Janne Fritt-Rasmussen

• Environmental Engineer Ph.d.
• Senior Researcher at Aarhus University

Herders are surface-collecting agents that can effectively reduce the surface area of oil slicks during a spill. Currently, two herding agents, Siltech OP-40 (OP-40) and ThickSlick 6535 (TS6535), are approved for use in oil spill response operations by the United States Environmental Protection Agency National Contingency Plan. These products may b...

Bowhead whales (Baleana mysticetus) are usually away from west Greenland waters during summer. Reported here is an observation of at least six bowhead whales in July 2022 in the Uummannaq Fjord system of west Greenland.

Chemical dispersion is an oil spill response strategy where dispersants are sprayed onto the oil slick to enhance oil dispersion into the water. However, accidental application could expose seabirds to dispersants, thereby negatively affecting their plumage. To understand the possible impacts on seabirds, feathers from common eider (Somateria molli...

This workpresents a first screening of electrodialytic remediation (EDR) of eutrophic freshwater sediments contaminated by heavy metals. Sediments were collected from two heavily contaminated waterbodies north of Copenhagen, Denmark (Raadvad millpond and Bagsvaerd lake), and a less contaminated lake in an agriculturally impacted area of Jutland, De...

In-situ burning is a well-proven technology for combatting oil spills offshore. However, as a coastline oil spill response at rocky shores it is novel and investigated here for the first time. The viability and efficiency of coastline in-situ burning of oil spills and the fate of the resulting burn residue was studied through a field experiment. Th...

In-situ burning (ISB) has been an oil combat technique studied since the 1950s. However, burning of the oil on the sea surface along the coastline, coastline ISB (cISB), is novel and was tested for the first time in the Arctic along a rocky coast in the summer 2017. A light crude oil was burned and effects of the cISB operation on the littoral zone...

Oil spills from ship traffic or oil production represent a huge threat to the environment. A controlled and thick oil slick is crucial in relation to combatting oil spills, not least for Arctic waters, before introducing the oil spill response method in situ burning. Recently, herding agents have been introduced, with success, as a measure to conta...

The priorities for oil spill response (OSR) are to protect people, prevent or mitigate environmental damages, and minimize the long-term impacts. Several analytic approaches have emerged in the field of spill impact mitigation assessment (SIMA), a science-based framework evolved from net environmental benefits analysis (NEBA), to broaden the focus...

In situ burning (ISB) is discussed to be one of the most suitable response strategies to combat oil spills in extreme conditions. After burning, a highly viscous and sticky residue is left and may over time pose a risk of exposing aquatic biota to toxic oil compounds. Scientific information about the impact of burn residues on the environment is sc...

Facilitated by a receding sea ice extent, new and shorter routes have led to increased maritime traffic in Arctic areas with an inherent risk for oil spills along Arctic rocky shorelines. To estimate natural oil removal under Arctic conditions, a crude oil and a heavy fuel oil were applied to slate tiles, mimicking rocky shore substratum, and place...

Small-scale experiments were performed in a custom-made laboratory rig to study the in-situ burning (ISB) behaviour for oils that were chemically confined using herders. The burning efficiency, the global mass burning rate and the regression rate are all reported. Two commercially available herding agents (ThickSlick 6535 and OP40) were used to thi...

The thickening effectiveness of two commercially available herding agents (OP40 and TS6535) was investigated parametrically in small-scale laboratory experiments with two different crude oils (ANS - Alaska North Slope and Grane). Both fresh and emulsified in cold water conditions were used in order to provide further information for in-situ burning...

Due to increased sea transport and offshore gas and oil exploration, the Arctic is facing an unprecedented risk of marine oil spills. Although beached oil spills can lead to acute and chronic impacts on intertidal ecosystems, the effects of oil spills on macro-algae in Arctic ecosystems is lacking. Here, we assessed the effect and response of the t...

This article introduces the EU Horizon 2020 research project GRACE (Integrated oil spill response actions and environmental effects), which focuses on a holistic approach towards investigating and understanding the hazardous impact of oil spills and the environmental impacts and benefits of a suite of marine oil spill response technologies in the c...

Oil spills in ice-covered waters pose unique challenges to remediation activities. In-situ burning is a potential remediation technique that has shown promising efficiency in earlier trials. An element of arctic in-situ burning is the feedback between the flame of a burn on oil-infiltrated sea ice and the melting ice beneath. A series of experiment...

New economic developments in the Arctic, such as shipping and oil exploitation, bring along unprecedented risks of marine oil spills. Microorganisms have played a central role in degrading and reducing the impact of the spilled oil during past oil disasters. However, in the Arctic, and in particular in its pristine areas, the self-cleaning capacity...

Research on the fate and effects of herding agents used to contain and thicken oil slicks for in situ burning in Arctic waters continues under the auspices of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology – Joint Industry Program (JIP). In 2014/2015 laboratory studies were conducted on the fate and effe...

Research on the fate and effects of herding agents used to contain and thicken oil slicks for in situ burning in Arctic waters continues under the auspices of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology – Joint Industry Program (JIP). In 2014/2015 laboratory studies were conducted on the fate and effe...

Researching the use of herding agents to contain and thicken oil slicks for in situ burning in Arctic waters continues under the auspices of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology-Joint Industry Programme. In 2014/2015 laboratory and test tank studies were conducted on defining potentials...

In-situ burning (ISB) offers an effective spill response tool in a variety of ice concentrations. The key to effective ISB is thick oil slicks. In low ice concentrations oil on water can rapidly spread to become too thin to ignite. The focus of herder research for Arctic oil spill response has therefore been on their application in drift ice condit...

The average herded slick thickness, surface distribution and burning efficiency of a light crude oil were studied in ice-infested water to determine the effectiveness of a chemical herder in facilitating the in-situ burning of oil. Experiments were performed in a small scale (1.0 m²) and an intermediate scale (19 m²) setup with open water and 3/10,...

It is well known, that in case of oil spill, seabirds are among the groups of animals most vulnerable. Even small amounts of oil can have lethal effects by destroying the waterproofing of their plumage, leading to loss of insulation and buoyancy. In the Arctic these impacts are intensified. To protect seabirds, a rapid removal of oil is crucial and...

Abstract In order to improve the potential of in-situ burning (ISB), the importance of the oil slick thickness on two pure oils (n-octane and dodecane) and two fresh crude oils (Grane and REBCO) was studied in relation to the regression rate, boilover tendency, mass loss rate, burning efficiency and flame height. The experiments were performed in a...

In situ burning is a method by which oil is burned at a spill site under controlled conditions, and this method is subject to increased interest due to its applicability in the Arctic. This paper reviews the literature regarding the characterization and environmental effects of burn residues in Arctic waters. The results of a systematic literature...

A 168-day period field study, carried out in Sisimiut, Greenland, assessed the potential to enhance soil remediation with the surplus heating from an incineration facility. This approach searches a feasible ex situ remediation process that could be extended throughout the year with low costs. Individual and synergistic effects of biostimulation wer...

This paper presents the recent research conducted at the Arctic Technology Centre, where different solutions for remediation of excavated oil contaminated soil in Greenlandic towns were tested. In the first work, soil polluted by light oil was treated with two different nutrient sources (substrate and N:P:K), stabilizer (crab shells) and heating (2...

One of the tasks of the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy (DCE) and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in the Greenlandic oil spill contingency planning is to secure that environmental impacts, due to oil exploration activities, are minimized and limited as much as possible. DCE is developing strategies for oil spill response by combin...

Troll B crude oil was weathered under Arctic conditions with different ice coverage: open water, 50% ice and 90% ice. Samples (100mL) were taken during the experiment and tested for ignitability in a burning cell. From each burning a residue sample was taken for analysis. The burning process removed the light compounds eluting before C13. No effect...

Contamination from tank installations in the Arctic is an important issue, since tanks are a necessary feature of all communities, and may be a source of local pollution. Soil samples from below and around three tank installations and one reference site in the Northwest Greenlandic village of Tasiusaq were analysed for the total content of hydrocar...

In situ burning of oil spills in the Arctic is a promising countermeasure. In spite of the research already conducted more knowledge is needed especially regarding burning of weathered oils. This paper uses a new laboratory burning cell (100 mL sample) to test three Norwegian crude oils, Grane (asphalthenic), Kobbe (light oil) and Norne (waxy), for...

This paper compares the ignitability of Troll B crude oil weathered under simulated Arctic conditions (0%, 50% and 90% ice cover). The experiments were performed in different scales at SINTEF's laboratories in Trondheim, field research station on Svalbard and in broken ice (70-90% ice cover) in the Barents Sea. Samples from the weathering experimen...

For the removal of oil spilled in ice-infested waters, in situ burning (ISB) is one of the response techniques with the highest potential for Arctic conditions, particularly in snow and dense ice. In order to make in situ burning more operational, there is a need to be able to predict the ignitability of oil spills as a function of oil type and wea...

For the removal of oil spilled in ice-infested waters, in situ burning (ISB) is one of the response techniques with the highest potential for conditions with dense ice and snow. In order to make ISB an operational tool, there is a need to better define the potential and limitations regarding oil types and weathering degree. A small laboratory scale...

Pannaria leproloma is shown to be a New Zealand endemic, and is characterized by coarse isidiomorphs/isidia, a high frequency of apothecia and the presence of two cytotoxic scabrosin esters, previously unknown from Pannariaceae, and present in 40% of the samples studied. It is not a member of the Pannaria sphinctrina group, as previously thought. I...

This paper presents for the first time laboratory results demonstrating electrodialytic removal of Cd from wastewater sludge, which is a method originally developed for soil remediation. During the remediation a stirred suspension of wastewater sludge was exposed to an electric dc field. The liquid/solid (ml/g fresh sludge) ratio was between 1.4 an...