About three months after the oil spill the U.S. team prepared a 

 "Preliminary Scientific Report on the Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill" covering 

 data up to May 15, 1978. This document covered only the period of acute 

 effects. A one-day symposium on the Amoco Cadiz spill was held in Brest 

 on June 7, 1978, and published soon after. It was obvious from these 

 initial observations that a period of years would be required to under- 

 stand what had happened to these portions of the coast where the oil had 

 settled in and not been cleansed promptly. 



During this early period of study of the spill Mr. Russ Mallatt of 

 the Amoco Trading Company had several discussions with Drs. Hess, 

 Laubier and Schneider. Mr. Mallatt was the General Manager for 

 Environmental Conservation and Toxicology of Amoco. Discussion with 

 Mr. Mallatt during the first two months after the spill identified 

 Amoco's interests in carrying out long-term studies of the effects of the 

 oil spill. These early contacts were followed up by substantial 

 discussions between Mr. John Linsner of Amoco and Mr. Eldon Greenberg, 

 General Counsel of NOAA. These discussions culminated with an agreement 

 being signed by Amoco and NOAA to carry out long-term studies of the 

 effects of the spill. The study would cover three years and would be a 

 joint French-U.S. activity. A Joint NOAA/CNEXO Scientific Commission was 

 established through another agreement between the two agencies signed 

 June 2, 1978. Amoco would transfer money to NOAA and the Joint 

 Commission, chaired by Drs. Hess and Laubier, would determine the 

 research program to be carried out, the investigators to do the research, 

 and the funding levels. The Joint Commission would also monitor the 

 progress of the studies and be responsible for making the final report. 

 One of its major goals was to make U.S. and French scientific teams work 

 together in a common effort to better understand the consequences of the 

 wreckage. 



The Joint Commission first met in Brest at the CNEXO Laboratory on 

 July 18, 1978. Taking into account the French program to assess the 

 long-term ecological impact of the oil spill funded by the Ministry of 

 Environment, it determined that the most important areas for research 

 were: 



1. Heavily impacted subtidal areas like the Abers and the Bays 

 of Morlaix and Lannion. 



2. Heavily impacted intertidal areas such as St. Efflam and the 

 salt marsh at He Grande. 



3. The detailed chemical evolution of the petroleum hydrocarbons. 



4. Biodegradation of petroleum. 



The second meeting of the Joint Commission, held in Washington, 

 D.C., on October 12, 1978, reviewed the work carried out during the first 

 months of the first year and planned the research program for the second 

 year's study. 



VI 



