Thursday, April 30, 2015

“SHOCKING” AND “HORRIFYING” THAT A SINGLE BODY DOESN’T EXIST TO DEAL WITH A SPILL RESPONSE CLEANUP IN VANCOUVER: EXPERTS AT SFU FORUM








APRIL 30, 2015

VANCOUVER, CANADA (NEWS1130)

Is the city of Vancouver prepared for another fuel spill? A panel of experts at a forum at SFU downtown Wednesday night seem to think the city isn’t ready. The event was hosted by the Institute for Humanities at Simon Fraser University.

The speakers which have experience with oil spill recovery and the long term effects on ecosystems also offered solutions to prevent future disasters like the one at English Bay three weeks ago. Their intention was to educate and bring some hope to many who are feeling “emotional trauma” from the bunker fuel spill.

“Our response was not only inadequate but was ridiculous,” says John who was one of many people still angry about the clean-up.

Anita M. Burke international spill response expert, who’s had experience working on the Exxon Valdez spill, came up with a six-point plan.

1. Re-open the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station
2. Conduct public open formal readiness assessment to determine if we are ready
3. Do a post incident investigation and collaborate with First Nations, the public, and neighbours in Washington and Alaska that have a lot of expertise
4. Start having joint response drills with all the responsible parties physically in English Bay and practice
5. Have UBC and the Vancouver Aquarium coordinate in aquatic research, know what to do with the animals and protect them
6. Hold spill conferences in Vancouver every other year and bring experts from all over the world to share knowledge

She says it’s “shocking” and “horrifying” a single body doesn’t exist to deal with the spill cleanup. “There is not a spill response program, dedicated resources, dedicated people need to be assigned to change that and I mean change that in the next four to six months.”

“It’s sort of like saying ‘Nah, it’s ok to not put your kid in a car safety seat, bad idea, never mind,’ it’s the same thing. We’re putting our children at the same risk as if we didn’t have them buckled in the car,” compares Burke.
Source: http://www.news1130.com