Oil Spills and Animal Hair

I haven't said much about the oil spill in the Gulf. It has been on my mind daily though. In the summer of 2005 I worked on the cleanup of the spill on Lake Wabamum in Alberta. A CN train derailed and spilled a million litres of crude oil into the lake. The aftermath was grim. We received almost 1000 oiled birds - 1/2 of them were dead when they arrived at the centre. We saw mainly grebes of all varieties, ducks, geese and a few loons (all the loons died). In the end, after weeks of a massive effort by a international wildlife response team, veterinarians, technicians and 100's of volunteers approximately 100 birds survived and were released back into the wild. As one of three veterinarians, my job was largely one of euthanizing those who were not going to make it. I hoped I would never see such a disaster again.
Here are some pictures from that summer - of a Western Grebe who did make it.

Oiled but stable - ready for a bath

Yes, we really do use Dawn Dish Washing Detergent

In the outdoor recovery pools

Release day - one of the most rewarding experiences ever

The Gulf spill is of course much bigger and the oil keeps coming. It has been over 3 weeks now. It feels to me as if the world is holding it's breath, just waiting for the worst to happen as the oil reaches the shores.
So last week when I heard about an project to make oil absorbent booms from hair I was intrigued. It sounds so simple. People all over the US and Canada are being asked to donate their pet's hair and their own hair (from normal hair cuts - no need to go out and shave your head) to a company called A Matter of Trust http://www.amatteroftrust.org/ . Volunteers stuff panty-hose with the hair to make absorbent booms to soak up the oil.

I started eyeing my modest collection of dog and cat hair. The stuff I'd slowly collected from my own pets and all of my friends and clients - my stash. Does it have to go? And what about all the weavers and spinners I know with basements full of fleece - after all wool is hair.
So for the last week I've been trying to find out if these booms really work and do the people who are in charge of the cleanup really want them? I've checked with all the oil response groups I can think of. They are using millions of super-absorbent, synthetic booms but I cannot find any mention of the hair ones being deployed. I spoke with a friend who is a biologist. He was skeptical. Apparently BP has had over 3500 calls with ideas and offers of how to clean up the spill. One oil spill scientist says hair won't work if the oil is thick. The oil I encountered at Lake Wabamum was thick - it was tar.
Heaven knows, like everyone else I want to do something to help. It feels awful to watch helplessly, but for now, I think I will hang onto my stash and keep watching to see how this unfolds. I'll keep you posted.