy particular response needs in both the UK and West Africa. He has been involved in a huge range of international spills during his time with OSRL including these major incidents: Haven, Nagasaki Spirit, Evoikas, Natuna Sea, Exxon Valdez, Patmos, Sea Empress, Katina P., and Toledo.


Brian Wrenn earned his Ph.D. in environmental science in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992, and M.S. in biological oceanography from the University of Miami in 1984. He is currently an assistant professor of civil engineering and environmental biotechnology at Washington University. Dr. Wrenn’s research interests include: bioremediation, biological treatment of industrial and hazardous wastes, water and wastewater treatment, environmental microbiology and biodegradation, environmental and analytical chemistry, biodegradation kinetics, and analysis of biological treatability. He is currently a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Society for Microbiology, the Water Environment Federation, and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×

STAFF

Dan Walker (Study Director) obtained his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Tennessee in 1990. A Scholar at the Ocean Studies Board, Dr. Walker also holds a joint appointment as a Guest Investigator at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Since joining the Ocean Studies Board in 1995, he has directed a number of studies including Future Needs in Deep Submergence Science: Occupied and Unoccupied Vehicles in Basic Ocean Research (2004), Environmental Information for Naval Warfare (2003), Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates and Effects (2002), Spills of Emulsified Fuels: Risks and Response (2002), Clean Coastal Waters: Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution (2000), Science for Decisionmaking: Coastal and Marine Geology at the U.S. Geological Survey (1999), Global Ocean Sciences: Toward an Integrated Approach (1998), and The Global Ocean Observing System: Users, Benefits, and Priorities (1997). A member of the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, and the Oceanography Society, Dr. Walker was recently named Editor of the Marine Technology Society Journal. A former member of both the Kentucky and the North Carolina state geologic surveys, Dr. Walker’s interests focus on the value of environmental information for policy-making at local, state, and national levels.


Sarah Capote gained her B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the winter of 2001. She is a senior program assistant with the Ocean Studies Board. During her tenure with the Board, Ms. Capote worked on the following reports: Exploration of the Seas: Voyage into the Unknown (2003), Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay (2004), Future Needs in Deep Submergence Science: Occupied and Unoccupied Vehicles in Basic Ocean Research (2004), the interim report for Elements of a Science Plan for the North Pacific Research Board (2004), A Vision for the International Polar Year 2007–2008 (2004), Marine Mammal Populations and Ocean Noise: Determining When Noise Causes Biologically Significant Effects (2005), and Final Comments on the Science Plan for the North Pacific Research Board (2005).

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 331
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 332
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 333
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 334
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 335
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 336
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 337
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographies." National Research Council. 2005. Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11283.
×
Page 338
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Approximately 3 million gallons of oil or refined petroleum products are spilled into U.S. waters every year. Oil dispersants (chemical agents such as surfactants, solvents, and other compounds) are used to reduce the effect of oil spills by changing the chemical and physical properties of the oil. By enhancing the amount of oil that physically mixes into the water, dispersants can reduce the potential that a surface slick will contaminate shoreline habitats. Although called for in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 as a tool for minimizing the impact of oil spills, the use of chemical dispersants has long been controversial. This book reviews the adequacy of existing information and ongoing research regarding the effectiveness of dispersants as an oil spill response technique, as well as the effect of dispersed oil on marine and coastal ecosystems. Oil Spill Dispersants also includes recommended steps for policy makers faced with making hard choices regarding the use of dispersants as part of spill contingency planning efforts or during actual spills.

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