M/T WESTCHESTER OIL SPILL: SHORELINE ASSESSMENT ANDCLEANUP ALONG THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER

摘要

On 28 November 2000, the M/T Westchesterspilled 1,925 tonnes of Nigerian crude oil into the MississippiRiver. An estimated 50 percent of the spilled oil was recoveredduring the response. Several factors contributed to thisextraordinary recovery rate: deployment of booms within hoursin locations where large volumes of oil were diverted out of theriver and into sheltered holding areas for later recovery; thewind blew consistently from one direction piling the oil againstone bank; the oil quickly emulsified thus spreading on the watersurface was limited; the ambient air temperature was oftenbelow the oil's pour point so the oil formed thick accumulationsthat adhered to the shoreline; and the river levees provided goodaccess to the shoreline in places. The spilled oil contaminated35 kilometers of one bank of the river and sheens extended as faras 70 kilometers downriver of the release site. Oiled shorelinehabitats included 22.5 km of riprap, 2.9 km of sand flats, 3.4 kmof mud flats, and 5.4 km (1.38 acres) of freshwater marshes andsloughs. The shoreline assessment process supported operationsin evaluating cleanup methods and developing operationallyoriented cleanup endpoints.