In this Q&A series, NOAA intern Abisola Ajayi interviews three scientists in NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration. In this first interview, she talks with OR&R Regional Resource Coordinator Reyhan Mehran about the restoration of industrial waste sites, and how NOAA handles the waste with lingering complications that continue to affect natural resources. Check out the full interview to learn more!
Incident Responses for April 2022alyssa.grayFri, 05/13/2022 - 14:22
In April 2022, OR&R provided response support to 32 incidents, including 12 new incidents in eight states. The new incidents included eight actual or potential oil spills, two chemical spills, one facility fire, and one whale carcass. OR&R prepared 125 new incident reports, including four trajectory analyses. Cumulatively, these incidents posed the risk of almost 200,000 gallons of oils and chemicals. The volume numbers are approximate and based on initial information that may be updated in later investigations.
By Shane O'Neal, Office of Response and Restoration, and Greg McGowan, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response
When you think of California, some of the first things that come to mind might be sandy beaches, surfing, or sea otters floating in the kelp beds off the coast. It makes sense—the state has 3,427 miles of tidal shoreline! Along with these wild and wonderful natural resources, many important human resources line the coasts of the Golden State as well. Protecting these resources over thousands of miles is a tough job, but the first step is knowing what is there to protect.
Just like people who travel around the world, our trash travels and it can go pretty far! Even if it’s dropped in an inland location, litter can easily become marine debris. Then it can move around the ocean, being pushed around by wind and currents, and traveling to far off locations, from remote islands to the depths of the ocean.