You are here:
AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SPILL CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY
Citation:
Griffiths, R. AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SPILL CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-82/341 (NTIS PB83116939).
Description:
A review of the equipment and techniques for responding to spills of dangerous cargoes is presented in the report. Categorizing spilled products as floaters, sinkers, mixers, or vapors provides a convenient viewpoint for discussing response technology, which depends strongly on which behavior the product exhibits. Spills of radioactive and bacteriological agents are not covered in this paper, though the potential use of bacteria for mitigating oil or chemical spills is noted. The technologies for responding to spills of floaters and sinkers are shown to be the most well developed of the four types. Equipment and techniques in common use by the United States and Canadian governments are discussed to illustrate this. Current technology includes both removal of the pollutant using non-conventional equipment such as booms, skimmers, dredges, or sorbents and in-place treatment such as chemically-enhanced dispersion, enhanced microbiological degradation, or in-place burning.