Scientists to fake Arctic oil spills

A group of Arctic oil spill expertswho recently met in Halifax say they plan to create artificialspills in northernwaters to learn how to clean them up.

Six oil companies are backing a series of international experiments aimed at improving technology for cleaning up spills.

Norwegian scientistEvor Sinksus says more oil production and shipping traffic in the Arctic has increased the risk of spills but the clean-up technology is not well-developed.

"The response is not so good in ice-covered water as it is in open water," said Sinksus, a member of an international team which includes Canadians based at the Bedford Institute in Halifax.

During the next three years, the scientists plan to create oil spills in Canada'sBeaufort Sea and also in Arctic waters off of Norway.

It's the only way they can improve the technology, Sinksus said.