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UC Davis expert advises BP on chemical dispersants in gulf oil spill
- Ron Tjeerdema
UC Davis environmental toxicology professor Ron Tjeerdema is part of a 40-member international panel of experts called to Louisiana to advise the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and BP on the continued subsurface application of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The NOAA’s “Deepwater Horizon Dispersant Use Panel” completed a two-day workshop on Thursday (May 27) and will issue a report next Wednesday (June 2) with input on the continued use of dispersants. This advice may be needed immediately if the "Top Kill" project to stem the flow of oil and gas from the ruptured well in the gulf is unsuccessful.
According to Tjeerdema, the current situation is unprecedented in both the means for chemical dispersant delivery (subsurface) and the massive quantities already used, more than 700,000 gallons.
Tjeerdema and other NOAA panel members representing academia, government, and industry met on Wednesday and Thursday (May 26–27) at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge to address the gulf oil spill emergency. The workshop was hosted by NOAA's Coastal Research and Response Center.
Tjeerdema is chair of the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology. His research focuses on characterizing environmental fate processes as well as the toxic actions of pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, and dispersants via in vivo NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and NMR-based metabolomics. One application of his research has been to help oil-spill responders determine the best course of action regarding the use of chemical dispersants during emergencies.
Two other UC Davis stories related to the Gulf oil spill:
