Response person manually applying
fertilizer to a "test square" as part of a
bioremediation experiment

Biological agents

Biological agents are chemicals or
organisms that increase the rate at which
natural biodegradation occurs. Biodegradation
is a process by which microorganisms such as
bacteria, fungi, and yeasts break down
complex compounds into simpler products to
obtain energy and nutrients. Biodegradation of
oil is a natural process that slowly -- sometimes
over the course of several years -- removes oil
from the aquatic environment. However, rapid
removal of spilled oil from shorelines and
wetlands is necessary in order to minimize
potential environmental damage to these
sensitive habitats.

Bioremediation technologies can help
biodegradation processes work faster.
Bioremediation refers to the act of adding
materials to the environment, such as fertilizers
or microorganisms, that will increase the rate at
which natural biodegradation occurs. Two
bioremediation technologies that are currently
being used in the United States for oil spill
cleanups are fertilization and seeding.

Fertilization, also known as nutrient
enrichment, is the method of adding nutrients
such as phosphorus and nitrogen to a

14

contaminated environment to stimulate the
growth of the microorganisms capable of
biodegradation. Limited supplies of these
necessary nutrients usually control the growth
of native microorganism populations. When
nutrients are added, the native microorganism
population can grow rapidly, potentially
increasing the rate of biodegradation.

Seeding is the addition of
microorganisms to the existing native oil-
degrading population. Sometimes species of
bacteria that do not naturally exist in an area
will be added to the native population. As with
fertilization, the purpose of seeding is to
increase the population of microorganisms that
can biodegrade the spilled oil.

Gelling agents

Gelling agents, also known as
solidifiers, are chemicals that react with oil to
form rubber-like solids. With small spills, these
chemicals can be applied by hand and left to
mix on their own. For treating larger spills, the
chemicals are applied to the oil, then mixed in
by the force of high-pressure water streams.
The gelled oil is removed from the water by
nets, suction equipment, or skimmers, and is
sometimes recovered and reused after being
mixed with fuel oil.

Gelling agents can be used in calm to
moderately rough seas, since the mixing
energy provided by waves increases the
contact between the chemicals and the oil,
resulting in greater solidification.

There is one drawback to the use of
gelling agents, Large quantities of the material
must often be applied, as much as three times
the volume of the spill. For oil spills of millions
of gallons it is impractical to store, move, and
apply such large quantities of material.



The National Response Team

The National Response Team (NRT) is
an organization composed of fifteen federal
agencies, each of which has responsibilities in
environmental areas and expertise in various
aspects of emergency response to pollution
incidents. Although the NRT does not respond
directly to incidents, it is responsible for three
major activities related to managing oil spill
response: (1) distributing information,

(2) planning for emergencies, and (8) training
for emergencies.

Distributing information

The NRT is responsible for ensuring
that information about oil spills -- technical,
financial, and operational -- is available to all
members of the team. This information is
collected primarily by NRT committees whose
purpose is to focus attention on specific
issues, then collect and disseminate .
information on those issues to other members
of the team.

Planning for emergencies

The NRT ensures that the roles of
federal agencies on the Team for oil spill
emergency response are clearly outlined in the
National Contingency Plan. After a major spill
event, the effectiveness of the response is
carefully assessed by the NRT. The NRT may
use information gathered from the assessment
to make recommendations for improving the
National Contingency Plan and the National
Response System.

The NRT may be asked to help
Regional Response Teams (see below)
develop Regional Contingency Plans. The
NRT also reviews these plans to ensure that
they comply with federal policies on
emergency response.

Training for emergencies

One important aspect of any
emergency response is preparedness, which is
best developed by training. Although most
training is actually performed by state and

local personnel, the NRT develops training
courses and programs, coordinates federal
agency training efforts, and provides
information to regional, state and local officials
about training needs and courses.

Supporting RRTs

The NRT supports Regional Response
Teams (RRTs) by reviewing Regional
Contingency Plans and assuring that they are
consistent with national policies on oil spill
cleanup. The NRT also supports RRTS by
monitoring and assessing RRT effectiveness
during an oil spill cleanup activity. The NRT
may ask an RRT to focus on specific lessons
learned from a specific incident and to share
those lessons with other members of the
National Response System. In this way, the
RRTs can improve their own Regional
Contingency Plans while helping to solve
problems that might be occurring elsewhere
within the National Response System.

Regional Response Teams

There are thirteen Regional Response
Teams (RRTs) in the U.S., each representing a
particular geographic region (including the
Caribbean and the Pacific Basin). RRTs are
composed of representatives from field offices
of the federal agencies that make up the NRT
as well as state representatives. The four
major responsibilities of RRTs are (1) response,
(2) planning, (8) training, and (4) coordination.

Response

RRTs provide a forum for federal
agency field offices and state agencies to
exchange information about their abilities to
respond to OSCs' requests for assistance. As
with the NRT, RRT members do not respond
directly to spills but may be called upon to
provide technical advice, equipment, or
manpower to assist with a response.

Planning
Each RRT develops a Regional

Contingency Plan to ensure that during an

35



EXAMPLES OF CONTINGENCY PLANS

Many different kinds of contingency
plans exist for dealing with oil spills. Some
contingency plans are designed to help deal
with an oil spill that might occur at a very
specific place, such as an oil storage or
refining facility. Others are designed to help to
deal with spills that might occur anywhere
within a large geographic region. In fact, the
federal government has designed a National
plan that establishes the process for dealing
with any spill that occurs in the United States.

Facility Contingency Plans

Every facility in the United States that
stores or refines oil products, whether owned
by a private company or operated by a
government agency, is required to develop a
plan for dealing with an accidental release of
oil on its property. These contingency plans
typically contain information such as

. the company’s or agency’s policies for
dealing with spills

. job descriptions for various personnel
within the company or agency and
their responsibilities for dealing with a

spill
. proper procedures for notifying and
alerting employees and response
personnel
. rules and regulations to be followed to

control and clean up spills

Regional Contingency Plans

Federal and state government
agencies with responsibility for protecting the
environment develop contingency plans for
specific geographic regions of the United
States (see map). These plans include
detailed information about resources (such as
equipment and trained response personnel)

available from the federal government and the
states or commonwealths within particular
regions. They describe the roles and
responsibilities of each state and federal
agency during a spill, and how agencies will
respond if they are called upon in an
emergency. These plans also describe how
two or more regions might interact, such as
when a spill occurs in a river that flows
between regions, to assure that a spill is
controlled and cleaned up in a timely and safe
manner.

Regional plans are often brought into
action when facilities are unable to handle
spills on their own. In such situations, special
teams -- called Regional Response Teams, or
RRTs -- may be called upon to provide
technical advice as well as cleanup equipment
and specially trained personnel. RRTs conduct
training exercises to test the abilities of federal
and state agencies to respond quickly and to
work together to control and clean up spills.
These exercises help states and the federal
government to identify problems with their oil
spill response plans so that the plans can be
improved if necessary.

The National Contingency Plan

The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has designed a plan, called the
National Contingency Plan or NCP, to ensure
that resources and expertise of the federal
government would be available for those
relatively rare, but very serious, oil spills that
require a national response, This plan was
designed primarily to assist with coordinating
the various federal agencies that are
responsible for dealing with oil spill
emergencies.

The NCP was developed and is
continuously updated through efforts of the
National Response Team (NRT), which is
composed of representatives from 14 different
federal agencies, including EPA, the U.S.
Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. Although the NRT does
not respond directly to incidents, it stands
ready to offer technical advice and

31





It is necessary for stationary booms to
be monitored or tended due to changes
produced by shifting tides, tidal currents,
winds, or other factors that influence water
depth and direction and force of motion.
Boom tending requires round-the-clock
personnel to monitor and adjust the
equipment.

The forces exerted by currents, waves,
and wind may significantly impair the ability of
aboom to hold oil, Currents may wash oil
beneath a boom’s skirt. Wind and waves can
force oil over the top of the boom’s freeboard
or even flatten the boom into the water,
causing it to release the contained oil.
Mechanical problems and improper mooring
can also cause a boom to fail.

While most booms perform well in
gentle seas with smooth, long waves, rough
and choppy water is likely to contribute to
boom failure. In some circumstances,
lengthening a boom’s skirt or freeboard can
aid in containing the oil. However, because
they have more resistance to natural forces
such as wind, waves, and currents, these
oversized booms are more prone to failure or
leakage than are smaller ones. Generally,
booms will not operate properly when waves
are higher than one meter or currents are
moving faster than one knot per hour.

Other Barriers: Improvised Booms

When a spill occurs and no
containment equipment is available, barriers
can be improvised from whatever materials are
at hand. Although they are most often used as
temporary measures to hold or divert oil until
more sophisticated equipment arrives,
improvised booms can be an effective way to
deal with oil spills, particularly in calm water
such as streams, slow-moving rivers, or
sheltered bays and inlets.

Improvised booms are made from such
common materials as wood, plastic pipe,
inflated fire hoses, automobile tires, and empty
oil drums. They can be as simple as a board
placed across the surface of a slow-moving
stream, or a berm built by bulldozers pushing

a wall of sand out from the beach to divert oil
from a sensitive section of shoreline.

RECOVERY OF OIL

Once an oil spill has been contained,
efforts to remove the oil from the water can
begin. Three different types of equipment --
booms, skimmers, and sorbents -- are
commonly used to recover oil from the surface.

BOOMS

When used in recovering oil, booms
are often supported by a horizontal arm
extending directly off one or both sides of a
vessel. Sailing through the heaviest sections
of the spill at low speeds, a vessel scoops the
oil and traps it between the angle of the boom
and the vessel's hull. In another variation, a
boom is moored at the end points of a rigid
arm extended from the vessel, forming a "U"-
or "J"-shaped pocket in which oil can collect.
In either case, the trapped oil can then be
pumped out to holding tanks and returned to
shore for proper disposal or recycling.

SKIMMERS,

A skimmer is a device for recovery of
spilled oil from the water’s surface. Skimmers
may be self-propelled, used from shore, or
operated from vessels. The efficiency of
skimmers is highly dependent upon conditions
at sea. In moderately rough or choppy water,
skimmers tend to recover more water than oil.
Three types of skimmers -- weir, oleophilic,
and suction -- are described here. Each type
offers advantages and drawbacks depending
on the type of oil being cleaned up, the
conditions of the sea during cleanup efforts,
and the presence of ice or debris in the water.

Weir skimmers use a dam or enclosure
positioned at the oil/water interface. Oil
floating on top of the water will spill over the
dam and be trapped in a well inside, bringing
with it as little water as possible. The trapped
oil and water mixture can then be pumped out



pebbles; some are wide and covered in a layer
of sand or broken shell fragments; and still
others are steep cliffs with no beach at all.
The composition and structure of the beach
will determine the potential effects of oil on the
shoreline.

Oil tends to stick to mud and to the
surfaces of cobbles and pebbles. It also flows
downward in the spaces between cobbles,
pebbles, and sand grains, and accumulates in
lower layers of beach sediments. Oil that
sticks to mud particles suspended in the water
column and to cobbles and pebbles on the
beach is exposed to the action of sunlight and
waves, which helps it to degrade and makes it
less hazardous to organisms that come into
contact with it. Oil that sticks to rocks and
pebbles can be wiped or washed off. Oil that
flows onto sandy beaches, however, can
escape" downward into sand, making it
difficult to clean up and reducing its ability to
degrade.

Type and sensitivity of biological
communities

Biological communities differ in their
sensitivity to the effects of oil spills and the
physical intrusion that may be associated with
various cleanup methods. Some ecosystems
seem to recover quickly from spills, with little or
no noticeable harm, while others experience
long-term harmful effects.

Animals, such as elephant seals, that
depend on the nearshore or beach
environment for breeding and pupping can
lose their ability to stay warm in cold water
when their skin comes into contact with oil.
Birds lose their ability to fly and to stay warm
when their feathers are coated with oil, and fish
can suffocate when their gills are covered with
oil. An oil spill can disrupt a community food
chain because it is toxic to some plants, which
many organisms depend on for food.

CLEANUP PROCESSES AND METHODS

Both natural processes and physical
methods aid in the removal of oil from
shorelines. Sometimes, physical methods are
used to enhance naturally-occurring
processes. An example of a technology that
uses both natural processes and physical
methods to clean up an oil spill is
bioremediation, which is described later.

Natural processes

Natural processes that result in the
removal of oil from the natural environment
include evaporation, oxidation, and
biodegradation.

Evaporation occurs when liquid
components in oil are converted to vapor and
released into the atmosphere. It results in the
removal of lighter-weight substances in oil. In
the first 12 hours following a spill, up to 50
percent of the light-weight components may
evaporate. Since the most toxic substances in
oil tend to be those of lightest weight, this
evaporation decreases the toxicity of a spill
over time.

Oxidation occurs when oxygen reacts
with the chemical compounds in oil. Oxidation
causes the complex chemical compounds in
oil to break down into simpler compounds that
tend to be lighter in weight and more able to
dissolve in water, allowing them to degrade
further.

Biodegradation occurs when naturally-
occurring bacteria living in the ocean or on
land consume oil, which they can use to
provide energy for their various biological
needs. When oil is first spilled, it may be toxic
to some bacteria, which makes the initial rate
of biodegradation quite slow. As the oil
evaporates and the more toxic substances are
removed, the population of bacteria grows and
biodegradation activity accelerates.



actual oil spill the roles of federal and state
agencies are clear. Following an oil spill, the
RRT reviews the OSCs’ reports to identify
problems with the Region’s response to the
incident and improves the plan as necessary.

Training

Federal agencies that are members of
the RRTs provide simulation exercises of
Regional plans to test the abilities of federal,
state and local agencies to coordinate their
responses to oil spills. Any major problems
identified as a result of these exercises may be
addressed and changed in the Regional
Contingency Plans so the same problems do
not arise during an actual incident.

Coordination

The RRTs are responsible for
identifying the resources available from each
federal agency and state in their regions.
Such resources include equipment, guidance,
training, and technical expertise for dealing
with oil spills. When there are too few
resources in a Region, the RRT can request
assistance from federal or state authorities to
ensure that sufficient resources will be
available during a spill. This coordination by
the RRTs assures that resources are used as
wisely as possible, and that no Region is
lacking what it needs to protect human health
and the environment from the effects of an oil
spill.

SUMMARY

The National Response System is the
mechanism established by the federal
government to respond to discharges of oil
into navigable waters of the United States.

This system functions through a cooperative
network of federal, state and local agencies,
The primary mission of the system is to provide
support to state and local response activities.

The major components of the National
Response System are the On-Scene
Coordinator, the National Response Team, and

the thirteen Regional Response Teams. These
individuals and teams work together to develop
detailed Contingency Plans to outline
responses to oil spill emergencies before they
occur, and to develop or engage in training
that prepares for actual emergencies. During
oil spill events, they cooperate to ensure that
all necessary resources such as personnel and
equipment are available, and that containment,
cleanup, and disposal activities are timely,
efficient, and effective. It is through this
cooperation that the National Response
System protects human health and the
environment from potential harm from oil spills
in navigable waters.

NATIONAL AND REGIONAL RESPONSE
TEAM MEMBER AGENCIES

One representative from each of the
following fourteen agencies sits on the NRT.
One representative from each Regional office
of these agencies and representatives from
each state within the Region sit on the RRTs.

Environmental Protection Agency

Coast Guard

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services
Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Federal Emergency Management Agency
General Services Administration

Nuclear Regulatory Commission



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title

The Behavior and Effects of Oil Spills in the Marine Environment

Mechanical Containment and Recovery of Oil Following a Spill . . .

Chemical and Biological Treatment of Spilled Oil

Shoreline Cleanup Following Oil Spills 26.0. e cece eter eeeeenetueens 17



PREPARING FOR OIL SPILLS:
CONTINGENCY PLANNING

INTRODUCTION

Oil spills are, unfortunately, common
events in many parts of the United States.
Most of them are accidental, so no one can
know when, where, or how they will occur.
Spills can happen on land or in water, at any
time of day or night, and in any weather
conditions. Preventing oil spills is the best
strategy for avoiding potential damage to
human health and the environment from
exposure to oil. However, once a spill occurs,
the best approach for containing and
controlling it is to respond quickly and in a
well-organized manner.

THE ROLE OF CONTINGENCY PLANS

In order to respond rapidly and
successfully to an oil spill, personnel
responsible for containing and cleaning up the
spill must know the steps that need to be
followed during and after the spill,
Contingency plans are documents that
describe information and processes for
containing and cleaning up an oil spill that
occurs in a defined geographic area. A
defined area can be relatively small, such as a
piece of property that has oil storage tanks on
it, or it can be large, involving the land and
waters within and between several states.

A contingency plan is like a ‘game
plan," or a set of instructions that outlines the
steps that should be taken before, during, and
after an emergency. When used properly by
trained response personnel, a contingency
plan can provide many benefits such as
allowing oil response efforts to proceed
smoothly and effectively, minimizing danger to
cleanup personnel, reducing overall costs of
cleanup by avoiding unnecessary effort, and
assuring that sensitive habitats are protected.

ELEMENTS OF A CONTINGENCY PLAN

At first glance, a well-designed
contingency plan may appear complicated
because it provides many details about all the
steps involved in preparing for, and
responding to, an oil spill. However, a well-
designed contingency plan should be easy to
follow. Despite their differences, though, all
contingency plans usually contain three major
elements:

. Spill scenarios
. Background information
. Response actions

Each of these elements is described briefly
below.

Spill Scenarios

It is impossible to know when an oil
spill is going to happen and how much oil is
likely to be spilled. Sometimes oil spills occur
in places that are easy for response personnel
to get to, while at other times they occur in
remote spots that are difficult to bring
equipment into. Some spills are very small
and easily controlled, while others are very
large and difficult to manage.

Different combinations of the factors
that can affect the ability of response
personnel to contain and clean up an oil spill,
such as weather conditions, geographic
isolation, and spill size, are called scenarios.
Private companies and local, state and federal
agencies design their contingency plans to
reflect several different scenarios. In order to
develop these scenarios, the following
information may be collected:

29



SUMMARY

Chemical and biological methods can
be used in conjunction with mechanical means
for containing and cleaning up oil spills.
Dispersants and gelling agents are most useful
in helping to keep oil from reaching shorelines
and other sensitive habitats. Biological agents
have the potential to assist recovery in
sensitive areas such as shorelines, marshes
and wetlands. Research into these
technologies continues in the hopes that future
oil spills can be contained and cleaned up
more efficiently and effectively.

15



SUMMARY

Cleaning shorelines after an oil spill is
a challenging task. Factors that affect the type
of cleanup method used include the type of oil
spilled, the geology of the shoreline, and the
type and sensitivity of biological communities
in the area. Natural processes such as
evaporation, oxidation, and biodegradation
help to clean the shoreline. Physical methods,
such as wiping with sorbent materials,
pressure washing, and raking and bulldozing
can be used to assist these natural processes.
Oil collected during cleanup activities must be
reused or disposed of properly, using such
methods as incineration or landfilling,
Choosing the most effective yet potentially
least damaging cleaning methods helps to
assure that the natural systems of shorelines
and the recreational benefits they offer will be
preserved and protected for future generations.

21



SHORELINE CLEANUP FOLLOWING OIL SPILLS

INTRODUCTION

Shoreline and nearshore areas are
important public and ecological resources.
However, their cleanliness and beauty, and the
survival of the species that inhabit them, can
be threatened by accidents that occur during
oil drilling and transport activities. Although
accidents during these activities are relatively
rare, when they do occur oil can be spilled into
the world’s oceans. Despite the best efforts of
response teams to contain this spilled oil,
some of it may wash up onto shorelines, into
marshes, or into other ecologically sensitive
habitats along the water’s edge. To help
Protect these resources from damage and to
preserve them for public enjoyment and for the
survival of numerous species, cleaning up
shorelines following oil spills has become an
important part of oil spill response,

SHORELINES: PUBLIC AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

Nearshore and shoreline areas serve
as homes to a variety of wildlife during all or
part of the year. Many bird species build their
nests on sand or among pebbles, while others
regularly wander the shoreline searching for
food. Sea mammals such as elephant seals
and sea lions come ashore to breed and bear
their pups. Fish such as salmon swim through
nearshore zones on their upriver migrations
during spawning season, and their offspring
swim through these same areas on their trips
to the sea in the following year.

Shorelines and nearshore areas also
Provide public recreation throughout the world.
Many beaches are famous for their wide
expanses of beautiful sand, while others are
admired for their rugged rocky cliffs. Beaches
provide opportunities for sports such as
swimming, windsurfing and fishing. In
developing strategies for cleaning up an oil
spill from a shoreline, the characteristics of the

shoreline and the natural and recreational
resources it provides must be considered.

FACTORS AFFECTING CLEANUP
DECISIONS

Whenever possible, contro! and
cleanup of an oil spill at sea begins
immediately. If the oil spill can be controlled
there is less likelihood that it will reach
sensitive habitats near or on shore. If the oil
does reach the shore, however,’ decisions
about how best to remove it must be made.
These decisions will be based on factors such
as the

. type of oil spilled
. geology of the shoreline
. type and sensitivity of biological

communities likely to be affected

Each of these factors is described further
below.

Type of oil spilled

Lighter oils tend to evaporate and
degrade (break down) very quickly; therefore,
they do not tend to be deposited in large
quantities on beaches. Heavier oils, however,
tend to form a thick oil-and-water mixture
called mousse, which clings to rocks and sand,
Heavier oils exposed to sunlight and wave
action also tend to form dense, sticky
substances known as tar balls and asphalt that
are very difficult to remove from rocks and
sediments. Therefore, deposits from heavy oils
generally require more aggressive cleanup
than those from lighter ones,

Geology of the shoreline
Shorelines can vary dramatically in
their forms and compositions. Some

shorelines are narrow with beaches formed
from rounded or flattened cobbles and

17


. types of oils frequently stored in or
transported through that area

. locations in which oil is stored in large
quantities or through which traffic of oil
tankers is high

. locations of sensitive habitats and
human populations

. extreme weather conditions that might
occur in the area during different times
of the year

Contingency plans are designed to
help response personnel to be prepared for
the kind of spill that is "most likely" for a
particular place.

On rare occasions, however, a spill
occurs in severe weather conditions, or is
much larger or more difficult to get to, than
those that are most likely. To prepare for
these unusual but severe incidents,
contingency plans also include "worst case"
scenarios. A worst case scenario, for example,
might assume that a large quantity of very
dense, heavy oil has spilled during a dark,
stormy night, close to vacation homes and
extremely sensitive habitats along the
shoreline. By being prepared for the worst
case scenario, response personnel will also be
prepared for less severe incidents.

Background Information

This section of a contingency plan
provides information to personnel involved in
cleaning up a spill to help them make
reasonable, well-informed choices about how
to contain and clean up a spill when it occurs.
Such background information might include

. names and phone numbers of
individuals who work with private
companies or local, state and federal
agencies who are responsible for
helping with oil spill cleanup efforts

30

. descriptions of physical, chemical and
biological techniques that can be used
to contain or clean up an oil spill

. lists of response equipment available in
the area
. lists of oil-sensitive habitats and wildlife

resources that must be protected

. description of the communications
system that will be used to coordinate
the various personnel and agencies
involved in the control and cleanup
effort

Response Actions

A carefully designed contingency plan
will describe major actions that need to be
undertaken when a spill occurs. These actions
should take place immediately following a spill
so as to minimize hazards to human health
and the environment. Actions to be taken
during a spill that should be described in the
contingency plan include

. notifying all private companies or
government agencies that are
responsible for the cleanup effort

. getting trained personnel to the site
quickly
. defining the size, position, and content

of the spill, its direction and speed of
movement, and its likelihood of hitting
sensitive habitats

. assuring the safety of all response
personnel

. stopping the flow of oil from the ship,
truck, or storage facility, if possible

. containing the spill to a limited area

. removing the oil

. disposing of the oil once it has been

removed from the water or land



12


. Physical contact -- When fur or In some areas, habitats and populations can

feathers come into contact with oil, recover quickly. In other environments,
they get matted down. This matting however, recovery from persistent or stranded
causes fur and feathers to lose their oil may take years.

insulating properties, placing animals
at risk of freezing to death. For birds,
the risk of drowning increases, as the
complex structure of their feathers that
allows birds to float becomes
damaged.

. Toxic contamination -- Some species
are susceptible to the toxic effects of
inhaled oil. Oil vapors can cause
damage to the animal's central nervous
system, liver, and lungs. Animals are
also at risk from ingesting oil, which
can reduce the animal's ability to eat
or digest its food by damaging cells in
the intestinal tract. Some studies show
that there can be long-term
reproductive problems in animals that
have been exposed to oil.

Sea otters covered with oil

. Destruction of food resources -- Even
species that are not directly in contact
with oil can be harmed by a spill.
Predators that consume contaminated
prey can be exposed to oil through
ingestion. Because oil contamination
gives fish and other animals
unpleasant tastes and smells,
predators will sometimes refuse to eat
their prey and will begin to starve.
Sometimes, a local population of prey
organisms is destroyed, leaving no
food resources for predators.

SUMMARY

Oil spilled at sea immediately begins to
move and weather, breaking down and
changing its physical and chemical properties.
As these processes occur, the oil threatens
surface resources and a wide range of
subsurface marine organisms linked in a
complex food chain. Many different types of
marine habitats exist, with varied sensitivities to
the harmful effects of oil contamination and
different abilities to recuperate from oil spills.



FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BIRD
REHABILITATION, CONTACT:

Marjorie Gibson

International Bird Rescue Research Center
699 Potter Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

Dr. Heidi Stout/ Lynne Frink

Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Inc.
110 Possum Hollow Road

Newark, DE 19711

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MAMMAL
REHABILITATION, CONTACT:

American Cetacean Society
Box 2639
San Pedro, CA 90731

Center for Marine Conservation
312 Sutter Street, Suite 316
San Francisco, CA 94108

Defenders of Wildlife
1244 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Friends of the Sea Otter
P.O. Box 221220
Carmel, CA 93922

Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93940

National Wildlife Federation
1412 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANIMAL RESCUE

FOLLOWING SPILLS

Commandant (G-MEP)
U.S. Coast Guard

2100 2nd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20593
(202) 267-2611

Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
(202) 208-5634

NOAA/HMRAD

7600 Sand Point Way, NE
Bin C15700

Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 526-6317

Alaska Department of Environmental

Conservation

410 Willoughby Ave.
Juneau, AK 99801-1795
(907) 465-5000

27



prepared to care for the captured birds
immediately. This ensures that the birds are
treated as quickly as possible.

Once a bird has been brought to a
rehabilitation center, certain basic procedures
are followed. First, oil is flushed from its eyes
and intestines. Heavily oiled birds are wiped
with absorbent cloths to remove patches of oil.
Rehabilitation workers also conduct an initial
examination to detect broken bones, cuts, or
other injuries. Stomach-coating medicines
(such as Pepto BismolTM) may be administered
orally to prevent additional absorption of oil
inside the bird's stomach. The bird is then
warmed and placed in a quiet area. Curtains
are often hung to limit its contact with people.

Birds in recovery pens after oil has been
removed from their feathers

Nutrition is essential for the recovery of
oiled birds. Wild birds will generally learn to
feed themselves from pans or other containers
as soon as they begin to feel healthy. In many
cases, however, the birds must be force-fed
until they are able to feed on their own.

After a bird is alert, responsive, stable
and its body's fluid balance restored to normal,
detergent is gently stroked into its feathers to
remove the oil. An oiled bird may require three
or more washings to remove the oil entirely.

After its feathers are completely rinsed,

the bird is placed in a clean holding pen lined
with sheets or towels. The pen is warmed with

24

How Oil Affects Birds

Birds that are exposed to oil are
affected both internally and
externally. The most serious threat
birds face is the destruction of their
feathers, or plumage. Birds rely on
their plumage to protect them in cold
environments. Strong, outer
feathers, known as contour feathers,
help birds to fly, float, and keep
warm in the water. Soft, inner
feathers, known as down, also
provide insulation that is necessary
for survival. When a bird’s feathers
are covered by oil, the bird loses its
ability to fly, float, and maintain a
normal body temperature. This
means the bird cannot get food or
escape from its predators.

Birds are also at risk from swallowing
oil, inhaling oil fumes, or absorbing it
through their skin. Oil can cause
kidney or liver damage, digestive
problems, eye damage, and other
disorders that can cause pneumonia.

Birds also suffer from stress caused
by the destruction to their habitat. In
fact, stress is a leading cause of
death in birds exposed to oil. As a
bird becomes cold and loses its
ability to float, it may go into a panic,
causing the bird to exhaust itself.

heat lamps, and hung with curtains to minimize
human contact. If behavior appears normal
and a bird’s condition remains stable, it is
allowed to swim. The bird then begins to
preen and realign its feathers to restore them
to their original structure, helping the bird to
become waterproof again.

Before a bird can be considered for
release, it must "pass" the waterproofing test.
That is, it must demonstrate buoyancy (the
ability to float) and water-repellency (the ability



THE BEHAVIOR AND EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS
IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

INTRODUCTION

Spilled oil can pose serious threats to
the marine environment. The severity of
impact of an oil spill depends on a variety of
factors, including characteristics of the oil itself.
Even large spills of refined petroleum products
such as gasoline evaporate quickly and cause
only short-term environmental effects. On the
other hand, crude oils, heavy fuel oils, and
water-in-oil mixtures may cause widespread
and long-lasting physical contamination of
shorelines. Natural conditions, such as water
temperature and weather, also influence the
behavior of oil in the marine environment.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OIL

The term oi! describes a broad range
of natural hydrocarbon-based substances and
refined petroleum products. (Hydrocarbons
are chemical compounds composed of the
elements hydrogen and carbon.) Most refined
petroleum products are mixtures of many types
of hydrocarbon-based substances. Commonly
used products refined from crude oil include
fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, and jet fuel. Each
type of crude oil and refined product has
distinct physical and chemical properties.
These properties affect the way oil will spread
and break down, the hazard it may pose to
marine and human life, and the likelinood that
it will pose a threat to natural and man-made
resources.

The rate at which an oil spill spreads
will determine its effect on the environment.
Most oils tend to spread horizontally into a
smooth and slippery surface, called a slick, on
top of the water. Factors which affect the
ability of an oil spill to spread include surface
tension, specific gravity, and viscosity.

. Surface tension is the measure of
attraction between the surface
molecules of a liquid. The higher the

oil’s surface tension, the more likely a
spill will remain in place. If the surface
tension of the oil is low, the oil will
spread even without help from wind
and water currents. Because
increased temperatures can reduce a
liquid’s surface tension, oil is more
likely to spread in warmer waters than
in very cold waters.

. Specific gravity is the density of a
substance compared to the density of
water. Since most oils are lighter than
water, they flat on top of it. However,
the specific gravity of an oil spill can
increase if the lighter substances within
the oil evaporate.

. Viscosity is the measure of a liquid’s
resistance to flow. The higher the
viscosity of the oil, the greater the
tendency for it to stay in one place.
(Honey is an example of a viscous
liquid.)

‘THE FATE OF SPILLED OIL

Natural actions are always at work in
the marine environment.. These can reduce
the severity of an oil spill and accelerate the
recovery of an affected area. Some natural
actions include weathering, evaporation,
oxidation, biodegradation, and emulsification.

. Weathering is a series of chemical and
physical changes that cause spilled oil
to break down and become heavier
than water. Wave action may result in
natural dispersion, breaking a slick into
droplets which are then distributed
throughout the water column. These
droplets can also form a secondary
slick or thin film on the surface of the
water.





CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF SPILLED OIL

INTRODUCTION

Several methods exist for containing
and cleaning up oil spills in the aquatic
environment. Mechanical equipment, such as
booms and skimmers, is often used to block
the spread of oil, concentrate it into one area,
and remove it from the water. Chemical and
biological treatment of oil can be used in place
of, or in addition to, mechanical methods,
especially in areas where untreated oil may
reach shorelines and sensitive habitats in
which cleanup becomes difficult and
expensive. This document describes some of
the chemical and biological methods that are
used by response personnel to contain and
clean up oil spills in the aquatic environment.

TYPES OF SUBSTANCES USED

Three types of substances commonly
used to contain or clean up an oil spill are
(1) dispersing agents, (2) biological agents,
and (3) gelling agents.

Dispersing agents

Dispersing agents, also called
dispersants, are chemicals that contain
surfactants, or compounds that act to break
liquid substances such as oil into small
droplets. In an oil spill, these droplets disperse
into the water column where they are
subjected to natural processes -- such as
wind, waves, and currents — that help to break
them down further. This helps to clear oil from
the water surface, making it less likely that the
oil slick will reach the shoreline.

The effectiveness of a dispersant is
determined by the composition of the oil it is
being used to treat, and the method and rate
at which the dispersant is applied. Heavy
crude oils do not disperse as well as light- to
medium-weight oils. Dispersants are most
effective when applied immediately following a

spill, before the lightest materials in the oil
have evaporated.

Environmental factors, including water
salinity and temperature and conditions at sea,
also influence the effectiveness of dispersants.
Studies have shown that many dispersants
work best at salinities close to that of normal
seawater. The effectiveness of dispersants
also depends on water temperature. While
dispersants can work in cold water, they work
best in warm water.

Some countries rely almost exclusively
on dispersants to combat oil spills, because
frequently rough or choppy conditions at sea
make mechanical containment and cleanup
difficult, However, dispersants have not been
used extensively in the United States because
Of difficulties with application, disagreement
among scientists about their effectiveness, and
concerns that dispersants are toxic.

Helicopters are often used to apply
dispersants to large areas of open water

These problems are being overcome,
however. New technologies that improve the
application of dispersants are being designed.
The effectiveness of dispersants is being
tested in laboratories ‘and in actual spill
situations, and the information collected is
being used to help design more effective
dispersants. Dispersants used today are much
less toxic than those used in the past.

13



Harm to the physical environment will often
lead to harm for one or more species in a food
chain, which may lead to damage for other
species further up the chain. Where an
organism spends most of its time -- in open
water, near coastal areas, or on the shoreline ~
will determine the effects an oil spill is likely to
have on that organism.

In open water, marine organisms such
as fish and whales have the ability to swim
away from a spill by going deeper in the water
or further out to sea, reducing the likelihood
that they will be harmed by even a major spill.
Marine animals that generally live closer to
shore, such as turtles, seals, and dolphins, risk
contamination by oil that washes onto beaches
or by consuming oil-contaminated prey. In
shallow waters, oil may harm sea grasses and
kelp beds, which are used for food, shelter,
and nesting sites by many different species,

Spilled oil and cleanup operations can
threaten different types of marine habitats, with
different results.

. Coral reefs are important nurseries for
shrimp, fish, and other animals as well
as recreational attractions for divers.
Coral reefs and the marine organisms
that live within and around them are at
risk from exposure to the toxic
substances within oil as well as
smothering.

. Exposed sandy, gravel, or cobble
beaches are usually cleaned by
manual techniques. Although oil can
soak into sand and gravel, few
organisms live full-time in this habitat,
so the risk to animal life or the food
chain is less than in other habitats,
such as tidal flats.

. Sheltered beaches have very little wave
action to encourage natural dispersion.
If timely cleanup efforts are not begun,
oil may remain stranded on these
beaches for years.

. Tidal flats are broad, low-tide zones,
usually containing rich plant, animal,
and bird communities. Deposited oil
may seep into the muddy bottoms of
these flats, creating potentially harmful
effects on the ecology of the area.

. Salt marshes are found in sheltered
waters in cold and temperate areas.
They host a variety of plant, bird, and
mammal life. Marsh vegetation,
especially root systems, is easily
damaged by fresh light oils.

. Mangrove forests are located in tropical

regions and are home to a diversity of
plant and animal life. Mangrove trees
have long roots, called prop roots, that

stick out well above the water level and

help to hold the mangrove tree in
place. A coating of oil on these prop
roots can be fatal to the mangrove
tree, and because they grow so slowly,
replacing a mangrove tree can take
decades.

Crews work to keep oil from entering a
marsh

Sensitivity of marine birds and mammals

An oil spill can harm birds in several
ways, by direct physical contact, toxic
contamination, and destruction of food
sources.


In nature, biodegradation is a relatively
slow process. It can take years for a
Population of microorganisms to degrade most
of the oil spilled onto a shoreline. However,
the rate at which biodegradation occurs can
be accelerated by the addition of nutrients
such as phosphorus and nitrogen that
encourage growth of oil-degrading bacteria.
Biodegradation rates can also be increased by
adding more microorganisms to the
environment, especially the species that are
already used to consuming the type of oil
spilled. The use of nutrients or the addition of
microorganisms to encourage biodegradation
is called bioremediation.

Bioremediation has been used with
some success in recent oil spill events.
Experiments conducted by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Exxon
Corporation, and the State of Alaska on cobble
beaches contaminated with oil from the 1989
Exxon Valdez spill showed that the addition of
nutrients more than doubled the natural rate of
biodegradation, and produced no long-term
injury to the shoreline or sensitive habitats.

Physical methods

Physical removal of oil from shorelines,
and especially beaches, is time-consuming
and requires much equipment and many
personnel. Methods used to physically clean
oil from shorelines include

. wiping with absorbent materials
. pressure washing
. raking or bulldozing

Before physical cleaning methods are
used, booms made of absorbent material are
often set up in the water along the edge of the
beach. Booms prevent oil released during
beach cleanup activities from returning to the
ocean, and contain the oil so that it can be
skimmed from the water for Proper disposal,

Wiping with absorbent materials

Materials that are capable of absorbing
many times their weight in oil can be used to
wipe up oil from contaminated beaches.

These materials are often designed as large
squares, much like paper towels, or shaped
into "mops". The squares or mops are used to
wipe the sandy beach or oily rocks during
which time the absorbents are filled with as
much oil as they can hold.

There are advantages to the use of
absorbents. They can be used to clean up
any kind of oil on any shoreline that can be
reached by response personnel. The use of
absorbents is generally not harmful to the
beach itself or to the organisms that live on it,
and no material is left behind following the
cleanup effort. Some sorbents are reusable,
reducing the need for disposal after a spill.

However, this method requires the use
of a large quantity of material and several
Personnel. Personnel must wear proper
protective clothing to minimize direct contact
with the oil as they are removing it. Oil-filled
absorbents and protective clothing that are
used by response personnel must be properly
disposed of following cleanup, which can be
costly. In addition, the intrusion of many
People onto an isolated beach may disrupt
animal behaviors such as breeding or nesting.

Sorbents being used to clean an oiled
beach

Pressure washing

Pressure washing involves rinsing oiled
beach sands and rocks using hoses that
supply low- or high-pressure water streams.
Hot or cold water can be used to create these

19



United States Emergency Publication 9200.5-105
Environmental Protection. Response EPA 540-K-93-0034

Agency Division PB93-963409
October 1993

Office of Emergency and Remedial Response

SEPA Understanding Oil Spills and
Oil Spill Response



The Exxon Valdez incident and the
environmental impact caused by the spill
attracted the attention of national political,
scientific, and environmental interests. The
scientific groups include those from Exxon
Corporation and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency that got involved in efforts
to use experimental technologies such as
bioremediation to clean up the spill. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration was involved in providing
weather forecasts for Prince William Sound.
This allowed the cleanup team to know what
type of cleanup technology would be
compatible with the changing weather
conditions in the Sound. A Valdez trustee
council was born, which is organizing a
meeting about oil spills to attract more
scientific research papers from studies on the
Exxon Valdez incident. This council is made
up of representatives from numerous federal
and Alaskan state agencies that deal with
environmental issues.

The Exxon Valdez incident also
prompted the U.S. government to require the
U.S. Coast Guard to strengthen their
regulations on oil tank vessels and oil tank
owners and operators under an environmental
law known as the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. As
of July 17, 1992, all tank vessels of 20,000 tons
or greater are required to carry special
equipment that will enable the vessel captain
and the vessel traffic center in Valdez to
communicate better for safer sailing through
that area.

Restoration projects to bring back
natural conditions of the affected areas are just
beginning. On September 30, 1991, an
agreement was reached between Exxon
Corporation, the state of Alaska, and the
Federal government. As a result of this
agreement, Exxon Corporation agreed to pay
$900 million for environmental restoration.

SUMMARY

The Exxon Valdez incident increased
public awareness about the risks involved in
the transport of oil. It also revealed many
weaknesses in the abilities of state, federal,
and industry officials to plan for and respond
to such a disaster. The remote location of the
spill and a lack of necessary equipment added
to response problems.

Prevention of spills is the first line of
defense, and the oil industry has taken steps
to reduce the risks of oil spills. Once a spill
occurs, however, improved response
coordination between federal, state, and local
authorities should produce more rapid cleanup
actions. A program to provide better training
of emergency response personnel is being
Prepared, and safety issues are being
addressed. Beach-cleaning techniques that
are more effective and less labor-intensive are
being developed. Studies of the long-term
environmental effects of oil spills and their
influence on food chains in the ocean and on
land are now underway. The costs of cleanup
activities, ecosystem restoration, and legal
settlements of oil spills are so high that the
best strategy is to work to prevent them.





36050-2

A CHAIN OF EVENTS -- Spilled oil has the potential to affect every level of the marine food chain.
Floating oil may contaminate plankton, which includes algae, fish eggs, and the larvae of various
invertebrates such as oysters and shrimp. in turn, the small fish that feed on these organisms can
become contaminated. Larger animals in the food chain, including bigger fish, bears, and humans,
may then eat these contaminated fish. In addition, marine mammals and birds may be exposed
directly to oil in the water, which they can ingest or get.on their fur or feathers. Spilled oil may also
Prevent the germination and growth of marine plants and the reproduction of invertebrates either by
smothering or by toxic effects.



The On-Scene Coordinator, in
cooperation with the Exxon Corporation,
established several goals for the response.
The most important goal was to prevent
additional spilling of oil. Because the Exxon
Valdez was unstable and in danger of
capsizing, the 43 million gallons of oil still
onboard the tanker threatened the
environmentally-sensitive Sound. The first
priority was to protect four fish hatcheries that
were threatened by the spill. In addition, there
were concerns about the safety of response
personnel, since highly flammable and toxic
fumes made response actions difficult.

Numerous equipment problems slowed
down the response to the spill. Alyeska had
mechanical containment equipment available
such as booms, which are floating mechanical
barriers that are designed to stop the spread
of oil, but there were not enough of them to
contain an 11 million gallon spill. Because of
the remote location of the spill, equipment had
to be moved over great distances to reach the
accident scene. The barge used by Alyeska’s
response team had been stripped for repairs,
and was therefore not immediately available for
use, It took ten hours to prepare and load the
barge, and another two hours to reach the
Exxon Valdez.

In addition, the remote location of the
incident presented many logistical problems.
Because the spill site was located two hours
by boat from the port of Valdez, every task was
time-consuming. The response had to be
staged from mobile platforms, and equipment
had to be air-dropped or delivered by boat.

Other problems became apparent as
the emergency teams began to arrive to help
with the cleanup. Only limited lodging was
available in Valdez, a small village of only 4,000
people, The small airstrip at Valdez could not
handle large planes carrying the cleanup
equipment. These planes were forced to land
in Anchorage, a nine-hour drive from Valdez.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the
agency responsible for all air traffic control,
had to set up a temporary tower to manage
increased flights to the area.

At the start of the spill, necessary
communications between response personnel
were difficult because there was limited phone
service in Valdez. The Coast Guard On-Scene
Coordinator was the only person with a direct
telephone line out of the community. The lack
of phone lines delayed cleanup teams from
being able to request the resources they
needed, and it took time for the phone
company to increase the number of phone
lines. Radio communication was also
troublesome. The large numbers of boats
working the area resulted in multiple
simultaneous radio transmissions, and the
mountainous terrain made radio
communication difficult. The Coast Guard
established a news office and requested more
communications staff, because numerous
national media representatives were arriving in
Valdez every day.

On the second day of the spill, Exxon
assumed responsibility for the cleanup and its
costs. Exxon activated its emergency center in
Houston, Texas, which sent equipment to
stabilize the ship. The company directed
another ship, the Exxon Baton Rouge, to
remove the remaining oil from the stricken
Valdez.

In taking responsibility for the cleanup
operations, Exxon set out to address the
problems mentioned earlier. The company
opened a communications network that
allowed information about the spill and the
cleanup efforts to be shared with state and
federal government officials, private company
representatives, and others who were
interested in the events surrounding the spill.
The company, in cooperation with the U.S.
Coast Guard, installed four weather stations
around Prince William Sound to provide the
weather forecasts that were critical to planning
cleanup efforts. A refueling station for
helicopters was set up in Seward, Alaska.
More than 274 tons of additional equipment,
including skimmers, booms, and dispersants
arrived at the site by the fourth day.

Hundreds of people were brought to
the area to help conduct the cleanup effort
within two days of the spill. More than 1,000



After the Exxon Valdez oil spill, otter
rehabilitation and pre-release centers were
built in Valdez, Seward, and Homer, Alaska.
These facilities remained in operation until
September, 1989, The three centers treated a
total of 357 otters, and released 197 into
Prince William Sound and along the Kenai
Peninsula. Because of concerns for their
health, an additional 24 adult otters were sent
to various seaquariums. In addition, 13 otter
pups, most of which were born in captivity,
were transferred to seaquariums because they
were too young to be released.

Several other organizations devote
their energies to the rehabilitation of birds
following oil spills. Tri-state Bird Rescue and
Research, Inc., of Wilmington, Delaware, is
often called to help with East Coast spills. On
the West Coast, the International Bird Rescue
Research Center, located in Berkeley,
California, is well-known for its work.
Washington Oiled Bird Rescue, in Washington
State, is also devoted to the rehabilitation of
oiled birds.

These organizations follow similar
techniques to recover and rehabilitate oiled
birds, Periodic hands-on exercises are
conducted to provide workers with sufficient
spill-related experience.

SUMMARY

Many lessons about the care and
treatment of oiled birds and animals have been
learned through experience with recent oil spill
incidents. First, the need for immediate
response is essential for rescuing wildlife.
Second, personnel training is needed. The
rehabilitation of oiled wildlife is a complex
medical and technical procedure, and
volunteers must be properly trained. Training
workshops, which involve more than 200 hours
of work, are available through the
organizations cited above. Third, a
commitment must be made to reclaim oiled
wildlife using proven, documented procedures,

and avoiding shortcuts. Finally, open
communication with other response agencies
is crucial for any wildlife rescue operation to be
successful.



RESPONSE ACTIVITIES: THE EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL

ANE

a, Containment boom surrounds the Exxon Valdez on Bligh b. An oil slick surrounds a small island in Prince William

Reef Sound

c. Response crews remove oil from a beach with the use of d. sorbent squares.
high-pressure hoses...

e. and sorbent mops.

f, U.S. Coast Guard response person
resues an oil-covered bird 43



to keep water away from its body). Once a
bird passes this test, it is slowly exposed to
temperatures comparable to outside weather.
Its weight and muscle structure should be
average for its species, and it should show no
signs of disease. Rehabilitated birds are
banded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
and are released early in the day to an
appropriate habitat.

MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE AND CLEANING

Two primary groups of marine animals
may be affected during an oil spill. The first
group, pinnipeds, includes animals such as
walruses, harbor seals, and sea lions. These
animals are quite large, and rely on blubber
under their skin to stay warm. Harbor seal
mothers give birth on isolated beaches and
small rocky islands. Newborn pups are not yet
protected by a layer of blubber, and do not
enter the water until a few days after birth.
Some scientists are concerned that when a
seal pup’s protective fur coat becomes oiled,
its warming qualities are reduced, increasing
the likelihood of death from exposure. When
these animals are seriously distressed, they
are handled by marine mammal stranding
networks, such as the Marine Mammal Center
in San Francisco, California.

The second group of fur-bearing
marine mammals includes sea otters and fur
seals. These animals do not have a layer of
blubber, but instead rely on their thick fur
coats to maintain warmth. If the coat becomes
dirty through contact with oil or other polluting
substances, its protection may be lost, and the
animal will become chilled in icy waters. Sea
otters, in particular, groom themselves
extensively and are at risk from swallowing
toxins.

The Hubbs Research Center, in San
Diego, California, specializes in mammal
rescue efforts, The Center employs
experienced animal handlers to ensure the
best treatment of stricken animals. Other
animal welfare organizations, such as Friends

of the Sea Otter and local Societies for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, provide
marine mammal rehabilitation sites.

Specific techniques are employed by
the Hubbs Center and other organizations to
help oiled marine mammals to recover. After
an animal is captured and transported to a
marine rehabilitation facility, it is checked for
hypothermia and dehydration, then prepared
for cleaning. The otter is lightly sedated during
the washing process, which is usually done by
a team of two. One restrains the animal and
the other washes it with a mild detergent.
Once rinsed, the otter is hand-rubbed with
towels and dried with hand dryers. Through its
natural grooming process, the otter preens
itself, distributing an oil-like fluid produced by
glands in its skin. In about seven days, the
Otter’s fur will regain its water-repellency.

Otter being towel-dried following removal
of oil from its fur

During the recuperation process, an
otter’s body temperature and eating habits are
monitored. It is fed a variety of its favorite
foods, including fish, squid, shrimp, and
scallops. As its health improves, the animal is
moved to a holding tank. Slowly, it is
introduced to its natural habitat. Often, an
otter will try to return to a habitat that is still
contaminated. For this reason, released otters
are tagged with tracking devices. Some are
held for longer periods of time in order to give
cleanup crews additional time to remove more
oil from the area.

25



Evaporation occurs when the lighter
substances within the oil mixture
become vapors and leave the surface
of the water. This process leaves
behind the heavier components of the
oil, which may undergo further
weathering or may sink to the bottom
of the ocean floor. Spills of lighter
refined products such as kerosene and
gasoline contain a high proportion of
flammable components known as light
ends. These may evaporate
completely within a few hours, causing
minimal harm to the environment.
Heavier oils leave a thicker, more
viscous residue. Wave action from
rough seas increases both evaporation
and natural dispersion.

Oxidation occurs when oil contacts the
water, and oxygen combines with the
oil hydrocarbons to produce water-
soluble compounds, This process
affects oil slicks mostly around their
edges, Thick slicks may only partially
oxidize, forming tar balls. These
dense, sticky black spheres may linger
in the environment, washing up on
shorelines long after a spill.

Biodegradation occurs when micro-
organisms such as bacteria feed on oil
hydrocarbons. A wide range of micro-
organisms is required for a significant
reduction of the oil. To sustain
biodegradation, nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus are
sometimes added to the water to
encourage the micro-organisms to
grow and reproduce. Biodegradation
tends to work best in warm water
environments.

Emulsification is the process that forms
emulsions, which are mixtures of small
droplets of oil and water. Emulsions
are formed by wave action, and they
greatly hamper weathering and
cleanup processes. Two types of
emulsions exist: water-in-oil and oil-in-
water. Water-in-oil emulsions are
frequently called “chocolate mousse,"

and they are formed when strong wave
action causes water to become
trapped inside viscous oil. Chocolate
mousse emulsions may linger in the
environment for months or even years,
Oil and water emulsions cause oil to
sink and disappear from the surface,
giving the visual illusion that it is gone
and the threat to the environment has
ended.

An oil slick surrounding a small island

EFFECTS OF OIL ON PLANTS AND
ANIMALS

After oil is spilled, the most toxic
substances in it evaporate quickly. Therefore,
plant, animal, and human exposure to the most
toxic substances are reduced rapidly with time,
and are usually limited to the initial spill area.
Although some organisms may be seriously
injured or killed very soon after contact with
the oil in a spill (lethal effects), non-lethal toxic
effects are more subtle and often longer
lasting. For example, marine life on reefs and
shorelines is at risk of being smothered by oil
that washes ashore or of being slowly
poisoned by long-term exposure to oil trapped
in shallow water or on beaches.

Sensitivity of marine habitats
The marine environment is made up of

complex interrelations between plant and
animal species and their physical environment.





RESPONDING TO OIL SPILLS: THE NATIONAL RESPONSE SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION

When a maior oil spill occurs in any
navigable waters in the United States (U.S.),
coordinated teams of local, state and national
personnel are called upon to help contain the
spill, clean it up, and assure that damage to
human health and the environment is
minimized. Without careful planning and clear
organization, efforts to deal with large oil spills.
could be slow, ineffective, and potentially
harmful to response personnel and the
environment.

The system that has been established
in the U.S. for organizing responses to major
oil spills is called the National Response
System. This document describes the origins
of the National Response System and outlines
the responsibilities of the teams and individuals
who plan for and respond to major oil spills in
navigable waters.

THE NATIONAL RESPONSE SYSTEM

On March 18, 1967, a 970-foot oil
tanker, the Torrey Canyon, ran aground 15
miles off the western coast of England, spilling
117,000 tons of crude oil that eventually
washed up onto the popular resort beaches of
England and France. Although the U.S. had
not yet experienced a spill of this size in its
coastal waters, the federal government began
to question its ability to respond to such spills
if they occurred here. As a result, in 1968
several Federal agencies developed a plan,
now called the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, or
National Contingency Plan (NCP) for short, that
would bring together federal agencies with
various kinds of expertise to respond to oil
spills when they occur. The NCP, which was
made into law in 1973, established the National
Response System, a network of individuals and
teams from local, state and federal agencies
who share expertise and resources to assure

that oil spill control and cleanup activities are
timely and efficient, and that they minimize
threats to human health and the environment.

The three major components of the
National Response System are the (1) On-
Scene Coordinator, (2) National Response
Team, and (8) Regional Response Teams. The
National Response System is activated when
the National Response Center receives
notification of an oil spill.

The National Response Center

The National Response Center, located
in Washington, D.C., is one of the first
organizations to be notified when an oil spill
occurs, It is staffed by officers and marine
science technicians from the U.S. Coast
Guard, and serves as the national
communications center responsible for
notifying the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC)
whose job it is to oversee cleanup efforts at
the spill site,

The On-Scene Coordinator

The On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) is a
federal official who is responsible for all federal
government efforts to contain, remove, and
dispose of spilled oil in a major incident. This
Official is also responsible for coordinating
federal efforts with, and providing support and
information to, local, state and regional
response communities,

The OSC is a representative of one of
two federal agencies: the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) or the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The USCG has designated 48
OSCs; EPA has designated 145 OSCs. When
a spill occurs in coastal waters, the OSC is the
local USCG Port Commander. When a spill
occurs inland, a regional EPA official is
assigned as the OSC.

33



The OSC is responsible for four main
tasks during an oil spill response: (1)
assessment, (2) monitoring, (3) response
assistance, and (4) reporting.

Assessment

Assessment involves evaluating the
size and nature of a spill, its potential hazards,
the resources needed to contain and clean it
up, and the ability of the responsible party or
local authorities to handle the incident. The
OSC typically conducts these activities at the
beginning of a response. The results of the
assessment are used to determine the need
for personnel, equipment, and other resources
to promptly and effectively combat the spill.

Monitoring

Monitoring comprises those activities
taken to ensure that the actions being taken to
control and clean up a spill are appropriate. All
spills of a legally defined minimum size must
be monitored by an OSC, even though most
spills are small and are cleaned up by the
responsible party or local fire or police
departments. Monitoring can be conducted
from the site when necessary, or from an
agency office if the situation appears to be
under control.

Response Assistance

Once a spill has been assessed, the
OSC determines whether federal assistance
will be necessary to help control and contain
the spill. If the OSC decides that federal
assistance is required, the OSC will obtain
needed resources such as personnel and
equipment. If sufficient resources are not
available at or near the spill site, the OSC can
secure them using a special fund -- the Oil
Spill Liability Trust Fund (see box)-- which has
been established for this purpose. This
assistance is intended to ensure that oil spill
cleanups will not be hindered by a lack of
personnel or equipment.

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund

The company or individual
responsible for an oil spill (known as
a responsible party, or RP) has legal
liability, to a defined maximum
amount, for expenses related to
containment and cleanup of the spill.
However, when the RP is unable to
pay for cleanup, funds from the Oil
Spill Liability Trust Fund can be used
to pay for removal costs and/or
damages resulting from discharges
of oil into U.S. waters. This Trust
Fund, created by Congress in 1990,
is administered by the U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG), and is based ona
five-cent per barrel fee on imported
and domestic oil. It also provides
funds for research into and
development of oil spill cleanup
technologies. In 1990, $25 million
per year was authorized to the USCG
for its operating expenses for oil spill
cleanup efforts. Another $30 million
per year (until the end of 1992) was
provided to establish the National
Response System, and nearly $28
million per year is made available for
research and development
programs.

Reporting

Reporting on oil spill response actions
provides information that is useful for
designing or improving spill response plans.
The NCP requires that the OSC report all
activities that take place during and after a
spill. For example, following a spill, the OSC is
required to file a summary report that outlines
the actions taken to remedy the spill and the
level of assistance provided by local, state, and
federal agencies. These reports can be used
to identify problem areas and can be shared
with other agencies who may make.
recommendations for improvement.







Coast Guard personnel, along with employees
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service,
and the Environmental Protection Agency
helped with the response. Nine additional
Coast Guard cutters and eight aircraft were
brought to the scene. Specialists from the
Hubbs Marine Institute of San Diego, California,
set up a facility to clean oil from otters, and the
International Bird Research Center of Berkeley,
California established a center to clean and
rehabilitate oiled waterfowl.

THE CLEANUP

Three methods were tried in the effort
to clean up the spill:

. burning
. chemical dispersants
. mechanical cleanup

A trial burn was conducted during the
early stages of the Exxon Valdez spill. A fire-
resistant boom was placed on tow lines, and
the two ends of the boom were each attached
to a ship. The two ships, with the boom
between them, moved slowly through the main
portion of the slick until the boom was full of
oil. The ships then towed the boom away from
the slick and the oil was ignited. The fire did
not endanger the main slick or the Exxon
Valdez because of the distance separating
them. Because of unfavorable weather
conditions, however, no additional burning was
attempted in this cleanup effort.

Soon after the spill, dispersants were
sprayed from helicopters. Mechanical cleanup
was started using booms and skimmers.

The use of dispersants proved to be
controversial. Alyeska had less than 4,000
gallons of dispersant available at its terminal in
Valdez, and no application equipment or
aircraft. A private company applied
dispersants on March 24 with a helicopter and
dispersant bucket. Because there was not
enough wave action to mix the dispersant with

the oil in the water, the Coast Guard
representative at the site concluded that the
dispersants were not working.

Skimmers, devices that remove oil from
the water's surface, were not readily available
during the first 24 hours following the spill.
Thick oil and heavy kelp tended to clog the
equipment. ‘Repairs to damaged skimmers
were time-consuming. Transferring oil from
temporary oil storage vessels into more
permanent containers was also difficult
because of the oil’s weight and thickness.
Continued bad weather slowed down the
recovery efforts.

Efforts to save delicate areas were
begun early in the cleanup. Sensitive
environments were identified, defined
according to degree of damage, and then
ranked for their priority for cleanup. Seal
pupping locations and fish hatcheries were
given highest importance, and for these areas
special cleaning techniques were approved,
Despite the identification of sensitive areas and
the rapid start-up of shoreline cleaning,
however, wildlife rescue was slow. Adequate
resources for this task did not reach the
accident scene quickly enough. Through
direct contact with oil or because of a loss of
the their food resources, many birds and
mammals died.

THREE YEARS AFTER THE SPILL

During the three years after the Exxon
Valdez oil spill, cleanup and environmental
restoration of the affected shorelines and
islands continues. The cost of the cleanup has
amounted to billions of dollars, and the cost of
legal settlements has resulted in millions more.

On June 12, 1992 the U.S. Coast
Guard announced that the cleanup activities
should end. Although the cleanup activities
have ceased, there are still pools of oil left in
some areas where it is assumed that the harm
caused to the ecosystem by the oil is not
greater than the benefits to be gained from
further cleanup.

41



Alaska and Prince William Sound

Gulf of Alaska

HZ Oil Spill

1960504

Figure 2. Location of oil (dark areas) spilled from Exxon Valdez as of April 20, 1989.
, 39



through a pipe or hose to a storage tank for
recycling or disposal. These skimmers are
prone to becoming jammed and clogged by
floating debris.

Oleophilic (‘oil-attracting") skimmers
use belts, disks, or continuous mop chains of
oleophilic materials to blot the oil from the
water surface. The oil is then squeezed out or
scraped off into a recovery tank. Oleophilic

_ skimmers have the advantage of flexibility,
allowing them to be used effectively on spills of
any thickness. Some types, such as the chain
or "rope-mop" skimmer, work well on water that
is choked with debris or rough ice.

Response crew using a suction skimmer
(Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

Suction skimmers operate similarly to a
household vacuum cleaner. Oil is sucked up
through wide floating heads and pumped into.
storage tanks. Although suction skimmers are
generally very efficient, they are vulnerable to
becoming clogged by debris and require
constant skilled observation. Suction skimmers
operate best on smooth water, where oil has
collected against a boom or barrier.

SORBENTS

Sorbents are materials that soak up
liquids. They can be used to recover oil

Boom held between two ships as it is
moved across oiled water (Source: U.S.
Coast Guard)

through the mechanisms of absorption,
adsorption, or both. Absorbents allow oil to
penetrate into pore spaces in the material they
are made of, while adsorbents attract oil to
their surfaces but do not allow it to penetrate
into the material. To be useful in combatting
oil spills, sorbents need to be both oleophilic
and hydrophobic (‘water-repellant'). Although
they may be used as the sole cleanup method
in small spills, sorbents are most often used to
remove final traces of oil, or in areas that
cannot be reached by skimmers. Once
sorbents have been used to recover oil, they
must be removed from the water and properly
disposed of on land or cleaned for re-use. Any
oil that is removed from sorbent materials must
also be properly disposed of or recycled.

Sorbents can be divided into three
basic categories: natural organic, natural
inorganic, and synthetic. Natural organic
sorbents include peat moss, straw, hay,
sawdust, ground corncobs, feathers, and other °
readily available carbon-based products, They
are relatively inexpensive and usually readily
available. Organic sorbents can soak up
between 3 and 15 times their weight in oil, but
they do present some disadvantages. Some
organic sorbents tend to soak up water as well
as oil, causing them to sink. Many organic
sorbents are loose particles such as sawdust,



CLEANING UP AN OIL SPILL: AN EXPERIMENT YOU CAN DO AT HOME

This experiment is designed to help you to understand the difficulties with oil spill cleanups’.
You will need the following equipment:

Paper towels
liquid detergent
feathers

. two aluminum pie pans, each half-filled with water
. a medicine dropper full of used motor oil

. cotton balls (use real cotton)

. nylon

. string

.

Before you begin, make a list of predictions about the action of oil and water. You might want to
answer the following questions in your list:

. What will happen to the oil when you drop it on the water? Will it sink, float, or mix in?

. Which material will clean up the oil in the least amount of time? Cotton, nylon, paper
towel, or string?

. How might wind and waves affect the combination of oil and water?

Complete each of the following steps, and observe what happens.

1. Put five drops of motor oil into one of the ‘oceans" (your aluminum pie pans). Observe the
action of the oil and record what happens. Was your prediction correct?

2 One at a time, use the different materials (nylon, cotton, string, and paper towels) to try to
clean up the oil from the water, keeping track of the amount of oil each material was able to
clean up and how fast. it worked. (These materials are what booms and skimmers are made
of.) Which cleaned up the oil the fastest? The best?

3. Add five drops of oil to the second pan. Add five drops of liquid detergent. (This represents
the chemical dispersants.) Observe what happens. Where do you think the oil would go in
the “real” oceans?

4. Dip a feather directly into some oil. What happens to it? How do you think this might affect a
bird’s behaviors, such as flying, preening, and feeding?

Used with permission from Jane O. Howard, "Slick Science," Science and Children, vol. 27, no. 2
(October 1989).

W



INTRODUCTION

In an increasingly technological era, we have become more dependent upon petroleum
products to help us maintain our high standard of living. Products derived from petroleum, such as
heating oil and gasoline, provide fuel for our automobiles, heat for our homes, and energy for the
machinery used in our industries. Other products derived from petroleum, including plastics and
pharmaceuticals, provide us with convenience and help to make our lives more comfortable,

However, petroleum must be stored and transported, usuaily in large volumes. As a result of
exploration activities, or during storage or transport, oil and other petroleum products are sometimes
spilled onto land or into waterways. When this occurs, human health and environmental quality may
be at risk. Every effort must be made to prevent oil spills, and to clean them up promptly once they

occur,

The purpose of this brochure is to provide information about oil spills. This volume contains
individual sections that outline what oil spills are, their potential effects on the environment, how they
are cleaned up, and how various agencies prepare for spills before they happen. Details about one
oil spill cleanup -- that of the Exxon Valdez spill of March, 1989 -- is provided to offer an example of
the complexities that can potentially be involved in oil spill cleanup activities,



coordination assistance if requested during an
incident. It also provides information about
emergency training exercises to local and state
governments, assists in the design of
international contingency plans, and
recommends improvements to Regional
Contingency Plans.

IMPROVING CONTINGENCY PLANS

After an oil spill has been controlled
and cleaned up, the companies as well as the
local, state and federal agencies that were
involved in the emergency assess the
usefulness of their contingency plans.
Information gathered during the assessment,
such as problems that had not been
considered in the original plan, and the
successes or failures of cleanup techniques
used, will be used in a revised contingency
plan. This information will also be shared with
private companies and states, regions, and
federal agencies so that they too may learn
from oil spills to improve their contingency
plans.

SUMMARY

Planning for an oil spill emergency
helps to minimize potential danger to human
health and the environment by assuring a
timely and coordinated response. Well-
designed local, state, regional and national
contingency plans can assist response
personnel in their efforts to contain and clean
up oil spills by providing information that the
response teams will need before, during, and
after spills occur. Because the approaches
and methods for responding to oil spills are
constantly evolving, and each oil spill provides
an opportunity to learn how to better prepare
for future incidents, contingency plans are also
constantly evolving and improving -- assuring
increased protection to human health and the
environment from these accidents.



streams. The oil is flushed from the beach into
plastic-lined trenches or down to the shoreline,
then collected with sorbent materials and
disposed of properly.

This method has the advantage of
being relatively inexpensive and simple to
apply. It requires many personnel and is slow,
however. Additionally, high-pressure water
streams can dislodge organisms such as algae
and mussels from rocks and sediments on
which they live, or can force oil deeper into
sediments, making cleanup more difficult.

an a a =

Response crews using high pressure
hoses to wash an oil-covered beach
(Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

Raking or bulldozing

When oil moves downward into the
sands or between pebbles and cobbles on a
shoreline, it becomes more difficult to remove.
If the oil has moved downward only a short
distance, tilling or raking the sand can increase
evaporation of the oil by increasing its
exposure to air and sunlight. If the oil has
penetrated several inches into the sand,
bulldozers may be brought in to remove the
upper layers of sand and pebbles. This allows
the oil to be exposed so it can be collected
and removed from the site, washed with
pressure hoses, or left to degrade naturally.

Raking and bulldozing are simple
methods for helping to remove oil that might
otherwise escape into sediments. However,

20

these methods can disturb both the natural
shape of the shoreline and the plant and
animal species that live on and in the beach
sediments. In addition, the use of bulldozers
requires specially trained operators who can
maneuver them without damaging the beach
unnecessarily; raking and tilling are time-
consuming and require many personnel.

DISPOSAL OF OIL AND DEBRIS

Cleanup from an oil spill is not
considered complete until all waste materials
are disposed of properly. The cleanup of an
oiled shoreline can create different types of
waste materials, including liquid oil, oil mixed
with sand, and tar balls. Oil can sometimes be
recovered and reused, disposed of by
incineration, or placed in a /anafill. States and
the Federal government strictly regulate the
disposal of oil.

Reuse or recovery of oil requires that
the oil be processed and separated from the
other materials such as water that are mixed in
with it. The recovered oil can then be blended
with other fuels for use in power plants or
boilers.

Incineration uses extremely high
temperatures to convert compounds such as
oil into carbon dioxide and water. When a
mobile incinerator is used at a remote spill site,
the need for transporting large volumes of
coiled wastes to distant disposal sites is
eliminated. This can be a practical and
efficient method to manage large volumes of
waste generated during a cleanup. Because
incineration can potentially produce air
pollution, it is important that it be used in strict
compliance with air pollution laws.

Landfilling is another method of
disposing of oiled debris. The oil is mixed with
chemicals such as calcium oxide (‘quicklime")
that stabilizes the oil and makes it less able to
leak into groundwater or soils. Mixtures of
quicklime and oil must sometimes be taken to
specially designed landfills for disposal.





Qnacitice. nvauthe





RESPONSE TO OIL SPILLS: THE EXXON VALDEZ

INTRODUCTION

On March 24, 1989, shortly after
midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck
Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska,
spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude
oil. (See Figure 1.) The spill was the largest in
U.S. history and tested the abilities of local,
national, and industrial organizations to
prepare for, and respond to, disasters such as
these. Many factors complicated the cleanup
efforts following this spill. The size of the spill
and its remote location, accessible only by
helicopter or boat (see Figure 2), made
government and industry efforts difficult and
tested existing plans for dealing with such an
event.

The spill posed threats to the delicate
food chain that supports Prince William
Sound's commercial fishing industry. Also in
danger were ten million migratory shore birds
and waterfowl, hundreds of sea otters, dozens
of other species such as harbor porpoises and
sea lions, and several varieties of whales.

THE INCIDENT

The two-year-old oil tanker Exxon
Valdez, with a capacity of 1.46 million barrels
(62 million gallons) of oil, was the newest and
largest of Exxon’s 19-ship fleet. On the

evening of March 23, 1989, 1.26 million barrels

(54 million gallons) were loaded onto the ship
in Valdez, Alaska. The ship left the port at 9:10
p.m., bound for Long Beach, California. -

Chunks of ice from the nearby
Columbia Glacier were sitting low in the water,
so the ship’s captain tried to turn into an
empty inbound shipping channel to avoid
them. The ship was moving at approximately
12 miles per hour when it struck the rocks of
Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. The
underwater rocks tore huge holes in eight of
the vessel's eleven giant cargo holds, releasing
a flood of oil into the Sound. More than 11

million gallons of oil spilled within five hours of
the event. Seven hours after the spill was
reported, the resulting oil slick was 1,000 feet
wide and four miles long.

In addition to the spilled oil, there were
other immediate dangers. About 80 percent of
the ship’s oil cargo remained on board; the
ship was resting in an unstable position and in
danger of capsizing. Removing the remaining
oil from the ship and cleaning the spilled oil
were top priorities.

THE RESPONSE

Since the incident occurred in open
navigable waters, the U.S. Coast Guard’s On-
Scene Coordinator had authority for all
activities related to the cleanup effort. Once he
was notified of the spill, he immediately closed
the Port of Valdez to all traffic...A Coast Guard
investigator, along with a representative from
the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation, visited the scene of the incident
to assess the damage caused by the spill. By
noon on Friday, March 25th, the Alaska
Regional Response Team was brought
together by teleconference, and the National
Response Team was activated soon thereafter,
The National team is based in Washington,
D.C. and is composed of representatives from
fourteen different Federal agencies, with either
the Environmental Protection Agency or the
U.S. Coast Guard taking primary responsibility
for coordinating oil-spill cleanup activities.

Alyeska, the association that
represents seven oil companies who operate. in
Valdez, including Exxon, first assumed
responsibility for the cleanup. Alyeska
operates the pipeline and terminal at Valdez
and is responsible for carrying out plans for oil-
spill emergencies. Alyeska opened an
emergency communications center in Valdez
shortly after the spill was reported and set up a
second operations center in Anchorage,
Alaska.

37



RESCUING BIRDS AND MAMMALS FROM OIL SPILLS

INTRODUCTION

When an oil spill occurs, birds and
marine mammals are often injured or killed by
oil that pollutes their habitat. Without human
intervention, many distressed bitds and
animals have no chance of survival.

Unfortunately, rescuing wildlife is a
difficult, time-consuming task. Following the
Exxon Valdez oil spill in March, 1989, the
bodies of over 36,000 birds and 1,000 sea
otters were recovered in Prince William Sound,
Alaska. Scientists suspect that many more
actually perished as a result of the spill.

HUMAN INTERVENTION

Many government agencies and private
organizations help to rescue marine animals
and birds that have been exposed to oil
pollution. When an oil spill occurs, there is
often a plan to help these groups cooperate to
save as many animals as possible. While the
government is responsible for animal rescue
efforts, many private organizations assist in
rescuing injured wildlife. Before any person or
organization can handle or confine birds or
mammals for rescue, however, they must get
special permits that are issued by State and
Federal officials.

If oil is spilled into a marine
environment, the first step to stop the crisis is
to control the release and spread of oil at its
source. This prevents any additional oil
exposure to wildlife and coastal areas. At the
same time, efforts are made to keep animals
away from possible contamination. Devices
such as propane scare cans, floating dummies
and helium-filled balloons are often used to
scare animals away from oily areas, particularly
birds,

RESCUING BIRDS

For areas that have been polluted by
oil, rescuers must capture birds that have been
affected as quickly as possible in order to save
them. Two-way radio communications are
often used to help rescuers locate oily birds.
Once birds have been captured, they are taken
immediately to treatment centers where they
are given medical treatment and cleaned.

if treatment centers are not available
nearby, temporary facilities must be built in
local warehouses or other large buildings that
offer electricity, hot water, and ventilation. The
International Bird Rescue Research Center of
Berkeley, California has designed a bird
cleaning facility that can be operated from a
trailer, so that a truck can bring the facility to
the scene of an accident immediately.

Human handling injured
wildlife (Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

Minimizing stress is critical for ensuring
that captured birds survive. Rescue parties
usually will contact rehabilitation workers even
before they arrive, to make sure that they are

23



MECHANICAL CONTAINMENT AND RECOVERY OF OIL
FOLLOWING A SPILL

INTRODUCTION

Two major steps involved in controlling
oil spills are containment and recovery. This
document outlines some of the techniques and
equipment that are used to conduct oil-spill
control efforts.

CONTAINMENT

When an oil spill occurs on water, it is
critical to contain the spill as quickly as
Possible in order to minimize danger and
potential damage to persons, property, and
natural resources. Containment equipment is
used to restrict the spread of oil and to allow
for its recovery, removal, or dispersal. The
most common equipment used to control the

spread of oil are floating barriers, or booms,

Containment boom

BOOMS

Containment booms are used to
Control the spread of oil to reduce the
possibility of polluting shorelines and other
resources, as well as to concentrate oil in
thicker surface layers, making recovery easier.
In addition, booms may be used to divert and
channel oil slicks along desired paths, making
them easier to remove from the surface of the
water,

Although there is a great deal of
variation in the design and construction of
booms, ail generally share the following four
basic elements: ‘

° An above-water "freeboard" to contain
the oil and to help prevent waves from
splashing oil over the top of the boom

. A flotation device

. A below-water “skirt" to contain the oil
and help reduce the amount of oil lost
under the boom

. A ‘longitudinal support’, usually a chain
or cable running along the bottom of
the skirt, that strengthens the boom
against wind and wave action; may
also serve as a weight or ballast to add
stability and help keep the boom
upright

Booms can be divided into several
basic types. Fence booms have a high
freeboard and a flat flotation device, making
them least effective in rough water, where
wave and wind action can cause the boom to
twist. Round or curtain booms have a more
Circular flotation device and a continuous skirt.
They perform well in rough water, but are more
difficult to clean and store than fence booms,
Non-tigid or inflatable booms come in many
shapes. They are easy to clean and store, and
they perform well in rough seas. However,
they tend to be expensive, more complicated
to use, and puncture and deflate easily. All
boom types are greatly affected by the
conditions at sea; the higher the waves swell,
the less effective booms become.

Booms can be fixed to a structure,
such as a pier or a buoy, or towed behind or
alongside one or more vessels. When
stationary or moored, the boom is anchored
below the water surface.



and are difficult to collect after they are spread
on the water. Adding flotation devices, such
as empty drums attached to sorbent bales of
hay, can help to overcome the sinking
problem, and wrapping loose particles in mesh
will aid in collection.

Natural inorganic sorbents include clay,
perlite, vermiculite, glass wool, sand, or
volcanic ash. They can absorb from 4 to 20
times their weight in oil. Inorganic substances,
like organic substances, are inexpensive and
readily available in large quantities.

Synthetic sorbents include man-made
materials that are similar to plastics, such as
polyurethane, polyethylene, and nylon fibers.
Most synthetic sorbents can absorb as much
as 70 times their weight in oil, and some types
can be cleaned and re-used several times.
Synthetic sorbents that cannot be cleaned
after they are used can present difficulties
because arrangements must be made for their
temporary storage before they are disposed of.

The following characteristics must be
considered when choosing sorbents for
cleaning up spills:

. Rate of absorption -- The rate of
absorption varies with the thickness of
the oil. Light oils are soaked up more
quickly than heavy ones.

Oil retention -- The weight of recovered
oil can cause a sorbent structure to
sag and deform, and when it is lifted
out of the water, it can release oil that
is trapped in its pores. Lighter, less
viscous oil is lost through the pores
more easily than are heavier, more
viscous oils during recovery of
absorbent materials.

Ease of application -- Sorbents may be
applied to spills manually or
mechanically, using blowers or fans.
Many natural organic sorbents that
exist as loose materials, such as clay
and vermiculite, are dusty, difficult to
apply in windy conditions, and
potentially hazardous if inhaled.

Sorbent squares being used to remove oil
from a beach (Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

SUMMARY

The primary line of defense against oil
spills is the use of mechanical containment,
recovery, and cleanup equipment. Such
equipment includes a variety of booms,
barriers, and skimmers, as well as natural and
synthetic sorbent materials. A key to
effectively combatting spilled oil is careful
selection and proper use of the equipment and
materials most suited to the type of oil and the
conditions at the spill site. Most spill response
equipment and materials are greatly affected
by such factors as conditions at sea, water
currents, and wind. Damage to spill-
contaminated shorelines and dangers to other
threatened areas can be reduced by timely
and proper use of containment and recovery
equipment.