Warehouse 19 at the Satsop Business Park became a pop-up triage center for feathered victims of an oil spill July 12.
The weeklong drill allowed contractors and state agencies to practice for a spill along the heavily used shipping lanes in and outside Grays Harbor.
It provided the opportunity for the many Twin Harbors companies that pay for services and locations to treat oiled wildlife in the case of a disaster to see where their money is going. The Renewable Energy Group at the Port of Grays Harbor is one of them, Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad another.
“Once every three years we have this drill, rotating them around the state,” said Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, state oil spill preparedness manager for the Department of Ecology.
More than 20 billion gallons of oil move through the state each year by vessel, rail and pipeline, according to the Department of Ecology. The critical shorebird habitat at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge is in the direct path of industrial shipping lanes heading to the Port and is at great risk in the event of a spill.
The need for a well-orchestrated, preplanned response to a spill was illustrated locally Dec. 22, 1988, when the barge Nestucca was struck by the tug that was supposed to tow it, spilling more than 230,000 gallons of fuel. The slick spread from Grays Harbor to beyond the Strait of Juan de Fuca. More than 13,000 birds were collected during the spill and treated in Ocean Shores. It’s estimated four times that many birds died as a result of the spill.
Part of the drill was locating a facility to house the many stations involved in handling a hundred or more birds during a spill. Warehouse 19, on the west end of the Satsop Business Park near the Grays Harbor Energy Center plant, was found to have adequate space, power and water to house the operation.
There are two response equipment contractors that need to work in tandem in this operation: Clean Rivers Cooperative, Inc., and Marine Spill Response Corporation. Both are nonprofit groups with millions of dollars in specialized equipment that can be transported and set up in response to a spill.
There are several specific steps that need to be taken to ensure the oiled birds and other marine life are taken care of properly. Michelle Bellizzi, response services manager for International Bird Rescue, an organization that specializes in rescuing water birds in emergency situations, walked the group through the process step-by-step.
Processing and intake
“All birds are evidence in the case of a spill,” said Bellizzi, meaning each individual bird must be carefully catalogued when it comes to the center. First, the bird is given a quick once-over to assess any obvious injuries and even the temperament of the animal. It is given a numbered, colored band for identification, a number it will carry throughout the process.
Next, the bird is given a complete medical examination: blood values, body temperature, whether the bird appears disoriented, injuries, everything is documented before the bird moves on.
Sterilization area
The birds are then moved nearby to an area with plastic-lined boxes, resembling cots in a triage unit. The bottom of the cages are netted for diving birds to mimic being on water. For shore birds, the bottom is lined so their feet can’t slip through to help avoid injuries.
“We keep this room at 85 degrees, close to their body temperature, so they won’t get cold and preen,” Bellizzi said. “That keeps them from ingesting any oil.”
The birds stay in this area for at least 24 hours, getting fed up to eight times a day via feeding tubes. Birds get frequent medical exams, and the feet of the heavier birds are wrapped to prevent pressure sores.
“Then we come up with a wash list,” Bellizzi said. “They need near normal blood values, heart rate and a good attitude” to move out of the sterilization area.
ICU
The intensive care trailer is for birds that might not fare as well as the others. “It’s not like a dead end. If they do recover, we take them back to the stabilization tent,” Bellizzi said. Some of the sicker birds will have to be euthanized, but only after their condition is considered beyond treatment and the bird is obviously suffering needlessly.
Wash tent
A warm detergent solution is applied to the birds from overhead lines. The hotter the water the more efficiently the birds can be cleaned, but temperatures of around 100 degrees, again close to their body temperature, can allow for a good cleaning.
“We work in twos, one person holding the animal, another washing,” Bellizzi said. The amount of time and effort needed to thoroughly clean the feathers varies on the condition of the bird or the type of oil.
“A hard, tarry oil takes longer for us and may require pretreatment,” said Bellizzi, who added mineral or castor oil can be used in these cases to loosen the grip of the oil. Each bird likely will get a scrubbing lasting close to an hour before moving on.
“The birds are not sedated so it requires really good skills and communication between the washer and the rinser,” Bellizzi said. Hidden injuries also can be found during the washing process and treated appropriately.
The washed birds are taken to a warm room with blow dryers. Birds are moved from pen to pen as they get more and more dry, said Bellizzi, who added this step takes skilled people who understand the specific needs of the species they are working with.
“When they are completely dry, we give them the afternoon off,” Bellizzi said. “We feed them, but there is no intense handling. Then it’s off to the pool.”
The pool
What gives a seabird its flotation ability is its feathers. Birds puff up their feathers to collect air, then have the ability to “zip” the feathers together locking in the air, Bellizzi said. Oil prevents this process so they lose their ability to float and can drown.
When they’re dry, they hit the pool, which looks like most standard above-ground swimming pools but is covered with netting and equipped with a high-tech filtration system that allows for the recycling of water to reduce the strain on whatever water source is tapped during the operation. Surface oils are skimmed off the top , and the water returned to the pool.
It can take two or three days for waterproofing abilities to return, depending on the species of bird. For shorebirds, they are put in an artificial rain situation up to eight times a day before the ability to zip their feathers returns.
Mammals
Gov. Jay Inslee signed an executive order this year calling for the protection of the region’s orcas. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has now coordinated a response in case of an oil spill to keep orcas out of areas covered in oil. Teams in the air located pods that might be on a collision course with a spill, putting them at risk of inhaling oil from the surface. Metal poles are lowered into the water from a group of state and volunteer boats. When struck, these poles send out a loud noise designed to move the orcas from harm’s way. The state also is working on electronic sounds that would have the same effect.
