Valdez experience, played a major role in financing the conference and providing ideas which resulted in the adoption of the convention.

This International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation envisions a worldwide network of pollution response equipment, personnel and expertise. Information sharing is encouraged and guidelines for financing response activities are provided. IMO is designated as an international assistance clearinghouse that all nations can access when preparing for and combatting oil spills.

It is unlikely that any of the representatives at the conference envisioned that their work would be instrumental in combating a catastrophic act of environmental terrorism just a few weeks later. The ink was barely dry on this agreement, when the system it envisioned was put to the test in the Arabian Gulf.

As it turned out, the oil pollution agreement was able to provide the framework for the international response to the oil discharge in the Gulf without its having come into effect. That the convention was capable of making a positive impact even before a single nation had ratified it, is dramatic testimony to the power of the idea of international cooperative agreements for environmental protection.

Initial assessment

As IMO began preliminary efforts to put provisions of the convention into effect in the Gulf, the United States was already involved in the first stages of a response. On January 24, at the request of the Saudi government, the United States Interagency Assessment Team was dispatched to the Arabian Gulf.

Assembled by the United States National Response Team, the initial assessment team consisted of pollution experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, United States Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard. The Departments of Energy and Interior, and a private industry pollution expert participated in subsequent activities.

Oil spill center

At the same time, an oil spill coordination center was being formed at IMO to act as a clearinghouse for offers of assistance from all nations. The center was headed by Coast Guard Commander David Pascoe, who is on loan to IMO for two years to help put the convention into effect. Continued on page 50

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Additional Coast Guard personnel on temporary duty at IMO helped representatives from many countries to create a framework from which to carry out provisions of the convention and coordinate offers of assistance to the Gulf. As soon as the IMO center was firmly established, the United States Interagency Assessment Team was brought under its umbrella to become part of an international interagency assessment team. United States pollution technicians continued to perform their same functions, but under IMO auspices as part of an international exchange.

Oil tracking

The international interagency assessment team was assisted by representatives of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discharge assessment and tracking team located at Coast Guard headquarters. This team analyzed data sent from the spill site and forecasted spill trajectories for response personnel in theater. The trajectories allowed responders to make the best use of their limited resources to protect the most sensitive and vital sites from the onslaught of the oil.

Much of the data came by way of the "AIREYE" system, an oil detection and tracking device mounted on a Coast Guard HU-25 falcon jet. Delivered to the Gulf at the request of the Saudi government, the system is a product of Coast Guard-sponsored research and development. It uses sophisticated sensing devices including side-looking airborne radar to provide a film image of the oil on the surface of the water.

Cooperative efforts

The International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation was successful in channeling resources to meet environmental emergencies, even under wartime conditions. Although hampered by lack of resources, responders tracked the spill and protected some of the most strategic sites. Many nations and agencies helped contain and clean up the vast discharge.

The Coast Guard and IMO are justifiably proud of their work in applying convention concepts in the Gulf region. There was a high level of cooperation among many nations battling the common threat of environmental devastation. The convention's vision of an international network of information, resources and expertise sharing had become a reality, even though it was too new to be in force.

Ratification

In late October, 1991, the United States Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation. It is quite possible that the United States will become the first nation to ratify this convention, which has already been tested under fire and proven its mettle.

LT Mark McEwen is a staff member of the Environmental Coordination Branch of the Marine Environmental Protection Division of the Office of Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection. Telephone: (202) 267-0419.

Benzene, a clear colorless, flammable liquid compound is the simplest hydrocarbon of the aromatic group. It has the formula C6H6. Once extracted from coal tar, benzene has been produced from petroleum since 1950. Benzene and toluene can also be separated from gas fractions.

The chemical was discovered in 1825 in illumination gas made from whale oil by the English chemist Michael Faraday. Its structure, which has been developed by various chemists, consists of a regular hexagon: a carbon atom at each angle with hydrogen attached at each carbon atom.

Many Uses

Widely used in industry, benzene is an intermediate that is used to produce many chemical compounds. Styrene and cyclohexane are major products of benzene. Other compounds produce detergents, dyes, aniline and insecticides. Many useful compounds are formed when the chemical is combined with chlorine.

Benzene contributes to the production of pharmaceuticals, varnishes and plastics. It also acts as an excellent solvent. In addition, benzene can act as a starting agent for reactions. Because of its explosive mixture with air, it can be used as a fuel component for internal combustion and it is an excellent octane enhancer.

Major Hazards

Benzene is acutely and chronically toxic and flammable. Exposure to high concentrations of benzene vapor will lead to acute poisoning, as the central nervous system is affected. As with other anesthetic gases, symptoms include a period of excitation followed by depression. Death can result through respiratory failure.

Benzene vapor can irritate eyes, nose and throat. When inhaled, the chemical can cause headache and difficulty in breathing, which may lead to unconsciousness and/or death.

The hazards for chronic toxicity are equally serious. Repeated inhalation of low concentra

4/C Julie Mehta

tions of the chemical (below 100 pm) can lead to severe or fatal anemia. Leukemia (a cancer), other serious blood disorders, and death have been caused by contact with benzene vapors.

Artificial respiration and oxygen should be given to a victim whose breathing has stopped after exposure to benzene. It can also be absorbed through the skin. If liquid benzene is exposed to skin, immediately flush the areas with water. A victim who has swallowed benzene and is still conscious should be given water or milk to drink.

The chemical is extremely flammable, and resulting fires and/or explosions are potential dangers. Benzene vapor is heavier than air and may travel to a source of ignition and flash back. Dry chemicals, foam or carbon dioxide can fight benzene fire. Water should be used to keep fire-exposed containers cool. A self-contained breathing apparatus should be worn, as well as rubber gloves, face shield, hard hat and protective clothing.

In case of a spill, water may be used to flush spills and disperse vapors. Benzene pollutes water and, even in low concentrations, can kill aquatic life. The likelihood of over exposure to benzene during a crude oil spill response is presently under investigation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration set the standard of exposure to no more than 1 ppm benzene during an eight-hour work day and a 5 ppm short-term exposure limit for up to 15 minutes a day. This was changed to 0.1 ppm as an exposure limit guideline.

Shipping

Benzene is usually shipped in small glass containers, one-gallon cans, five- to 55-gallon metal drums, tank cars and trucks, and in bulk by tank barges and parcel tankers.

Care should be taken when loading benzene. On cargo ships, restricted gauges should be used, and vents should be sufficiently high (about 12 feet above deck).

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