Ampera france Improving methods for assessing the risks and impact of accidental marine pollution

Ampera France is the name of the French contribution to four multinational projects - Drifter, Ecoraid, Oildebeach and Toxprof - selected by the ERA-NET AMPERA network. Set up in 2005 following the Erika and Prestige oil spills, AMPERA was aimed at improving methods for combating marine pollution in European waters by better coordinating European research.

One of 17 European partners, Ampera France consisted of three French partners - Cedre, Ifremer and Gladys (University of Montpellier). The project incoporated pre-normative, methodological research and development of tools and services.

The objectives set by the project were essentially attained. In the case of Drifter, Cedre tested and selected tracers for monitoring the drift of slicks at sea in the laboratory and took part in on-site trials in Galicia. Ecoraid involved synthesising previous European projects which had focused on incorporating biomarkers into methods for assessing the impact of accidental pollution. In the case of Oildebeach, the Gladys project modelled mechanisms to monitor the evolution and break down of oil buried deep within beaches and worked on Galician beaches polluted by the Prestige. In the case of Toxprof, Ifremer, assisted by two subcontracted laboratories (Institut Pasteur in Lille and ISM at the University of Bordeaux in particular), studied the toxicology profile of the types of oil shipped in Europe using bioassays and biomarkers recommended by the European committee of the ICES WGBEC.

The project will continue to be promoted and developed among the scientific community and potential users. The results of Toxprof are currently being used to establish the Afnor norm and are being incoporated into the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

Lastly, the results obtained by Cedre and Ifremer will be used by them in their work advising authorities and directors of operations. Consideration is now being given to the potential interest of positioning a company on the market for pollution marker buoys.