Over the past twenty years, the US oil tanker fleet, including those vessels involved in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) trade in Prince William Sound (PWS), has undergone major engineering and structural improvements to comply with federal and international standards requiring that new oil tankers be constructed with double hulls, while older single hull vessels are phased out of US and international fleets.
This report presents general concepts related to human error, human factors, and accident causality by synthesizing published literature that considers the types of human errors and underlying human factors that commonly cause oil spills or accidents. In an attempt to relate root causes to prevention strategies that target human factors, this report reviews oil spill and marine accident data compilation and analysis practices in the US and internationally. Prevention programs and voluntary practices that target human factors are reviewed, and recommendations presented for linking spill prevention to human factors data and analysis.
This report, which was prepared for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens? Advisory Council (PWSRCAC), contains the authors? observations from four days of cold water dispersant testing at the Ohmsett facility in February?March 2006. This report provides an overview of the testing and general observations of the PWS observer team. A companion report, entitled ?Analysis of Oil Spill Dispersant Effectiveness Testing at Ohmsett,? provides a technical analysis of the experimental design and testing protocols.
This paper is a review of dispersant testing at OHMSETT. These tests were designed to measure the effectiveness of dispersant on Alaskan oils at low temperatures. The oil and water temperatures were close to the freezing point.