EVALUATION OF SELECTED EARTHMOVING EQUIPMENT FOR THE RESTORATION OF OIL CONTAMINATED BEACHES

Research studies were conducted to evaluate the use of selected earthmoving equipment in oil-contaminated beach-restoration operations and to determine the cost and effectiveness of such equipment. Specifically, the objectives were to: Determine modifications and costs required to improve the capacity of selected equipment. Develop optimum operating procedures for each method. Determine, through field testing, the operating cost of each method evaluated. These objectives were accomplished in two phases. Phase I: reviewed procedures utilized in previous beach-restoration operations, plus surveyed and evaluated commercially available earthmoving equipment. Phase II: full-scale tests to demonstrate the restoration procedures developed and to determine the efficiency with which each procedure/equipment item collects oil-contaminated material. The flexibility and performance characteristics of the equipment were tested under a variety of beach conditions. The oil removal effectiveness was greater than 98 percent for all restoration procedures. The highest effectiveness was achieved using the motorized grader and motorized elevating scraper working in combination. The tracked front end loaders were least effective. On beaches possessing low shear strength, flotation tires or steel-belted half-tracks on the motorized grader and a non-self-propelled elevating scraper with a tracked prime mover should be used. Conveyor-screening systems can be effectively utilized to load oil-contaminated material into trucks for transport to disposal areas, separate oil-sand pellets from clean sand, and partially separate oil-contaminated debris (i.e., straw, kelp, seaweed) from oil-contaminated sand.

• Corporate Authors:

  URS Research Company

  155 Bovet Road
  San Mateo, CA  United States  94402
• Publication Date: 1970-10

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Beaches; Cleaning; Oil recovery equipment; Oil spill cleanup; Oil spills
• Old TRIS Terms: Beach cleaning; Oil removal equipment
• Subject Areas: Environment; Maintenance and Preservation; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00019657
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 1 1973 12:00AM