College Response to the BP Oil Spill

June 17th, 2010

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve experienced the effects of or you’ve at least heard about the BP oil spill.

The massive, ongoing spill in the Gulf of Mexico occurred at an oil-drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, when an explosion damaged a well and killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 others. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history, unleashed a leak that continues to spout an unprecedented amount of oil into the Gulf. BP and the federal government are still trying to cap the well, but they’re not the only ones responding to the disaster.

Colleges and universities are also getting their hands dirty – literally – by cleaning up the mess and educating the public on the use of clean, green energy so that catastrophes like the BP oil spill might never happen again—or in the first place.

Training Workers
Some colleges have preexisting programs in place to handle disasters like the Gulf oil spill. For the last 15 years, Clark Atlanta University and Dillard University in New Orleans have been offering technical training to minority workers in construction and environmental remediation. The programs include 40-hour hazardous waste worker certification that is standard for oil spill cleanup.

Prince William Sound Community College in Alaska delivers a unique marine-based Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training program to area fishermen and oil industry employees. The three-day, credit-bearing program consists of classroom instruction, hands-on training in indoor and outdoor skills stations, and on-the-water experience.

The National Spill Control School, part of Texas A&M University’s College of Science and Technology, offers specialized hands-on training for those in the oil spill, HAZMAT, and emergency management industries. The school began teaching oil spill classes in 1977, HAZMAT/waste classes in 1980, HAZWOPER in 1989, and spill management team training in 1995.

Additionally, in direct response to the BP oil spill, schools like Florida Keys Community College have launched brand new community training sessions. The three-day programs provide training to stop, contain, control, and clean up the spill. The training also meets OSHA requirements for Hazardous Material Technician certification.

Mapping the Spill
Graduate students in Geographic Information Systems classes at Tulane University are participating in the Gulf oil spill recovery efforts in a more scientific manner. Using open-source software, they’ve created an Oil Spill Crisis Map that utilizes information from texts, tweets, e-mails, and online submissions from citizens to plot the effects of the oil spill. The dynamic map is enabling the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental health and justice nonprofit, to track locations with an oil sheen or oil onshore; affected birds, marine, and other wildlife; odor; smoke; damaged property; health effects; and threatened livelihood. Citizen reports are automatically added to the map and reviewed to ensure their legitimacy. Fortunately, the architecture for this project already was in place when the oil spill occurred, allowing students to quickly shift from general reporting on environmental hazards in Louisiana to specific reporting on the spill.

Donating Hair
Many colleges, particularly cosmetology schools, are joining the Gulf oil spill recovery efforts in an unconventional way. Schools like Santa Monica College, Capri College, Remington College, and Virginia College are collecting and shipping clean hair clippings to Matter of Trust, a nonprofit group that uses the material to make eco-friendly booms and mats to contain oil spills. The booms, which act as giant sponges, are made by stuffing pantyhose with hair or fur. Human hair and animal fur are believed to be some of the best materials for sopping up oil, especially given that they are renewable and biodegradable.

Raising Awareness
Another important college response involves raising awareness about the BP oil spill and the need to invest in clean forms of energy. Several campus groups at the University of Oregon have been involved in hosting a concert, rally, and demonstration, as well as gathering student signatures on their petition to President Obama to reinstate the moratorium on offshore oil drilling.

How will you respond to this national disaster?

–Robyn Tellefsen

Entry Filed under: News