Protection and remediation of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea - Through the international environmental information center (http://pims.ed.ornl.gov)

The international Black Sea and Caspian Sea Environmental Information Center (BCSEIC) is a valuable research and communications resource to aid in the prevention of oil spills and, in the case of a spill, quick, effective clean-up action. Prevention and remediation are essential to protecting and maintaining the environment. The BCSEIC provides up-to-date, reliable, and easily accessible research and information. In addition, the web site serves as an international platform for discussion and sharing experiences on how to prevent and respond to oil spills with a focus on delivery and exchange of practical and real life information and dialogue. There is no cost or registration required for using the site. This BCSEIC offers information on region- and country-specific initiatives as well as information with worldwide applications. Interested organizations are encouraged to promote their technologies, services, or research activities through the web site. The site is being accessed at roughly 1,000 hits per day from 115 countries all over world. The oil industry strongly endorses the Black Sea and Caspian Sea Environmental Information Center and has representatives participate in all of the Center's workshops. The site is also home to a growing database of historical pollution-testing data from research institutes in the region. Recently, 31 years of pollution-testing data collected by the Ukrainian Scientific Center of the Ecology of the Sea (UkrSCES) was uploaded to the web site. The information includes compiled data, maps, graphic files, and background information on UkrSCES and contains a catalog of oceanographic data on the Black Sea (including chemistry and pollution), geophysical data, statistical evaluations of the data, meteorology, and aerology. Recent events in which the BCSEIC provided input and follow-up resources include the U.S.- Kazakhstan Energy Partnership fourth meeting, September 7-8, 2005, in Washington, D.C and the U.S.-Russian Workshop on Oil Spill Prevention and Response held at Interspill 2004. The Partnership's working groups met to exchange information and develop a program of work to guide the activities of the Partnership over the next twelve months, including establishing an information exchange between the U.S. Department of Energy, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and other Ministries of interest of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A U.S.-Russian Workshop on Oil Spill Prevention and Response was held at the Interspill 2004 conference in Trondheim, Norway to discuss energy issues of interest to both countries and to implement the oil spill prevention and response agreement developed between the United States and Russia over the past year. The BCSEIE's goal as a regional information and communications center is to facilitate cooperation among the countries of the region to help prevent oil spills and to develop contingency plans should a spill occur. For more information on how to schedule an "online, real-time" meeting, link data, research proposals, technology products and services from the website, please contact Melissa Lapsa ([email protected]).