Hazardous material (HM) spills pose serious problems in terms of the very poor visibility often attending such situations. No operational capability exists at night or other periods of low visibility. However, time is very important in spill control and recovery work; in a few hours, areas cleared of an HM spill can be covered again as unharvested HM drifts back over the cleared track. This report discusses new techniques whereby (1) HM spills can be gelled quickly and completely to a solid consistency. The gel is of much greater visibility; does not readily flow or spread; is easily, quickly, and completely recovered by nets; has lower volatility and lower fire and toxicity hazards; does not permeate into porous materials; and is easily regenerated into the original HM and gelling components. (2) Cheap, nontoxic and efficient fluorescent agents can be applied in low (50-ppm) concentrations onto spills by conventional crop-dusting or spraying techniques. Where there is open water with no HM cover, the fluorescer is dissipated into the water, but is preferentially retained wherever there are HM patches. At night, illumination by UV light (modified mercury vapor street lights) can be beamed over the spill area. Vivid fluorescent illumination occurs only from the HM patches, providing night-time control and recovery capability. (3) Underwater sonic sensing provides excellent synergistic effects with the fluorescence technique.

Project officer: Uwe Frank. Grant nos. R-806118-01 and R-804628-01. Photocopy.