A series of performance tests were conducted at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's OHMSETT test facility with four selected oil spill pickup devices (skimmers). Each of the four skimmers was tested for two weeks with both high and low viscosity oils. The objectives of the tests were to establish the range of best performance for each skimmer under the manufacturer's design limits and to document test results on 16mm film and by quantitative measures of performance. The four oil skimmers studied by the OHMSETT Interagency Test Committee were: (1) Oil Mop Skimmer - A catamaran vessel designed primarily for oil skimming at speeds above 1.5 m/s. (2) Cyclonet 050 - A device mounted on an inflatable boat designed for oil skimming in relatively calm water. (3) Clowsor Skimmer - A unit designed primarily for recovering oil at very high rates while held stationary in calm water. (4) Bennett Mark 6E - A semi-catamaran vessel designed for skimming oil at speeds up to 1.5 m/s. A total of 198 individual data test runs were made during the course of the 8-week test program. Each skimmer was tested to the limit of its design conditions and beyond.

Issued Sept. 1978. Prepared by Pollution Abatement Associates, Corte Madera, California, and Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc., under contract no. Contract Number: 68-03-0490.