Orrin Pilkey says accidents will happen.
The Duke University geology professor told Dome that if drilling for natural gas is allowed off the North Carolina coast, it's a matter of time before some kind of a spill happens.
But it won't necessarily be as catastrophic as drilling critics contend.
Pilkey said that several factors could determine the effects of a spill. If it's off the continental shelf, the spill would more likely affect the Virginia coast because of the gulf stream. The effects would also depend on whether the material was in a tanker or a pipeline.
He said pipelines are safer because they can be shut off during a storm, while tankers tend to have bigger spills that can damage large areas. But both are subject to what he called, borrowing a phrase, "normal accidents," or spills that are easy to foresee and impossible to prevent.
"The idea that we will get away scot-free is nonsense," he said.
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