Abstract Emergency responders historically have not been provided with specializedtraining or assistance for spills and fires at oil field sites. This situationhas lead to potential safety hazards for responders, and, in some cases, inappropriate response efforts have been made. Planning for emergency oil fieldincidents has been hampered by the sheer number of individual oil field sites. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, in conjunction with the Ohio oil andgas industry, conceived a multimedia program to provide training and resourcesto emergency responders for dealing with oil field emergencies and to providebetter resources to response planners. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), through funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's National PetroleumTechnology Office, developed an innovative interactive web site that providesonline information to emergency responders and response planners.
The web site consists of three modules that allow responders and planners torapidly obtain information about well sites. The "Find a Well" module utilizesmultiple graphical information system (GIS) layers and the Ohio Risk-Based DataManagement System (RBDMS) database to allow users to identify wellowner/operators, and well proximity to roads, streams, schools, and otherimportant features. Using Argonne's Maps and Data (MaD) Java applet, users areable to download and interact with detailed maps by using standard webbrowsers. The web site also includes "Reporting" and "Resources" modules toprovide information to users on the necessary reporting requirements followinga spill or fire, as well as access to many other government and privateresources for additional information.
The Ohio web site is considered to be a pilot project and can be modifiedfor use in other states or for other purposes, such as Safe Drinking Water Actsource water protection programs, for example. Depending on a user's needs, additional GIS data layers can be added to the system to provide moreinformation.
Introduction Emergency responders face a wide range of situations when they respond toaccidents, fires, spills, and other emergency events. Although many respondersare well trained, few have been given specialized training specific toincidents at oil and gas wells. This unfamiliarity with oil and gas facilities, practices, and hazards can lead to unsafe situations for responders. Onoccasion, it can also result in inappropriate response practices. To overcomethis liability, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in conjunctionwith the Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) and the Ohio Oil and Gas EnergyEducation Program (OOGEEP), conceived a multimedia program to provide trainingand resources to emergency responders for dealing with oil field emergencies. OOGA and OOGEEP have developed a training manual and plan to complement it witha training video, a CD to train other trainers, a series of permanent trainingfacilities, and a mobile training trailer.
This paper describes another component of the emergency response informationsystem (an interactive web site, the Oil and Gas Well Emergency ResponseSystem. The web site contains three main modules, as shown in Figure 1. The"Find a Well" module provides information on individual oil and gas wells, their owners, their locations, and emergency contact persons. The "Reporting"module identifies government agencies that must be contacted following anincident and information that must be provided. The "Resources" module provideslinks to numerous government agencies and other organizations that may play arole in spill or release incidents and offers Material Safety Data Sheets forthousands of chemicals.
Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's(DOE's) Office of Fossil Energy at the request of the Ohio DNR, OOGA, andOOGEEP. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) was chosen to develop the website. The resulting site can be viewed at .