PWSSC: Headwaters to Ocean
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OIL SPILL RESPONSE EQUIPMENT POWER POINT NOTES
SLIDE 2: OIL SPILL RESPONSE
large quantities of equipment and
Beyond the fact that we are affected by
personnel. It is a multistage process
oil spills due to their effect on our
that can be time consuming and has
marine ecosystem and fisheries,
several potential bottlenecks in which
members of our community and
the system can break down. First you
probably some of your parents are
need to contain the oil with booms;
trained how to use this equipment
then you need to recover it using
through SERVS (Ship Escort/Response
skimmers, store it temporarily, treat it
Vessel System). Local fishing boats and
(remove the water) and then dispose of
crews know how to use this equipment
it. In each stage you handle the oil;
and they could be called upon to help in
equipment and personnel are needed.
the event of an oil spill.
The operation will be hampered if, in
any stage, the system breaks down.
SLIDE 3: METHODS
There are basically five ways to clean -
SLIDE 5: BOOMS
up oil spills. These are
Functions: Containment (for skimming

or burning)
Mechanical containment and
recovery (booms and skimmers)

Burning
SLIDE 6: bottom, a containment boom

Chemical methods (dispersants,
with skimmer
herders, solidifiers)
Diversion (to deflect oil from an area

Shoreline clean -up.
of shoreline or hatchery)

Bioremediation
Exclusion (to completely enclose an
area of shoreline)
SLIDE 4: MECHANICAL
CONTAINMENT AND RECOVERY
SLIDE 7: PARTS OF A BOOM
In the open water and near shore,
Flotation may be rigid foam or
mechanical skimming of oil is
inflatable air.
considered the response method least
The skirt is the main part of the boom,
harmful to the environment. It requires
and varies in size and material
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depending on what type of conditions
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with strong currents. Used in ope n
the boom is designed for. It is attached
water areas with large swells, strong
to a weighted anchor which keeps the
winds or tides
boom upright in the water.
This boom is towed by two boats. Oil is
funneled into the chamber at the back
SLIDE 8 BOOM FAILURES
of the V, concentrating it into a small
Booms can only be towed at slow speeds
area where a skimmer is used to skim it
and in relatively calm seas. (The speed
off.
and wave height that a boom can
tolerate depends on the specific boom
SLIDE 12
type and tactic. Generally speeds up to
Intertidal boom: inflated with water
5 or 6 mph and seas up to 3 to 6 feet.)
and air to conform to and seal the
If they are towed at higher speeds, they
beach as the tide goes in and out. Used
may not remain anchored upright in the
in calm and protected waters adjacent
water, and oil can be entrained under
to beaches, estuaries and other
the boom. In rough seas, the boom may
sensitive shoreline areas. Provides
not stay upright or oil may spill over
continuous prote ction throughout the
the top.
tide cycle.
SLIDE 9: TYPES OF BOOMS
SLIDE 13
Light -duty boom: foam filled “harbor
Fire boom: used to tow oil for burning
boom” used in calm and protected
waters.
SLIDE 14: TYPES OF SKIMMERS

Suction devices: draws in oil and
SLIDE 10
water like a vacuum cleaner; easily
Light -duty boom that is used in calm
clogged with debris; high H 2 O
water can also be made of floating
volume
sorbent material, the same material

used in oil spill cleanup pads.
Oleophilic surface units: uses the
principle of adhesion; oil adheres to
a surface, and then is scraped off
SLIDE 11
into a collecting tank. Most
Heavy-duty boom: must be inflated
skimmers work best on fresh, non -
before use, used for towing or areas
emulsified oil.
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PWSSC: Headwaters to Ocean

Disk [SLIDES 15 and 16]
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burned, and the oil is ignite d by

Rope: low viscosity oils [SLIDE 17
hand or by helicopter.
top]

Belt [SLIDE 17 right]
SLIDE 21: CHEMICAL METHODS

Brush [SLIDE 17 bottom left,
(dispersants, herders, solidifers)
SLIDE 18] (best for emulsified oil)
SLIDE 19
SLIDE 22: DISPERSANT
Weir skimmers: uses a weir positioned
In open water, chemical dispersants
at the oil/water interface to collect the
can be used to break oil into small
oil while collecting as little water as
droplets in the upper part of the water
possible. The oil is pumped through a
column. In a manner similar to dish
hose to a storage tank. Best for
soap, chemical dispersants allow oil to
light/medium oil in calm waters
disperse into the water column, so it
Hydrodynamic devices: effectiv e on
becomes diluted and can more quickly
light, thin sheen
be degraded by natural proc esses such
as biodegradation. Some studies show
that dispersants speed up natural
SLIDE 20: BURNING


In-situ burning works best on
dispersion, biodegradation and
fresher oil and specialized
evaporation. Other studies show
equipment and trained personnel
dispersants to be highly toxic and less
are necessary. Controversy exists
effective in cold waters. To be effective,
about this method's effectiveness
dispersants must be appli ed soon after
and hazards.
a spill, since weathered oils are hard to
disperse. Mixing energy from wind and
Burning can only be used in open -
waves is also needed.
water areas (more than 3 miles

away from populated areas) where
fumes will not be carried to
government before dispersants can
coastal communities where it can
be applied on a spill.

pose a health risk or cause fires to

Approval is required from the
Most effective when applied as soon
spread on shore.
as possible (minimize surface
Booms are used to tow and
transport)
contain a mass of oil to be
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o Dispersants can be applied by
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common and only used only
plane or boat (airborne
rarely.
application is most rapid)

Dispersant sometimes increases and
SLIDE 23: SOLIDIFIERS
sometimes decreases the rate of

biodegradation
when they come in contact with oil,
o May increase/ decrease
forming a floating rubber -like solid
biodegradation rates of
that is easy to remove from the
different components at once,
water’s surface.
or rate of biodegradation by

different microbes
Mixing is needed to increase contact
between oil solidifying agents; can
o May inhibit microbes’ ability to
be used in rough water for natural
attach to and intake
mixing energy.
hydrocarbons

Solidifiers cause a chemical reaction

Impractical for large oil spills
[Dispersant chemistry: Normally
because large amounts of solidifier
water and oil do not mix because
are needed for maximum
H2O is a polar molecule while
effectiveness (up to 3 times the
petroleum consists of nonpolar
volume of the spilled oil).
hydrocarbon chains. Chemical
dispersants consist of surfactant
SLIDE 25: SHORELINE CLEAN -UP
molecules with combined polar and
This involves the physical removal of
nonpolar properties (a hydrophilic
oil from beaches. This is the most labor
head and a lipophilic tail), so that a
and equipment intensive response
large mass of oil can be separated
method and techniques must be chosen
into small particles and dispersed
carefully.
throughout the water column.]
can sometimes create environmental
Removal of oiled sediments
problems such as beach erosion.
HERDERS (no slide/no pictures)

Running heavy equipment o n shorelines
These have the opposite effect of
can sometimes do more damage than
dispersants and function to push
the oil. A variety of shoreline clean -up
the oil back together. These are
methods are available. The one used
useful to concentrate the oil, so it
depends on the beach type, its location,
can be burnt. These are not
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PWSSC: Headwaters to Ocean
the type of oil and the equipment and
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SLIDE 26: BIOREMEDIATION
manpower available.
This is the use of bacteria to eat the oil.
There are many kinds of bacteria that
Citizen clean -up programs after the
occur naturally that consume oil to get
Exxon Valdez oil spill involved many
their nutrients. This response method
different techniques such as oiled
involves the release of large quantities
seaweed pickup on the beaches.
of bacteria into the oiled area to eat the
Seaweed is a natural oil collector so the
oil. While a useful tool, this has to be
more picked up meant less oil that
managed carefully and used in
spread to other bays and estuaries.
moderation to control oxygen depl etion.
Pom-poms made of oil -absorbent
If too many bacteria are added, they
material were also used to pick up oil.
will use all the oxygen in the area,
Bioremediation, the use of fertilizer to
leaving none for the other organisms,
increase the populations of oil eating
often resulting in a dead zone, where
bacteria, was another technique that
nothing can live and there is a die -off of
was tried. Also, a rock washing
animals. This was a common method
program was developed where rocks
used in the Gulf of Me xico after the
were cleaned by tying them up in
Deepwater Horizon spill.
specially designed bags so the ocean’s
tidal action could wash them.
Oil
absorbent pads were used to wipe off
rocks individually and for general
clean-up, i.e. boots of oil spill workers.
Another response, not always
recognized, is “no response.” After
the Exxon Valdez spill, NOAA studied
sites that were not cleaned up and
documented considerable survival and
recovery of marine life.
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