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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fingas, Mervin Basics of oil spill cleanup / written by Merv Fingas; edited by Jennifer Charles; 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56670-537-1 (alk. paper) 1. Oil spills. 2. Oil spills--Canada. I. Charles, Jennifer. TD427.P4 F55 2000 628.1′6833--dc21 00-056583 CIP

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The consent of CRC Press LLC does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained in writing from CRC Press LLC for such copying. Direct all inquiries to CRC Press LLC, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, Florida 33431. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation, without intent to infringe. © 2001 by CRC Press LLC

Lewis Publishers is an imprint of CRC Press LLC No claim to original U.S. Government works International Standard Book Number 1-56670-537-1 Library of Congress Card Number 00-056583 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Printed on acid-free paper

Cover photo Tugboats surround the Sea Empress — grounded and leaking oil — in an attempt to refloat the stricken ship at high tide off the coast of England. (Oil Spill Response Limited)

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Preface This book is a revised and expanded edition of The Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup, which was published by Environment Canada in 1978. With the rapid progress in cleanup technology since that time, this edition is long overdue. This new edition is designed to provide a broad knowledge of the cleanup and control of oil spills. It is aimed at both the general public and those who actually deal with the cleanup of oil spills, although it is not intended to serve as a field manual. The cleanup of oil spills that occur on water is emphasized, since these spills spread most rapidly and cause the most visible environmental damage. The book deals primarily with crude oils and petroleum products derived from crude oils. In addition to cleanup techniques, it covers how oil spills are measured and detected, and the properties of the oil and its long-term fate in the environment. The effects of an oil spill on the environment and the effectiveness of cleanup and control vary significantly with the type of oil spilled. The types of oil are reviewed to help the reader understand the different cleanup and control measures needed for different types of oil and environmental circumstances. A glossary of technical terms is provided at the back of the book. The final chapter of the book, which deals with the effects of oil spills on the environment and wildlife, has been added to this edition to provide a brief summary of this important topic. Because the effects of oil on the environment are serious and determine how and why we clean up spills, a summary of this topic seems an appropriate way to end this volume.

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Introduction Chapter 1 explains why oil spills happen and analyzes statistics on how often and where they occur. This includes a summary of Canadian spills, sources of oil spills into the seas worldwide, and a list of the largest oil spills that have occurred in the last 30 years. Chapter 2 deals with planning the response to an oil spill and the functions of oil spill response organizations in industry and government. Topics covered include contingency plans, training, the structure of response organizations, the duties of the on-scene commander and response team, oil spill cooperatives, and the role of other organizations and contractors in oil spill cleanup. The chemical composition and physical properties of the different types of oil are described in Chapter 3. The oils that are used in this book to illustrate the fate, behaviour, and cleanup of oil spills are introduced. These represent the primary oil and petroleum products used and spilled. They are: gasoline, diesel fuel, a light crude oil, a heavy crude oil, an intermediate fuel oil (IFO) which is made from a heavy residual oil and diesel fuel, a residual oil, sometimes called Bunker fuel, and crude oil emulsion. When oil spills on water, various transformation processes occur that are referred to as the “behaviour” of the oil. Two types of transformation processes are discussed in Chapter 4. The first is weathering, with emphasis on evaporation, the formation of water-in-oil emulsions, and natural dispersion, and the second is a group of processes related to the movement of oil in the environment. Spill modelling, wherein the behaviour and movement components of an oil spill are simulated using a computerized model, is also discussed. Chapter 5 reviews the technologies used to detect and track oil slicks. This includes both surface techniques and remote sensing techniques from aircraft and satellites, which are especially useful when oil is difficult to detect, such as at night, in ice, or among weeds. The analysis of samples to determine the oil’s properties, its degree of weathering, its source, or its potential impact on the environment is also discussed. The most common way to contain oil on water is to use devices known as booms. Chapter 6 covers the types of booms, their construction, operation principle, and uses, as well as how and why they fail. It also covers ancillary equipment used with booms, sorbent booms, and special-purpose and improvised booms. Chapter 7 summarizes methods to physically recover oil from the water surface, usually after it has been contained using booms. Devices known as skimmers are available to recover oil. The effectiveness and advantages and disadvantages of various types of skimmers are discussed. The use of sorbents, material that absorbs the oil, is also reviewed. In some cases, the oil is recovered manually, and often all of these approaches are used in a spill situation. Each method has limitations, depending on the amount of oil spilled, sea and weather conditions, and the geographical location of the spill. Storage, separation of oil from water and debris, and disposal of the oil are crucial parts of a cleanup operation. Chapter 8 covers temporary storage, separation,

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and disposal, as well as the types of pumps used to move the oil from one process to another. Treating the oil with chemical agents is another option for cleaning up oil spills on water. The use of these agents is discussed in Chapter 9. Dispersants are agents that promote the formation of small droplets of oil that disperse throughout the water column. Their effectiveness, toxicity, and application are reviewed. Other agents discussed are surface-washing agents or beach cleaners, emulsion breakers and inhibitors, recovery enhancers, solidifiers, sinking agents, and biodegradation agents. In-situ burning is an oil spill cleanup technique that involves controlled burning of the oil at or near the spill site. The advantages and disadvantages of this technique are discussed in Chapter 10, as well as conditions necessary for igniting and burning oil, burning efficiency and rates, and how containment is used to assist in burning the oil, and to ensure that the oil burns safely. The air emissions produced by burning oil are described and the results of the many analytical studies into these emissions are summarized. Oil spills on shorelines are more difficult and time-consuming to clean up than spills in other locations, and cleanup efforts on shorelines can cause more ecological and physical damage than if the removal of the oil is left to natural processes. Chapter 11 discusses the important criteria that are evaluated before deciding to clean up oil-contaminated shorelines. These criteria include the behaviour of oil in shoreline regions, the types of shorelines and their sensitivity to oil spills, the assessment process, shoreline protection measures, and recommended cleanup techniques. While oil spills on land are easier to deal with and receive less media attention than spills on water, oil spills on land make up the vast majority of oil spills in Canada. Chapter 12 describes the varying effects and behaviour of oil on different habitats and ecosystems. Spills that occur primarily on the surface of the land and those that occur partially or totally in the subsurface, and the different containment and cleanup methods for each type of spill are outlined. Chapter 13 reviews the many and varied effects of oil on different elements of the environment and summarizes the state of the art in assessing the damage caused by oil spills. The effects of oil on various organisms in the sea are discussed, as well as effects on freshwater systems, life on land, and the effects of oil spills on birds.

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About the Author Merv Fingas, M.Sc., Ph.D., has worked for more than 25 years in the field of oil spill technology at Environment Canada’s Environmental Technology Center in Ottawa, Ontario. As head of the Emergencies Science Division at the Centre, he currently conducts and manages research and development projects in the sciences as they relate to spill measurement, evaluation, and control. His specialties include spill dynamics and behaviour, studies of spill-treating agents, in-situ burning of oil spills, and the technology of personal protection equipment. He is called upon to make presentations on these subjects at international conferences around the world. Dr. Fingas earned his doctorate in environmental sciences from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He also holds master’s degrees in science and business administration from the University of Ottawa in Ontario, as well as a bachelor of arts degree and technical training in machining and electronics. Dr. Fingas has authored or co-authored more than 450 technical reports and papers on various aspects of oil spill research. These include writings on the development of new and improved procedures for testing dispersants and extracting solvents, studies of water-in-oil emulsions and dispersants, monitoring oil spill concentrations, identifying the source of oil spills, studies of chemical treating agents and their effectiveness, in-situ burning of oil spills and the emissions from such fires, oil spill remote sensors, and the review and selection of personal protection equipment. Dr. Fingas is on the editorial board of the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the Spill Science and Technology Bulletin, and the Journal of Micro-Column Separations, and has served as guest editor for several special issues of these publications. In 1999, he was appointed to the United States Academy of Sciences and is a member of an eight-person committee to review the sources, fate, and effects of oil in the sea. He is vice-chairman of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) F-20 Committee on Spill Standards, and chairman of the In-situ Oil Spill Burning Committee.

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Acknowledgments Major funding for the second edition of the Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup was provided by the Emergencies Science Division, the Environmental Emergencies Division, and Atlantic Region, Ontario Region, and Pacific & Yukon Region of Environment Canada. Additional funding was also provided by the United States Minerals Management Service and the Canadian Coast Guard. The author gratefully acknowledges the following people for detailed review of the text: Dagmar Etkin of Environmental Research Consulting for Chapter 1, Ed Owens of Owens Coastal Consulting for Chapters 11 and 12, Sandra Blenkinsopp of the Emergencies Science Division and Ken Lee of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for Chapter 13, and Ron Goodman of Imperial Oil for a final check on the entire manuscript. Among those who provided photographs for this publication are Joe Smith of FOSS Environmental Services in Seattle, Debra Simcek-Beatty of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Seattle, Ed Owens of Owens Coastal Consulting in Bainbridge Island, Washington, Al Allen of Spiltec in Woodinville, Washington, Hartec Management Consultants in Anchorage, and Oil Spill Response Limited in Southampton, UK. The text was edited by Jennifer Charles of Environment Canada’s Emergencies Science Division. Illustrations were provided by Lauren Forgie of Post-Modern Designs, Ottawa, Ontario and Paul Perreault, PeRO Design, Arnprior, Ontario. Many others, too numerous to list here, provided comments, support, advice, and encouragement and the author gratefully acknowledges their contributions.

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Contents Chapter 1 Oil Spills: Why Do They Happen and How Often? Chapter 2 Response to Oil Spills Chapter 3 Types of Oil and their Properties Chapter 4 Behaviour of Oil in the Environment Chapter 5 Detection, Analysis, and Remote Sensing of Oil Spills Chapter 6 Containment on Water Chapter 7 Oil Recovery on Water Chapter 8 Separation and Disposal Chapter 9 Spill-treating Agents Chapter 10 In-situ Burning Chapter 11 Shoreline Cleanup and Restoration Chapter 12 Oil Spills on Land Chapter 13 Effects of Oil Spills on the Environment Glossary

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List of Figures 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Summary of typical annual Canadian spills Summary of spills into navigable waters in U.S. (typical annual spills) Statistical summary of sources of oil into the seas worldwide Structure of a typical response organization Chemical compounds in oils Evaporation rates of different types of oil at 15°C Appearance, spreading, and evaporation loss of various oils spilled on an absorbent surface and in a beaker Comparison of spreading of different oils and fuels Effect of different wind and current directions on the movement of an oil slick Outputs from a typical spill trajectory model Chromatogram of a light crude oil Appearance of oil on a calm water surface Basic boom construction Typical containment booms Using booms for deflection Configurations for boom deployment Boom failure modes Bubble barrier Improvised dam used as a boom with underflow Improvised boom with underflow Oleophilic skimmers Weir skimmer Suction skimmers Elevating skimmers Submersion skimmer Operating principles of pumps Typical relationship between dispersant amount and sea energy Fire-resistant boom designs Shoreline profiles Penetration of oil into soil Subsurface movement

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List of Tables 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Major Spills Contents of Typical Contingency Plans Elements of Sensitivity Maps Typical Composition of Some Oils and Petroleum Products Typical Oil Properties Deflection Angles and Critical Current Velocities Performance of Typical Skimmers Performance of Some Sorbents Typical Dispersant Effectiveness Effectiveness and Toxicity of Some Surface-Washing Agents Effectiveness and Toxicity of Some Emulsion Breaking or Inhibitor Agents Effectiveness and Toxicity of Some Solidifiers Emissions from Burning and Evaporating Oil Slicks Cleanup Techniques and Shoreline Types Properties of Different Oils and their Effect on the Environment Estimated Recovery Times in Various Habitats Cleanup Methods for Surface Land Spills Cleanup Methods for Subsurface Spills Aquatic Toxicity of Water-Soluble Fractions of Common Oils

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