The spill area adjacent to the pipeline has been delineated. It was calculated that 1.93 acres of tundra and frozen lake surface have been impacted. The aerial photo at left shows the status of snow removal operations on March 11.
The spill is contained by natural and man-made snow berms. Containment berms are being reinforced with ice by the addition of water. Snow and frozen conditions allow for working on the tundra and minimize damage from people, equipment, and oil contamination.
The source of the spill was determined to be a one quarter inch hole in the pipeline at the 6 o'clock position, internal corrosion is the suspected cause of the hole but further investigation is ongoing.
GC2 remains shutdown, BP has applied freeze protection to approximately 230 wells and associated flow lines effected by the shutdown.
Weather: Mostly sunny with natibviksuq (Inupiat for drifting snow), itrifubaa (Inupiat for icy cold), lows about -40F, highs about -20F, anuqjiqsuq (Inupiat for windy): southwest winds 10-15 mph with wind chills of -50F to -60F.
EPA FOSC Jeffry Rodin and one START are on site.
RESPONSE ACTION: Incident response priorities and objectives are
• Ensure all personnel are safe
• Mitigate potential of further release
• Continue containment of the spill
• Remove contamination from the area
• Manage and dispose of waste appropriately
Free liquid oil continues to be recovered using vacuum equipment. Site crews have erected windbreaks around three oil recovery points to improve operations.
Removal of contaminated snow by tracked-bobcat is the other primary oil recovery method. As of 1900 hours March 12, snow had been removed from approximately 95% of the impacted area.
Workers installed a 6-foot long bolted-on sleeve over the damaged section of piping on March 9. Welding of the sleeve to the pipe was completed March 11, providing permanent source control.
The remainder of the caribou crossing is being been excavated to allow examination of the pipeline. Additional repair sleeves may be installed east of the current repair to address areas identified by UT testing.
A 24-hour cleanup operation is in effect. A total of 60 spill responders, 30 for the day shift and 30 for the night shift, are working in the field-cleanup efforts.
Free liquid oil will continue to be recovered using vacuum equipment where possible. Removal of heavily contaminated snow is the primary oil recovery tactic at this stage of the operation.
Operations will be bringing clean snow from outside the impacted area into the containment berms to allow for mixing with remaining snow on heavily oiled areas in an effort to remove additional oil.
Treatment of exposed, oil-contaminated tundra following removal of oil-contaminated snow. Water flushing of a test plot is proposed for tundra mitigation.
Assessment of tundra treatment tactics. Potential tactics for tundra include removal by trimming or excavation, warm water flushing, and in situ burning. Wetlands ecologists will be involved.
The environmental branch is preparing a tundra treatment plan to address long term and final cleanup stages. ADEC representatives and wetlands ecologists are involved.
With extreme wind chill, ongoing site operations have been hampered for personnel safety reasons. Frostbite is a concern and BPXA is swapping crews frequently and is providing warm up shacks for workers. Work restrictions have varied from 30 to 55 minutes depending on site conditions.
BP has arranged for a press visit, including an overflight, with members of the press. BP has requested that UC representatives be available for interviews.
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