Relative values of damage assessed for the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast

The objective of the present work is to obtain a dollar value as a measure of the relative economic impact of an oil spill at various sites along the coasts of the contiguous United States of America. The model to be used is the NRDAM/CME of the U.S. Department of Interior. The test spills used were 10,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil, and of medium crude oil. Both background and tidal currents were suppressed. A wind speed of 10 knots was used; wind direction was chosen to ensure landfall of the oil. Other input variables were taken to be the default values to minimize the number of variables. The locations for the highs and lows of damages assessed are found to be different for the two oils studied. This method may be used as a measure of the relative economic importance of the various natural resources along the maritime coasts of the contiguous United States with respect to oil spills.