Re: Angela Broadwell's essay - She had a question for us about what happens when fuel is spilled in Antarctica. We deal with fuel in small quantities, 55 gallon drums or less. Everywhere we have fuel we store the container in a berm, and are equipped with a spill kit of an appropriate size just in case. For example, the 55 gallon drums are stored in flexible plastic tubs, and have barrel overpacks along with a lot of absorbent pads, plastic bags, and label tags. If we do have a spill, we stop it, clean it up, report it, and request help if needed to complete the cleanup. Most spills are a few drops dripping when transferring fuel to a generator or other equipment. If fueling is being done properly, the drips are caught in the plastic berm, and can just be wiped up and the absorbent pad bagged and tagged for safe disposal. If even a drop of fuel spills on the ice, the contaminated ice is dug up and placed in the bag for proper disposal, and a report is filed that included the exact GPS coordinates of the incident. If the spill is a large one (for example, if a fuel barrel broke while being moved and was therefore not contained in a berm) we would need to call the hazardous materials team to help clean it up. These specialists would make sure that all contaminated material was removed, as well as help with reporting. At the end of the season, a full report is collated of every spill that has occurred anywhere within the US Antarctic Program operations, and is filed internationally so all nations can check that others are treating the Antarctic with respect and operating in a safe manner according to the Antarctic Treaty. It's a pretty amazing example of international cooperation.
Hope that helps... Hugs, Stacy