Fifteen OSRL staff has completed five days of Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) training in Southampton, UK, that will enable OSRL to further enhance its SCAT capability and skill base. Conducted by SCAT science and operations expert Dr Ed Owens (Owens Coastal Consultants), the training comprised classroom learning and field trips to provide understanding of different shore types, response techniques and SCAT team organisation.

The course marks the first phase of a larger internal SCAT training and implementation project that aims to enhance a key part of OSRL’s skills base and contribution to a spill response by equipping OSRL personnel to lead SCAT Teams on incidents where the client expects OSRL to play a pivotal role in the shoreline response decision-making process. OSRL will be developing SCAT field manuals, training and exercise materials. Additionally, OSRL will be offering joint external SCAT training courses with Ed Owens in 2013.

OSRL Principal Consultant Dr Rob Holland said that during the 2010 Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico, OSRL quickly realised there was a need to further enhance its staff's competency in SCAT protocols and understanding of shoreline processes to complement knowledge of oiled shoreline cleanup response. Working closely with Ed Owens will give OSRL the technical grounding and skills to enhance its service to members in future incidents.

 (spill-international.com, Edited by Topco)