MUN prof skeptical of oil company info in wake of spill

A Memorial University professor of biology and ocean science compared oil spills in the offshore industry to playing "Russian roulette" with wildlife.

Bill Montevecchitold CBC's St. John's Morning Show he's skeptical of information that comes from oil companies in the wake of incidents like Wednesday's, with a reported 12,000 litres of oil spilledat the Hibernia offshore oil platform, about 315 kilometres southeast of St. John's.

"We take it as totally acceptable that we take self-reports from oil companies about the oil they spill, and, perhaps more importantly, about how it was spilled and why it was spilled," said Montevecchi.

He called it a "failed system of reporting," noting Hibernia initially reported a 2013 spill as 10 litres, and it turned out to be 6,000 litres.

"How much would youtrust the final estimate? We don't have any independent assessments of what they're telling us," he said.

Five vessels, three wildlife observers and an airplane were all called into duty Friday to help mitigate and monitor the aftermath of the oil spill.

• 12,000 L of oil spilled into ocean off Newfoundland, causing oil rig shutdown

Two of the ships were being used tocollectsome of the oil from the North Atlantic, the remnants of the estimated12,000 litres thatdischarged Wednesday from one of Hibernia'sstorage cells into the ocean.

Wildlife has been spotted in the area, the platform's operator, Hibernia Management and Development Company, said in a press release, but so far there have been no reports ofaffected marine life.

Three wildlife observers are also on the scene, as well as person monitoring air quality, all of whom are reporting back every hour, the company said.

Surveillance of wildlife

A surveillance flight also set out Friday morning from St. John's to check on wildlife, as well as the location of the oil sheen, and report back to the response team.

HMDC said it is using a variety of other cleanup methods for the spill, including mechanically dispersing itand using tracking buoys.

Montevecchisaid any time oil spills, there's a potential for harm.

"Oil spills anywhere, and in the offshore, it's Russian roulette," said Montevecchi. "It depends when spills and birds come into contact."

One of the seabird species at risk is a birds known as Leach's storm petrel,Montevecchisaid.

"These are little, tiny, brown seabirds that occurs here in the millions, but their populations have halved in the last 30 years. Those birds feed off the edge of the Grand Bank."

Montevecchi saidthe birds are attracted to the lights of the Hibernia platformand generally feed on the surface of the water.

Critical of reports

He said he has no information on the state of the bird population afterthe spill, but he's wary of the information being provided fromHMDC to the media and the public.

HMDCsays there have been no reports of the most recent spill affecting wildlife, butMontevecchiisn't buying it.

"I don't think that's a statement that we put a lot of credence in," he said.

He puts more stock in thereports from wildlife observers in the area.

"I'm hoping that's Environment Canada and [Environment and Climate Change Canada]. They would be doing flyovers, so I hope that's the case that they're out there," he said.

Oil production remains at a standstill, after being shut down on Thursday in what the company has called a "proactive" measure.

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