National Response Capability to Oil Spills: A Systems Approach

The purpose of this paper is to describe a systems approach for the formulation of the overall problem of oil spill pollution response in the U.S. This formulation is part of an on-going MIT research project, sponsored by a consortium of government agencies and private organisations. The goal of the project is to create a model intended to be used as a tool for analysis of existing and alternative systems for oil spill response and to predict the economic impact of various response options. The paper discusses alternative objectives and provides a hierarchical framework for decisions for optimal oil spill response in three levels, strategic, tactical and operational. The financial and damage assessment aspects of the problem are also presented.