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Revised inland oil spill clean-up manual
Volume 12/Number 12/December1981
Cleaning up Spilled Oil Revised Inland Oil Spill Clean-up Manual. CONCAWE Report no. 7/81. 150 pp. (1981) CONCAWE, The Hague.
Marine Ecosystems Analysis of Marine Ecosystems. A. R. Longhurst (Ed). Academic Press, London, 1981. xxii + 741 pp. ISBN 0 12 4 55560 8. Price £52.00 (UK only); $125.00. This book is a valiant attempt to squeeze into seven hundred odd pages of fairly heavy reading, the many directions in which marine ecology is now active. The Editor's preface recognizes how limited has been the advent of fundamentally new concepts since the first half of the c e n t u r y - a s distinct from elaboration and restatement. By arranging the work so that the chapters dealing with factual material take precedence over theoretical developments, the reader is gently acclimatized to the more difficult areas. It is a book every marine institution should possess. The first section consists of a description of a number of marine ecosystems, each characterized by well defined physical and geographical features. It provides an excellent, up to date account for advanced students in oceanography and a sound base for the remainder of the book. A wide diversity of topics, more or less unrelated, comprises the second section. Inevitably some, particularly the longer articles, are mere vehicles to sustain a useful bibliography. Their uncritical encyclopaedic quality makes them rather uninteresting. Others, however, though short, carry the authors' enthusiasm and approach over to the reader. These include G. C. Stephen's contribution on uptake of dissolved organics, R. W. Eppley's account of nutrient recycling, Carlton Ray's analyses of the role of large mammals, and McRoy & Lloyd's consideration of marine macrophytes. Sorokin's treatment of the important problem of the role of microheterotrophs fails to link convincingly a rather meagre input of primary data with elaborate energy flow diagrams. The third section is devoted to numerical and analogue modelling. Bayne's advocacy of modern predator-prey theory to illuminate relationships between marine organisms and Boyd's enlightening critique of microcosm experiments make refreshing reading. However, I must declare my personal antipathy to elaborate models that rely on little more than guesses for many of the coefficients of ecological processes and embody gross uncertainties regarding their mechanisms. If anything follows conclusively from the last three chapters it must be how hard the exponents of these methods have to search for achievements. To find that a major producer on a mud flat is not a carnivore, or to simulate a mussel growth curve with a two page computer programme, when Von Bertalanffy did it with a two constant equation, seem very marginal accomplishments. When someone is clever enough to invent a reliably predictive model at the level of complexity of a complete marine ecosystem they will surely be tempted to exercise their talents more gainfully on Wall Street or the Stock Exchange.
D. J. CRISP
This Manual is a revised and greatly enlarged re-issue of the 1974 Report of the same name. It describes both what can happen when oil is spilt on to land and also the remedial measures to adopt. It is an excellent work, which should be on the shelves of anyone who may be concerned with the movement of oil or of oil products over land and especially anyone actually concerned with oil spills. The manual is logically arranged, starting with the typical behaviour of oil spilt on to the ground, into subsoil, ground water or into surface water. There is also a section dealing with oil spilt on to ice or snow. Where they can aid comprehension, diagrams in three colours are included. In the first section they are particularly effective showing how even distant ground water can be contaminated by spilled oil. The safety of people is a prime requirement in any operation, and the need to avoid any possible hazards is mentioned frequently. The manual, very properly, gives considerable emphasis on manpower requirements and the need for adequate training and for providing stock piles of equipment and supplies. Section 4 briefly discusses clean-up strategy, stressing the need for a well rehearsed emergency procedure, with properly organized manpower to draw on as required. Clean-up methods to use on contaminated ground are described, with emphasis on the need to limit the spread of oil, how to do this and how to prepare temporary storage for collected oil. The section which discusses the reclamation of oil-soaked soil points out that eventually bio-degradation will reclaim the oily areas and indicates how this natural slow process can be speeded up by the use of fertilizers and cultivation. The use of dispersants especially to deal with walls, jetties, etc. is mentioned with appropriate reservations on their use in small confined water areas. Oil usually penetrates the surface soil and then contaminates the subsoil, which may also have to be treated possibly by excavation and removal of the oiled material, or even by washing the subsoil and removing the oil with the ground water, which is likely to be the ultimate destination of spilled oil. The problem of ground water contamination is covered at some length, in view of the importance of being able to deal with it. Methods of intercepting the spread of oil by sinking wells and pumping out the ground water together with the oil are described. The various methods of boring wells are described and the possible arrangements discussed. (This section is also very well illustrated by coioured diagrams.) Simple methods of separating the recovered oil from water are also included. As oil naturally finds its way into water-courses and rivers, a section deals with the various ways in which oil on open water can be contained and finally removed from the surface. The construction of simple dams, improvised from locally available materials, and the use of booms with methods of calculating the drag force of a river current on a boom and the load on its anchor points are described. Bubble and chemical barriers are mentioned. .,.The various types of skimming device, cyclone, disc, belt and absorbent rope are all shown in diagrams. In general, 437
Marine Pollution Bulletin
care has been taken not to mention trade names but to illustrate their principles of operation. This section would also be very useful to anyone concerned with oil spill cleanup in harbours, etc., or any calm water situation. Many of the other methods which have been proposed for dealing with spilt oil are briefly described. These include absorption, sinking, burning and the use of dispersants. When oil has been collected its further disposal is often difficult, so some possible methods are described and reference made to the CONCAWE Report on Disposal (9/80). This section also deals with the different problems which arise when oil is spilt on ice or snow and suggests what should be done. Section 10, on integrated clean-up operations, starts by pointing out that "every oil spill is unique, and there is no single method of clean-up which is universally applicable. Even different parts of the same spill may warrant different treatments." The section goes on to consider the options available for spills on to soil and inland waters. The more general hazards, fire and health risks, are considered first. The next consideration is to identify the extent of the contaminated zone and the source of the pollution and then to take steps to reduce the further spread of the oil. The complete integrated operation involves: confinement, removal, storage, transportation and recovery or disposal of the collected material. The earlier section of the report describes the various clean-up methods which might be used. In this section, two tables are given which enable the most suitable method for given circumstances to be chosen. They are simple yet comprehensive; one deals with spills initially on to soil, the other with spills into water. Reference is given to the appropriate section of the report in each case. The last section is a series of lists of equipment which should be available in emergency kits always ready to deal with an inland oil spill. There is a main or depot list, a list of equipment for the man who carries out the first investigation and an initial response kit which it is suggested should be pre-packed ready for use, in a trailer. These lists have been drawn up by people with actual experience of doing the job; it is good to see simple things such as clip boards and writing materials, scissors and PVC adhesive tape included, as well as more obvious items such as diesel generators, flood lights, skimmers, pumps, etc. The 150 pages of this report are well arranged, easy to read, and packed with information, all relevant to the task in hand. It should be essential reading for oil spill control officers wherever employed. J. W A R D L E Y - S M I T H
438
Pollution Can Take You to Monaco Petroleum and the Marine Environment: Petromar 80. Eurocean (Association Europ6enne Oc6anique) 1981. pp. 788. Graham & Trotman, London.
While the loss of supertankers at sea remains deplorable, it does have one alleviating feature; it leads to large numbers of international conferences in fashionable resorts. The best conference of 1980 (to which, those concerned may care to note, I was not invited), was held under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III in Monaco. Everything seems to have been arranged on the most lavish scale, with no less than seven additional opening addresses from other people as well, four sectional overviews (A. R. Michaelis is particularly good on the difference between accidents, disasters and catastrophes, which seems to be a question of megaorders of magnitude), 42 papers, four assessments by rapporteurs (A. Cottrill produced an especially useful summary of the polar papers), a discussion and a summing up (which arrives at the conclusion that pollution is better avoided. Slowly the message gets through). The papers were divided into four sessions. There were ten papers on costs and benefits of environmental management, with D. Cormack particularly interesting on the comparative cost of cleaning up messes with boats and aircraft; ten particularly interesting papers on polar activities; fourteen more routine ones on temperate activities, including a useful review by A. H. Lasday of research supported by the American Petroleum Institute; and eight rather thin ones on the much-neglected tropical activities, including an important review by R. S. Golob and D. W. McShea on "Implications of the Ixtoc 1 blow-out and oilspill", which mentions that in common with the Funiwa 5 incident off Nigeria it occurred when the drill collar had been raised to the level of the BOP stack so that the shear rams were unable to cut off the drill pipes. Apparently even with the combined resources of the oil industry nobody managed to break the bank at Monte Carlo. W. R. P. B O U R N E
Cleaning up Spilled Oil Revised Inland Oil Spill Clean-up Manual. CONCAWE Report no. 7/81. 150 pp. (1981) CONCAWE, The Hague.
Marine Ecosystems Analysis of Marine Ecosystems. A. R. Longhurst (Ed). Academic Press, London, 1981. xxii + 741 pp. ISBN 0 12 4 55560 8. Price £52.00 (UK only); $125.00. This book is a valiant attempt to squeeze into seven hundred odd pages of fairly heavy reading, the many directions in which marine ecology is now active. The Editor's preface recognizes how limited has been the advent of fundamentally new concepts since the first half of the c e n t u r y - a s distinct from elaboration and restatement. By arranging the work so that the chapters dealing with factual material take precedence over theoretical developments, the reader is gently acclimatized to the more difficult areas. It is a book every marine institution should possess. The first section consists of a description of a number of marine ecosystems, each characterized by well defined physical and geographical features. It provides an excellent, up to date account for advanced students in oceanography and a sound base for the remainder of the book. A wide diversity of topics, more or less unrelated, comprises the second section. Inevitably some, particularly the longer articles, are mere vehicles to sustain a useful bibliography. Their uncritical encyclopaedic quality makes them rather uninteresting. Others, however, though short, carry the authors' enthusiasm and approach over to the reader. These include G. C. Stephen's contribution on uptake of dissolved organics, R. W. Eppley's account of nutrient recycling, Carlton Ray's analyses of the role of large mammals, and McRoy & Lloyd's consideration of marine macrophytes. Sorokin's treatment of the important problem of the role of microheterotrophs fails to link convincingly a rather meagre input of primary data with elaborate energy flow diagrams. The third section is devoted to numerical and analogue modelling. Bayne's advocacy of modern predator-prey theory to illuminate relationships between marine organisms and Boyd's enlightening critique of microcosm experiments make refreshing reading. However, I must declare my personal antipathy to elaborate models that rely on little more than guesses for many of the coefficients of ecological processes and embody gross uncertainties regarding their mechanisms. If anything follows conclusively from the last three chapters it must be how hard the exponents of these methods have to search for achievements. To find that a major producer on a mud flat is not a carnivore, or to simulate a mussel growth curve with a two page computer programme, when Von Bertalanffy did it with a two constant equation, seem very marginal accomplishments. When someone is clever enough to invent a reliably predictive model at the level of complexity of a complete marine ecosystem they will surely be tempted to exercise their talents more gainfully on Wall Street or the Stock Exchange.
D. J. CRISP
This Manual is a revised and greatly enlarged re-issue of the 1974 Report of the same name. It describes both what can happen when oil is spilt on to land and also the remedial measures to adopt. It is an excellent work, which should be on the shelves of anyone who may be concerned with the movement of oil or of oil products over land and especially anyone actually concerned with oil spills. The manual is logically arranged, starting with the typical behaviour of oil spilt on to the ground, into subsoil, ground water or into surface water. There is also a section dealing with oil spilt on to ice or snow. Where they can aid comprehension, diagrams in three colours are included. In the first section they are particularly effective showing how even distant ground water can be contaminated by spilled oil. The safety of people is a prime requirement in any operation, and the need to avoid any possible hazards is mentioned frequently. The manual, very properly, gives considerable emphasis on manpower requirements and the need for adequate training and for providing stock piles of equipment and supplies. Section 4 briefly discusses clean-up strategy, stressing the need for a well rehearsed emergency procedure, with properly organized manpower to draw on as required. Clean-up methods to use on contaminated ground are described, with emphasis on the need to limit the spread of oil, how to do this and how to prepare temporary storage for collected oil. The section which discusses the reclamation of oil-soaked soil points out that eventually bio-degradation will reclaim the oily areas and indicates how this natural slow process can be speeded up by the use of fertilizers and cultivation. The use of dispersants especially to deal with walls, jetties, etc. is mentioned with appropriate reservations on their use in small confined water areas. Oil usually penetrates the surface soil and then contaminates the subsoil, which may also have to be treated possibly by excavation and removal of the oiled material, or even by washing the subsoil and removing the oil with the ground water, which is likely to be the ultimate destination of spilled oil. The problem of ground water contamination is covered at some length, in view of the importance of being able to deal with it. Methods of intercepting the spread of oil by sinking wells and pumping out the ground water together with the oil are described. The various methods of boring wells are described and the possible arrangements discussed. (This section is also very well illustrated by coioured diagrams.) Simple methods of separating the recovered oil from water are also included. As oil naturally finds its way into water-courses and rivers, a section deals with the various ways in which oil on open water can be contained and finally removed from the surface. The construction of simple dams, improvised from locally available materials, and the use of booms with methods of calculating the drag force of a river current on a boom and the load on its anchor points are described. Bubble and chemical barriers are mentioned. .,.The various types of skimming device, cyclone, disc, belt and absorbent rope are all shown in diagrams. In general, 437
Marine Pollution Bulletin
care has been taken not to mention trade names but to illustrate their principles of operation. This section would also be very useful to anyone concerned with oil spill cleanup in harbours, etc., or any calm water situation. Many of the other methods which have been proposed for dealing with spilt oil are briefly described. These include absorption, sinking, burning and the use of dispersants. When oil has been collected its further disposal is often difficult, so some possible methods are described and reference made to the CONCAWE Report on Disposal (9/80). This section also deals with the different problems which arise when oil is spilt on ice or snow and suggests what should be done. Section 10, on integrated clean-up operations, starts by pointing out that "every oil spill is unique, and there is no single method of clean-up which is universally applicable. Even different parts of the same spill may warrant different treatments." The section goes on to consider the options available for spills on to soil and inland waters. The more general hazards, fire and health risks, are considered first. The next consideration is to identify the extent of the contaminated zone and the source of the pollution and then to take steps to reduce the further spread of the oil. The complete integrated operation involves: confinement, removal, storage, transportation and recovery or disposal of the collected material. The earlier section of the report describes the various clean-up methods which might be used. In this section, two tables are given which enable the most suitable method for given circumstances to be chosen. They are simple yet comprehensive; one deals with spills initially on to soil, the other with spills into water. Reference is given to the appropriate section of the report in each case. The last section is a series of lists of equipment which should be available in emergency kits always ready to deal with an inland oil spill. There is a main or depot list, a list of equipment for the man who carries out the first investigation and an initial response kit which it is suggested should be pre-packed ready for use, in a trailer. These lists have been drawn up by people with actual experience of doing the job; it is good to see simple things such as clip boards and writing materials, scissors and PVC adhesive tape included, as well as more obvious items such as diesel generators, flood lights, skimmers, pumps, etc. The 150 pages of this report are well arranged, easy to read, and packed with information, all relevant to the task in hand. It should be essential reading for oil spill control officers wherever employed. J. W A R D L E Y - S M I T H
438
Pollution Can Take You to Monaco Petroleum and the Marine Environment: Petromar 80. Eurocean (Association Europ6enne Oc6anique) 1981. pp. 788. Graham & Trotman, London.
While the loss of supertankers at sea remains deplorable, it does have one alleviating feature; it leads to large numbers of international conferences in fashionable resorts. The best conference of 1980 (to which, those concerned may care to note, I was not invited), was held under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III in Monaco. Everything seems to have been arranged on the most lavish scale, with no less than seven additional opening addresses from other people as well, four sectional overviews (A. R. Michaelis is particularly good on the difference between accidents, disasters and catastrophes, which seems to be a question of megaorders of magnitude), 42 papers, four assessments by rapporteurs (A. Cottrill produced an especially useful summary of the polar papers), a discussion and a summing up (which arrives at the conclusion that pollution is better avoided. Slowly the message gets through). The papers were divided into four sessions. There were ten papers on costs and benefits of environmental management, with D. Cormack particularly interesting on the comparative cost of cleaning up messes with boats and aircraft; ten particularly interesting papers on polar activities; fourteen more routine ones on temperate activities, including a useful review by A. H. Lasday of research supported by the American Petroleum Institute; and eight rather thin ones on the much-neglected tropical activities, including an important review by R. S. Golob and D. W. McShea on "Implications of the Ixtoc 1 blow-out and oilspill", which mentions that in common with the Funiwa 5 incident off Nigeria it occurred when the drill collar had been raised to the level of the BOP stack so that the shear rams were unable to cut off the drill pipes. Apparently even with the combined resources of the oil industry nobody managed to break the bank at Monte Carlo. W. R. P. B O U R N E