E The Magazine For Today's Female Executive August 2018 issue

She compared the agent to Dawn Dish
Soap -- the leading product used in the
cleaning of oiled birds for the past 20
years. Surprisingly, Alana found
that the bioremediation agent not
only cleaned the feathers more effectively,
but it also had the ability to immediately
reduce the toxic properties of
the oil, making it safer for both the responders
and the birds, and also caused
the oil to lose its adhesive properties so
that it lifts off the feathers, both within the
first 5 to 30 minutes of application.
This was a groundbreaking discovery in
light of the fact that most oiled birds
brought in for cleaning have to wait 12 to
24 hours in order to make
sure they are stabilized and hydrated before
undergoing the rigorous
decontamination process. Alana knew
that a bird's natural instinct is to
preen and attempt to clean it's feathers,
thus, during this waiting period, they’re
likely to be ingesting the toxic oil and/or
inhaling the poisonous hydrocarbon
fumes. As careful as the trained personal
are, some birds don't survive this critical
period while those that do often suffer long
term consequences. By applying the nontoxic
Enzyme Additive bioremediation
product immediately upon capturing
the birds, the toxic and adhesive properties
of the oil are greatly diminished thus
protecting the birds during this critical time.
This experiment proved that oiled birds
could be quickly freed of the petroleum
sludge more effectively and with far less
stress, while at the same time not creating
a toxic
wastewater that would otherwise have to be
dealt with as hazardous material. With less
trauma, the birds would be able to be returned
to the wild more quickly to take care of
themselves.
Science fairs further set the stage for
Alana's groundbreaking work
After taking first place in the Kern County
Science Fair, third in the California State Science
Fair and finishing as a semi-finalist in
the national BROADCOM MASTERS competition,
Alana went on to develop a new protocol
for cleaning oiled wildlife with this same
agent. Not only would the animals benefit,
the whole system of dealing with the toxic
wastewater (it takes an average of 200 gallons
of water to clean one bird) was successfully
refined as well.
With now more than 192 oiled birds and 103
marine mammals that have perished, what
does Alana think about the Santa Barbara oil
spill cleanup?
“It's crazy to have such a big spill just a few
hours away on the California coast. It seems
a lot different from the BP spill because it
looks like there's not a lot going on to clean it
up. I'm really glad though that they're not
dumping dispersants on it, but it's just really
frustrating that there is a bioremediation solution
and they're not using it. It's made me realize
the urgency of doing this work and proving
the effectiveness of this particular EA oil
spill agent. What's great about it is that it
doesn't introduce non-native microbes, it's
not just a nutrient that will wash away, it's an
enzyme that can attach itself to the oil molecules
and break it down for the native microbes
to digest. All that's left afterward is
CO2 and water - it's just a great meal for the
microbes and everything is left clean and
protected.” — Alana Tessman
Page 53 E The Magazine for Today’s Female Executive
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