SHORELINE CLEANER USE IN A SANDY BEACH ENVIRONMENT

摘要

An experiment, designed to simulate removal of stranded oil from a sandy beach using shoreline cleaners, was conducted at a wave-tank facility (Shoreline Environmental Research Facility [SERF]) in Corpus Christi, Texas. The experi-mental treatments included oiled control, oil-plus-COREXIT? 9580, and oil-plus-CytoSol?. On one end of each wave tank, a sandy beach was configured. A tidal regime was established by varying the influent flow while the effluent flow was held constant. Approximately 3 kilograms of fuel oil was systemati-cally applied to each beach and allowed to naturally weather for 24 hours before experimental onset. Each cleaner was sprayed onto its respective beach, allowed to soak, and flushed with seawater. The flushed oil that resurfaced as a floating slick was contained at each tank center using projected air streams. Sediment, water-column, effluent, and oil slick samples were taken throughout the experimental period (～12 hours total). Strips of previously applied tank-liner material were also analyzed for oil accumulation. Using total petroleum hydrocar-bon (TPH) results from GC-MS analysis, a materials balance on the oil was determined for all oil treatments. It was assumed that the significant oil-accumulation ?compartments? were sediments, water column, oil slick, and the tank sides. The effluent discharge from the tanks was presumed to be the primary ?sink.? Under these experimental conditions, approximately half of the oil remained stranded in the beach sediments in the COREXIT? 9580-treated tank. In the CytoSol?-treated tank, approximately 20% of the oil remained in the sediment; unanticipated beach erosion was a factor in the oil removal. In the oiled-control tank, no oil remained on the beach, though this may be an experimen-tal artifact due to beach erosion. The logistics of slick collection varied tremendously for the three slicks. Although the CytoSol?-treated slick and the oiled-control slick were comparable in volume, the treated slick was easy to collect while the control slick presented many problems. Collection of the COREXIT?-treated slick was not difficult logistically, but there was very little oil to collect.