18 - Sunday, February 25, 1990 - North Shore News suorze FLIGH TEC sHorE KAIGH LRBCH

COUNTERSPIL RESEARCH INC.

Local helps industry clean up its act

MUCH OF the high-tech ac- tivity taking place on the North Shore is informa- tion-based.

By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter

In West Vancouver, oil and chemical spill consultant Laurie Solsberg sells his expertise to help industry literally clean up its act. Solsberg set up Counterspil Research Inc. in 1986, after spend- ing more than a decade working for Environment Canada and for several consuiting companies.

*1’m known as a specialist in physical measures. So I'll be called upon by other firms doing related work to recommend response Strategies and cleanup equipment. I've helped out on sites and prepared contingency plans,”’ said Solsberg, who holds a masters degree in environmental engineer- ing from the University of Western Ontario.

While working with Environ- ment Canada, Solsberg wrote en- vironmental impact statements in the aftermath of oil spills and began to learn about oil spill response. He eventually moved on to research and development and became responsible for evaluating equipment.

Solsberg might well adopt the scouting movement’s ‘‘be prepared’’ credo as a corporate mission statement.

‘A lot of what I do is on a pre- incident basis. For example, we’ve prepared an oil spill contingency plan for the Canadian Transport company and a vessel called the Nahmint Carrier,”’ he said.

The vessel carries paper products from Port Alberni south to Long Beach, California and U.S. mar- kets. It returns carrying bunker fuel for the Port Alberni pulp mill operation.

““We've laid out a concise action plan with emergency contacts in terms of government agencies, contractors, who should be doing what and what the emergency response team should be comprised of,” he said. The information is carried aboard the vessel and backed by a reference document describing cleanup strategies and oil properties.

Another study he’s contributing to on a sub-contractual basis in- volves the setting of operational and safety standards for tugs and barges plying B.C. waters.

Solsberg is also in the process of writing an environmental informa- tion report on a gasoline additive plant proposed for the Edmonton area by Petro Canada and Finnish national oil company Neste Oy.

The additive is called methyl ter- tiary butyl ether (MTBE).

MTBE replaces the lead in gaso- line and reduces volatile organic emissions such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide emissions. In addition, it raises the octane number to make the combustion process more efficient. The ad- ditive will be shipped to Burnaby via the Trans Mountain pipeline, where it will be exported by tanker and distributed for local use.

Said Solsberg, ‘‘] particularly

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. NEWS Photo Terry Peters

WEST VANCOUVER-based oil and chemical spill consultant Laurie

Solsberg is helping industry clean up its act.

He founded Counterspil

Research Inc. after spending more than a decade with the federal gov-

ernment and several consulting firms.

like this Mm. (BE project because the product makes a lot of sense. I feel better as a citizen using gas con- taining this product.”’

In Salsberg’s words, ‘‘the screws are on industry’? to become good environmental citizens.

“The real turning point here | guess was with the Exxon Valdez. It put the thought into companies’ minds that this is serious stuff and that, we better be adequately equipped to dea! with emergency situations,’’ he said.

But he believes a benign balanc- ing act is possible, with en- vironmental integrity and industri- al activity equal on either side.

“Public pressure is excellent. We're going to get more stringent regulations and attention focused on this aspect of our lives. We have to maintain what our city of- fers, the port and related economic entities and the quality of the en- vironment,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘I think collectively, we’ve done a tremendous job — Transport Canada, Environment Canada and industry so far. The people involv- ed are just as young and concerned as we are. They fish and sail and

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