Testing of Chemical Dispersant Stockpile for Maritime Pollution Response

About

MCA - Maritime and Coastguard Agency awarded a contract to Ricardo AEA Ltd for testing chemical dispersants to ensure efficacy in line with international standards.

The MCA holds approximately 1200 tons of chemical dispersant, which requires testing every 5 years to confirm efficacy of 50% or higher.

In the last 5 years, less than half of the stockpile was tested, leaving 716 tons requiring testing, some of which has never been tested since initial purchase up to 30 years ago.

The MCA has sorted each lot into batches to test one from each batch every 5 years, equating to roughly 120 tests every 5 years.

The testing quality must be consistent with the Warren Springs Laboratory method.

The contract value is AUD 326,060.