It is our firm belief that to counter an oil spill of any magnitude the timeline for the spill cleanup should be short and preferably have an upper bound of 4 months (to account for poor weather) so that the environment can be restored to its pre-spill level sooner and the ecosystem is preserved free from long term irreversible effects. This upper bound mandates that the solution is completely environmentally-friendly and has very low levels of toxicity.

SpillRemed (Marine), which is included in the USEPA's NCP list as a bioremediation agent, is more than a bioremediation agent and therefore should not be limited to its use as a polishing tool, but also as first-line, second-line response to cleanup oil spills effectively. SpillRemed (Marine) is available in a ready-to-use liquid form and requires no addition of nutrients. Further, SpillRemed (Marine) is prepared in an oleophilic matrix so that the population of the bacteria attach directly to film of oil and aggressively consume the oil without leaving any residue for cleanup; the population of bacteria is not lost in water as in many other water-based formulations. The sheen on the water in the Bay area spill can therefore be removed using SpillRemed (Marine) within 96 hours, by the time the reader comes across this release, for example.

Action plan to treat the oil spill in the Bay

Based on our experience in treating oil contamination in the US and Brazil we are convinced of the applicability of our solution to the current oil spill in the Bay area and the following sections outline the aspects that the plan needs to cover to restore the environment, the marine life and the economy:

• Eliminating the fumes that might be hampering the cleanup effort
• These fumes need to be eliminated so that the cleanup crew has one less thing to worry about. SpillRemed (Marine) has properties that can eliminate fuel oil fumes instantly. These hydrocarbon fumes have known to have some effect on the respiratory tract when in close contact, which explains the gas masks that the workers need to don before commencing work. Adding SpillRemed to the soil while cleanup is being performed will help reduce the fumes that the worker's gas masks need to block. In our field studies have seen that the quality of work increases dramatically increases by adding SpillRemed periodically and in small quantities. We, at Sarva, place a great deal of emphasis on cost of an oil spill cleanup. Our goal is to be able to treat 1 gallon of oil under $10.00 and in most of the spills in the past we have achieved similar end goals.
• Reducing toxicity effects of the fuel oil spill to the marine organisms
• SpillRemed has been found to reduce the toxic effects of fuels under various environments such as
  
• Restoration of vegetation after a diesel spill on highways
• Promoting growth of protozoans and other species in the food chain in oily waste waters after the oil has been consumed by the oil-eating bacteria. This convinces a field technician of the reduction of toxicity as result of SpillRemed.
• SpillRemed is expected to restore the bay waters to its pre-spill ecosystem in a very short time.
  
• Eliminate sheen on the water surface
  
• The sheen should be removed from all the parts of the bay area. Since the Valdez spill, oil spill dispersants are not added to a spill as the effect of a dispersant is more detrimental than the oil itself. SpillRemed, a bioremediation agent is safe, effective and quick, making it a strategic tool to reduce the overall cost of cleanup. The following table provides the reader with an outline of the costs involved, the examples exaggerate the thickness of the film for illustrative purposes only:
• A rough estimate presented on the basis of our past projects

  Length of the sheen (in mts)	Width of the sheen (in mts)	thickness of the sheen (in mts)	Estimated amount of oil (in liters/gallons)	Estimated amount of Spillremed (in liters/gallons)
  1610	10	.002	32000 liters (8000 gallons)	3200 liters (~ 800 gallons)
  1610	5	.002	16000 liters (4000 gallons)	1600 liters (~ 400 gallons)

• The oil that has dissolved in the water column (to reduce the BTEX concentrations, if any)
  
• These are highly sensitive compounds and are generally a measure of the contaminant levels in groundwater, however, we extend these limits to marine life as well, since, as we have all learned in school, that the food chain starts with the protozoan and progresses all the way up.
  
• The shoreline cleanup
• Some part of the spilled oil will probably be converted into tar balls, and therefore can be collected by physical methods (might be laborious and painstaking)
• The part of oil that has seeped into the shore needs to be remediated so that the shore is rendered harmless from the effects of the spill.
  
• The cleanup of fishermen's boats and trawlers so that the they can get back to work:
  
• Fishing is an industry that gets adversely affected due to an oil spill, as is evidenced in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez, and the Bay Area spill is no exception. It is our belief that the fishing industry should not be affected adversely for long as a result of this spill to save what is left of the fishing season.
• Here we need to cleanup the marinas and the boats. Cleanup of bunker fuel laden boats will probably take 3 - 4 weeks, but the cleanup will be safe and complete.  SpillRemed has been seen to clean oiled feathers.
  
• Follow-up treatment of any oil remaining after 4 months of treatment.

We believe that we can fight this spill effectively using SpillRemed as a strategic tool supplementing the efforts that are already underway and that the effects of an oil spill need not, rather should not last for years.