Services

Support Services for Legal Actions in Environmental Pollution Incidents

ASA has an extensive record of providing scientific and environmental advice and services as well as expert testimony and witness in legal cases for a range of private and government clients. Whether our customers are private companies, non-government organizations, government agencies, or authorities, we pride ourselves on being flexible to meet the demands of customers in emergency situations, maritime accidents or environmental pollution incidents and spills that can occur anytime around the world.

Range of Scientific and Environmental Services

Criminal Cases – Marine Pollution

The majority of prosecutions in international jurisdictions involving marine oil or chemical spills are carried out as “criminal cases” with severe financial penalties being handed down by public prosecutors. In some cases jail sentences for those found responsible, including ship captains, supervisors, management and even corporate executives.

The onus on prosecutors in criminal cases is to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that the marine pollution offence has occurred by the party being prosecuted. ASA provides a range of services to assist government or maritime departments, agencies or authorities in collecting, assessing and presenting complex scientific and environmental evidence associated with the prosecution. Also ASA provides clients with unbiased, objective and skilled scientific advice and environmental forensic services in defending nuisance cases and for the protection of innocent parties in criminal pollution cases.

Civil Action – Marine Pollution

Civil action and litigation for environmental damage claims, compensation and restoration costs during marine pollution incidents are increasing in frequency, cost and complexity. Under most international legal jurisdictions civil actions require a decision based upon not reasonable doubt regarding the evidence but by the “weight of evidence” in the favour of the litigant or defendant.

ASA provides appropriate experts with the practical forensic chemical knowledge and credibility to examine complex scientific and environmental evidence, and make objective analysis of the case material for clients. ASA provides services to determine the accuracy and quality of the sampling and chemical analysis undertaken, the validity of the analytical techniques employed, chemical/biomarker fingerprinting methodology, spill modelling results and general data analysis.

Our scientists examine field reports and laboratory testing to determine whether:

ASA provides clients with a clear, unequivocal, sound, thorough and objective report or court statement backed by well prepared delivery of answers to questioning in court cases that helps achieve a successful and just outcome for the court in oil spill prosecutions or civil actions.

Oil Spill Identification and Spill Quantity Estimation

In the majority of court cases involving oil spills it is necessary to demonstrate to the court that the observed material is in fact “petroleum oil” also it is required to estimate the quantity of oil spilt as a measure of the severity of the pollution.

ASA provides a range of services to sample the oil, determine its nature (whether from natural “biogenic” origins or from petroleum sources “petrogenic”). We also have extensive experience in estimating oil quantity based upon visual, photographic and video evidence.

ASA staff also has had experience in sourcing satellite imagery of during oil spill incidents, interpreting the imagery and using this remote sensing data in successful court cases.

Interpretation of Spill Fingerprints and Biomarker Profiles

As there has been an increasing need for improved and sophisticated analytical techniques in pollution forensic chemistry, so has there been an increasing need for expertise in interpretation of the data and expert testimony for both the prosecution or for defendants.

At the core of forensic chemistry in marine oil and chemical spill incidents, and its use in court cases, is the specialised knowledge of the analytical technique of “spill chemical fingerprinting”, sometimes called “biomarker fingerprinting”. This involves the detailed analysis of the oil samples and an excellent understanding of the weathering, fate and behaviour of the different compounds spilt at sea and expertise in discerning critical compositional patterns in the analytical data that leads to appropriate and scientifically valid conclusions as to matching the source samples with the spill samples. Often this has been the “weak link” in many criminal or civil cases, for example the lack of credible witness, or that their testimony did not stand up under cross examination, or the complex scientific information was provided in a form that lacked clarity and completeness.

ASA provides clients with all the expertise necessary to assess oil fingerprinting reports, to assess their relevance and accuracy or alternatively provide clients with their own spill sampling and oil fingerprinting analysis services through our preferred laboratory, Leeder Consulting.

It is essential that qualified and experienced professional scientists assess and interpret the oil fingerprinting analytical data and provide a well-structured and detailed statement that can be read and understood by the layperson. Whether the court proceedings involves a jury, judge or magistrate none would have any detailed understanding of the technology, its use nor its limitations.

It is imperative that the expert witness/analyst provide a statement that includes a non-technical, objective and non-biased assessment of the data or information that will withstand robust legal challenges and scientific scrutiny. A skilled counsel will attempt to “muddy the waters” around complex technical evidence or wheel in other experts to cast doubt on the analysis leaving the court bewildered and thereby diminishing the “weight of that evidence”.

Spill Information Management (SIM) Services for Cost Recovery and Insurance Claims

SIM Services is essentially the documentation of environmental damage and incidents for investigations, resource damage assessments, response activities and cost recovery purposes. Traditional survey and environmental reports can be complex and lengthy. Increasingly we are using GIS based mapping linked to data, pictures, video and textual information to provide clear and interactive information for decision makers.

Data is gathered by a thorough and objective site investigation covering all aspects of the pollution incident and evidence collection by skilled environmental personnel. Site/incident information, site surveillance, geographic coordinates and observations undertaken by our personnel are backed by systematic video and photographic surveys.
These surveys can include:

Spill Modeling Services – Mystery Oil Spill Investigations

In a 2002 report by the OECD it was stated that “Every year, unscrupulous ship operators deliberately release more oil illegally into the global marine environment than all the combined oil spilled from the Aegean Sea (1992), the Braer (1993), the Sea Empress (1996), the Prestige (2002), and the Erika (2000).” Government regulators are becoming increasingly concerned with this increasing marine pollution problem and its environmental consequences and is aggressively tracking down these “midnight dumpers” using all techniques available to them including satellite surveillance and spill modelling.

ASA has used the ASA spill models for a number of government organizations to backtrack mystery spills at sea and on coastlines to their source. This modeling information has also been used as “admissible evidence” in court cases in some U.S. and Australian jurisdictions.

Reverse and forward spill modeling can also be used to demonstrate that a particular offshore exploration or production rig or merchant ship was not the guilty party to protect innocent parties in unjust legal claims or prosecutions.

Ref. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Cost Savings Stemming from Non-Compliance with International Environmental Regulations in the Maritime Sector, DSTI/DOT/MTC(2002)8/Final