The study of intersectoral interactions in the event of oil spills in Zayanderud River (a case study)

Due to the reckless driving behavior of a bulldozer driver belonging to Department of Transportation, Isfahan-Omidiyeh Oil Pipeline broke on Monday, 14 April 2008, and extensive oil spill was happen on 500m upstream of the river in the Chelvan from Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, and the river and the surrounding land was polluted. After the incident, the drinking water of some cities was completely cut off for 48 hours. This study was done to presents a successful example of intersectoral cooperation and interaction for the management of an environmental disaster. This applied research was carried out in five stages. First, a review of the literature was done about toxic substances spills and specially oil spill in water resources. Second, incident was reviewed by existing documents. In the third stage, through interviews with those responsible or involved in incident management, information identifying the roles, responsibilities and interventions and finally content analysis was used to analyze data and design interactive model for oil spill management. In response to the incident, widespread act was done by Governor, the Office of Water & Wastewater, the Environmental Protection Agency, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, The Fire and Safety Services, oil companies and other bodies responsible for cleaning the area and preventing entry of crude oil, dewatering and water treatment facilities. After cleaning the river and carrying out the necessary tests, water treatment carried out in compliance with relevant standards. Also, through coordination with Isfahan province, side problems of water cut were reduced to a minimum. Oil pollution is one of the most dangerous pollutants which threats groundwater and surface water resources. In order to reduce the risk of oil spills, predicting and identifying accident prone areas and measures cause the occurrence of such events are essential. So, the interaction and collaboration among involved organizations in pre-crisis phase of these kinds should be considered.