In-situ Treatment of Oiled Sediment Shorelines

Abstract

Experimental oil spill studies were conducted to quantify the effectiveness of selected in-situ shoreline treatment options to accelerate natural oil removal processes on mixed-sediment (sand and pebble) shorelines. At each of three distinct shoreline sites, treatment test plots and control plots were established within a 40-, 80- and 143-m continuous stretch of oiled shoreline. A total of 5500 l of oil was deposited along a 3-m wide swath in the upper intertidal zone at each site. Approximately one week after oiling, a different treatment technique was applied to each plot. The treatment techniques were: sediment relocation (surf washing), mixing (tilling), bioremediation (fertilizer application), and bioremediation combined with mixing. One plot at each site was monitored for natural attenuation. The quantity of oil removed from the plots was measured six times up to 60 days post-treatment and then again one year later. Changes in the physical character of the beach, oil penetration, movement of oil to the subtidal environment, toxicity, and biodegradation were monitored over the 400-day period.

The results verified quantitatively that relocation of oiled sediments significantly accelerated the rate of oil removal from the shoreline by more than one year. Microscopic observations and image analyses confirmed that the oil–mineral aggregate formation process was active and was increased by sediment relocation. Oil biodegradation occurred in this arctic environment, both in the oiled sediments and on the fine mineral particles removed from the sediment by natural physical processes. The biodegradation of oil in sediment was significantly stimulated by simple bioremediation protocols. Mixing (by tilling) did not clearly stimulate oil loss and natural recovery in the context of this experimental design. None of the treatment techniques elevated toxicity in the nearshore environment to unacceptable levels, nor did they result in consequential alongshore or nearshore oiling.