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THE FEASIBILITY OF IDENTIFYING MYSTERY OIL SPILLS
Citation:
Hunt, G., D. Mayo, AND D. Horton. THE FEASIBILITY OF IDENTIFYING MYSTERY OIL SPILLS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-81/060.
Description:
Several off-the-shelf passive tagging techniques for identifying the origin of mystery oil spills were evaluated to determine the viability of enforcement provisions of Maine's Oil Conveyance Law. Duplicating the operating conditions experienced during every-day marine terminals activities, ship's samples of all crude oil shipments received during 15 day intervals in Portland (Maine) Harbor were collected. Selected samples from those collected during a test interval were subjected to artificial spills in 500 gallon tanks exposed to outdoor, sea-side ambient conditions experienced in Portland, Maine. Subsamples of each artificial spill were taken during the 15 day test interval to determine the effect of weathering. Attempts were made to match weathered unknowns to collections of known oil containing the 'mystery' oil. Several passive tagging techniques were used such as the comparison of high resolution and low resolution gas chromatography, vanadium-nickel ratios, sulfur nitrogen ratios, and infrared spectra. Successes, failures, and limitations of the passive tagging methods are discussed.