The Chemical Institute of Canada Edmonton Section hosted an evening with Merv Fingas, whose lecture, “Ocean Oil-Spill: The Deepwater Horizon Blowout – Chemistry and Lessons” enlightened an audience of graduate students, academics and industrial fellows on Sept. 26. Fingas, the former Chief of the Emergencies Science Division of Environment Canada, discussed the $60-billion cleanup efforts following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast. Participants learned about the air and water quality issues, the effectiveness of booms and in-situ burning and how shrimp boat captains became Louisiana “spillionaires” during the 100-day effort to contain the spill.
This past August, the Edmonton Section also organized a hugely successful tour of Edmonton’s Gilead Alberta ULC, which specializes in the development and manufacture of investigational drugs.