Arctic Marine Oilspills: Technical Seminar

The AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response is an international forum on preventing, assessing, containing, and cleaning up spills of hazardous materials in every type of environment. It also deals with solutions for remediating and rehabilitating contaminated sites.

The annual AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response is organized and sponsored by the Emergencies Science and Technology Section (ESTS), Science and Technology Branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Former Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP)

In 2023, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) will host the 45th AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response. The first Technical Seminar was held in Edmonton, AB in March 1978 and began after the Government of Canada launched the Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP) in 1977. The initial forum was organized to provide AMOP contractors the opportunity to present reviews and results of their studies as well as generate new research and development ideas. The focus was to improve the knowledge base and technology for cleaning up Arctic and marine oil spills. The AMOP Technical Seminar soon evolved into an international technical forum about oil spills in any environment as well as other spill-related topics. In 1983, the first Technical Seminar on Chemical Spills (TSOCS) was held in conjunction with the AMOP Seminar. In 1999, the Technical Seminar for Phytoremediation/Biotechnology Solutions for Spills (PHYTO) was added. This seminar changed to Biotechnology Solutions for Spills (BIOSS) and then to Biological Solutions for Site Remediation, Restoration, and Rehabilitation (BIOSOLR3).  The dynamic field of spill response compelled that, in 2008 all three Seminars amalgamate under the name AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response.

While the Seminar retains its recognized moniker, AMOP, the scope of the seminar has been broadened to encompass spills of oil and hazardous materials in every type of environment. A committee of experts provides guidance to the overall direction of AMOP and the peer-review process to ensure the continued scientific integrity of the technical seminar. Special sessions have been an integral feature of AMOP allowing the Technical Seminar to address current spill priorities. A few examples of spill response special sessions over the years are: contaminated sites or Brownfields, CBRNE and counterterrorism incidents, inland freshwater spills, deep-water offshore oil spills, as well as pipeline, rail and ship source incidents. 

The Proceedings of the AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response have evolved into a unique collection of papers on environmental topics related to oil and chemical spills. A downloadable bibliography is available and provided to participants at the technical seminar (Bibliography 1978-2022 - PDF, 2.51 MB). Access to individual papers from AMOP Technical Seminar proceedings can be obtained directly from the author(s), by written request to Emergencies Science and Technology Section (ESTS) or by contacting ECCC Library Services [bibliotheque-library@ec.gc.ca] for more information or searching the Federal Science Library catalogue.

For additional information, please contact:

Emergencies Science and Technology Section
Environment and Climate Change Canada
335 River Road
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0H3

Telephone: (613) 998-9622
Fax: (613) 991-9485
Email: SpillSeminars@ec.gc.ca

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