6

Grote  -  Introductory  Remarks

provide  guidance  for  the  national  spill  manager,  the  German  Central  Command  for  Maritime
Emergencies.
On  November  12th  and  13th  2015  the  workshop  „The  use  of  dispersants  to  combat  oil  spills
in  Germany  at  sea”  was  held  in  Berlin.  Experts  from  authorities,  research  institutions  and
international  organizations  summarized  and  discussed  the  current  scientific  knowledge  on
risks  and  benefits.  It  was  organized  by  the  Federal  Institute  for  Risk  Assessment  (BfR)  in
cooperation  with  the  Central  Command  for  Maritime  Emergencies  (HK),  the  Federal  Institute
of  Flydrology  (BfG),  the  Federal  Maritime  and  Flydrographic  Agency  (BSFI),  and  the  Independent ­
  Group  of  Environmental  Experts  “Consequences  of  Pollution  Accidents”  at  the  Central ­
  Command  for  Maritime  Emergencies  (UEG).
This  report  is  intended  to  document  the  status  of  knowledge  on  the  potential  effects  and  the
trade-off  of  risks  and  benefits  of  dispersant  use  as  oil  spill  response  with  a  special  focus  on
the  situation  in  Germany.  It  provides  outlines  of  presentations  held  at  the  two  day  event  highlighting ­
  the  main  results  and  conclusions.