COASTAL HIGH MARSH OIL SPILL CLEAN-UP BYBURNING: FIVE-YEAR EVALUATION

摘要

On 7 January 1992, rupture of anunderground oil transfer pipeline spilled 2,950 barrels ofSouth Texas light crude oil (API gravity 37) into a highsalt-marsh environment along Chiltipin Creek nearBayside, San Patricio County, Texas. The designated stateOn-Scene-Coordinator, the Texas General Land Office,after coordination with other resource agencies,authorized in situ burning as the primary cleanuptechnique. Plant frequencies, plant biomass, andhydrocarbon levels in impacted and control areas weremonitored between October 1992 and January 1998.Despite severe initial damage, most of the impacted areawas revegetated within the first two growing seasons.However, significant differences in vegetation patternsbetween the two areas continued to exist in January 1998.Linear regression of plant frequency data gives a predictedrecovery in the year 2007 (14-15 years post-burn). Plantbiomass in the impacted area approximated levels in thecontrol area after only two years. Hydrocarbonconcentrations in the impacted area remained high afterthree years, but a strong correlation to vegetation patternsover time was not apparent. Results of this study supportsthe hypothesis that use of in situ burning as a response toolhas distinct advantages over other countermeasures.