347 



It is estimated that between 100 and 2000 tons of drilling fluids 

 are used to drill a single well. The metal content of these fluids 

 usually includes large amounts of barium, much lesser amounts of 

 chromium, and far lesser amounts of other metals. Such metals can affect 

 marine organisms. 



Thus, the Task Force wants to know how far and in what quantities 

 the drilling fluids and cuttings travel, whether they accumulate in 

 unique areas, and what their effects are on the benthic populations. To 

 get the answers, the Task Force formulated and recommended that the 

 Department of the Interior institute the several-year monitoring program 

 for Lease Sale #42. 



The geographic design of the program gives an insight into why 

 studies of a certain nature were performed, and how they are contributing 

 to our understanding of the effects of drilling. Figure 1 shows the 

 existing leases for Sale #42. They all lie in waters of depths 200 

 meters or shallower. The Figure also shows that Lease Sale #52 drops off 

 into deeper waters. Lease Sale #82 for the North Atlantic Planning Area 

 is bounded by the encompassing bold lines. 



The program calls for determining near a new well the short-term 

 effects of the drilling, and on a regional basis, the long-term. On the 

 regional basis, the 18 stations shown in Figure 2 are the sites for 



