ASA in the News
2010
Enlisted to Help in Gulf 
New England companies are working on cleanup, studying spill’s effects By Erin Ailworth A handful of New England companies have set up operations in the Gulf of Mexico, helping to deal with the massive oil spill there — guiding seaworthy data-collecting robots, measuring currents, and analyzing oil and water samples. Now over a month old, the spill is considered the worst in US history. One of the first companies on the scene was Applied Science Associates of Rhode Island, which had a crew in the Gulf region within days of an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which triggered the spill. Under a contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Applied Science is compiling data for a “spill impact model,’’ said Nicole Mulanaphy, an environmental chemical engineer with the company. “Where we come into play is trying to identify how much damage has been done to the environment,’’ she said. “Right now, we’re in the data collecting phase.’’ Several Applied Science employees are currently out on boats taking water samples, measuring currents, and gathering other information, Mulanaphy said. |