Categorical Exclusion Determination
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
September 1, 2017
Estimated Read Time min
This AAP covers Argonne National Laboratory staff performing field tests on the polymer foam on a boat. The objective is to determine how well the foam collect crude oil seeping naturally from the ocean floor into the water. Therefore, the crude oil is diluted by the seawater. The activities performed by Argonne National Laboratory staff includes: Accepting the foam pads from the crew after they have been in the water; running the pads through our hand-crank wringer; collecting the sorbed fluid in separate containers for later analysis; visually inspecting the collected fluid; all other activities, such as mounting the foam pads onto the boat, moving the foam pads into/out of the ocean, moving heavy containers or equipment, disposal of waste, decontamination of equipment, etc. will be excluded.