EVALUATION OF LABORATORY TESTS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHEMICAL SURFACE WASHING AGENTS

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 511-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sullivan ◽  
Karen A. Sahatjian
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Laboratory Tests ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Chemical Surface ◽  
Cleaning Agents ◽  
Chemical Agents ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Prudhoe Bay ◽  
Spilled Oil ◽  
Porcelain Tile

ABSTRACT When spilled oil reaches a shoreline, it coats a myriad of surfaces. In many cases, chemical agents are used to clean the shoreline substrates, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Both dispersants and surface washing agents have been used. In this study, the Environmental Protection Agency evaluated two of the four laboratory tests currently available to measure the effectiveness of surface washing agents: the inclined trough test and the swirling coupon test. The agency used two standard reference oils (Prudhoe Bay and bunker C), two test surfaces (stainless steel and porcelain tile), and three cleaning agents (Corexit 9580, Corexit 7664, and Citrikleen XPC) to evaluate the precision, cost, and ease of operations of the two tests. The study concluded that the overall performance of the two tests is similar but that costs for the inclined trough test are lower. Overall, there is concern as to whether any of the four existing tests are appropriate measures of surface washing agent effectiveness. Two problems exist: none of the tests measures the amount of oil remaining on the surface after washing, and none of the tests accounts for how easily oil is removed from the water after being washed off the surface. Therefore, more research is needed before a surface washing agent effectiveness test can be adopted as a regulatory tool. Consideration should be given to establishing a separate category for surface washing agents on the Product Schedule of the National Contingency Plan.

SPILL PREVENTION: THE SPCC APPROACH

1975 ◽  
Vol 1975 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-188
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Charlton ◽  
John M. Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Pollution Control ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Prevention Program ◽  
Engineering Analysis ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Plan Implementation ◽  
Oil Storage ◽  
Federal Water Pollution Control ◽  
Good Plan ◽  
Spilled Oil

ABSTRACT The Oil Spill Prevention Program of the Environmental Protection Agency is discussed as it has evolved from the implementing legislation: section 311(j)(l)(C) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The regulations apply to all non-transportation-related facilities with oil storage in excess of certain minimum amounts from which spilled oil could reasonably be expected to reach navigable waters. The prevention program centers around a requirement in the regulation that these facilities must prepare and implement a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan. The type of engineering analysis needed to prepare or review a plan is discussed along with an outline of what EPA considers to be the elements of a good plan. After the period for plan implementation is past, a facility must submit its SPCC plan to EPA for review if it experiences spill problems. After review, EPA may require revisions to the plan in the form of amendments, but there are several levels of technical appeal on amendments. The paper discusses EPA plan reviews, amendment procedures, appeals on amendments, and finally, penalty procedures and appeals from penalties.

EFFECT OF VARIABLES ON PERFORMANCE OF SURFACE WASHING AGENTS UNDER A NEWLY DEVELOPED TESTING PROTOCOL

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 843-846
Author(s):  
Christopher C. Luedeker ◽  
Karen M. Koran ◽  
Albert D. Venosa
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Fuel Oil ◽  
Substrate Type ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Testing Protocol ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
And Control ◽  
Prudhoe Bay

ABSTRACT Surface washing agents (SWAs) can be used following an oil spill event to enhance the removal of stranded oil from shorelines and other surfaces. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a testing protocol to evaluate the effectiveness of SWAs in the laboratory. Using this protocol, the effects of substrate type, substrate hydration, and SWA-to-oil ratio (SOR) on the ability of SWAs to remove crude oil were evaluated. Experiments were conducted using Prudhoe Bay Crude (PBC) oil applied to three substrates under wet and dry conditions. Oil recovery efficiencies were similar for substrates made up of sand and the smaller of two gravels, while a decrease in efficiency was observed for the larger, more heterogeneous gravel. For the controls without SWA, after we compared dry and wet substrates, we decided dry substrates would be preferable for purposes of the protocol because variability was much lower and differences between treated and control samples were greater. To determine the effect of SOR, four SWAs were evaluated at three SORs and two dilutions for their efficiency in removing PBC from dry sand. Oil recovery efficiency as a function of SOR was lower at the low SOR ratios (1:1 <2:1 <10:1). Application of equivalent volumes of 50% and 100% SWA solutions to PBC revealed that efficiency increased with applied mass of SWA. However, when equal masses of SWA were applied at 10:1 SOR, similar efficiencies were achieved regardless of dilution. This suggests that, except at the highest application rate, total applied mass is a more critical variable than dilution for these SWAs. IFO180 Fuel Oil was also evaluated under these conditions. Preliminary data suggest lower SWA efficiencies were observed with this heavier weight oil.

Effect of Salinity on the Effectiveness of Solidifiers for Crude Oil Spill Remediation

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1457-1464
Author(s):  
Devi Sundaravadivelu ◽  
Makram T. Suidan ◽  
Albert D. Venosa ◽  
Pablo I. Rosales
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Mass Ratio ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Mixing Energy ◽  
Final Volume ◽  
Separatory Funnel ◽  
Prudhoe Bay ◽  
Crude Oil Spill

ABSTRACT A laboratory investigation was conducted to test the effectiveness of solidifiers with fresh water and artificial seawater using Prudhoe Bay Crude oil. Experiments were designed to study the effects of salinity, solidifier type, solidifier-to-oil mass ratio (SOR), mixing energy and beaker size using five solidifiers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing a protocol for testing the effectiveness of solidifiers in a laboratory setting. This involves measuring the amount of free oil remaining in the water after the solidified product is removed using an ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer. For these experiments, 0.25 mL of oil was added to salinized beaker containing 80 mL of water. Milli-Q water and sterile GP2 seawater were used as the exposure media. The mass of the solidifier was changed depending on the SOR. Each of the solidifier was added to a slick of crude oil on water. After stirring the mixture for 30 minutes, the solidifier was removed. The water with the remaining oil was transferred from the beaker to 250 mL separatory funnel. The solution in the funnel was extracted three times with 20 mL of dichloromethane and the final volume adjusted to 60 mL. The extracted samples were analyzed for oil content with an Agilent 8452 ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer. All experiments were carried out in triplicate. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the data collected, which helped quantify the main and interactive effects of the variables. Salinity of the water was mostly found to be an insignificant factor. Results indicated that SOR and solidifier type are the most important variables affecting removal efficiency.

Round-Robin Testing of a New EPA Dispersant Effectiveness Protocol

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 467-470
Author(s):  
Albert D. Venosa ◽  
George A. Sorial ◽  
Dennis W. King
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Round Robin ◽  
Crude Oils ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Round Robin Test ◽  
Testing Protocol ◽  
Repeatability And Reproducibility ◽  
Dispersant Effectiveness ◽  
Prudhoe Bay ◽  
South Louisiana

ABSTRACT The current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocol for testing the effectiveness of dispersants, the Swirling Flask Test (SFT), has been found to give widely varying results in the hands of different testing laboratories. A redesign of the testing flask by eliminating the side arm, incorporating baffles in the wall of the flask, and adding a stopcock at the bottom has been adopted to improve reproducibility in the hands of different operators. The new procedure is called the Baffled Flask Test (BFT). Similar to the original SFT, the test is relatively simple, requires minimum equipment, and involves a total time span of about 2.5 hours for testing four replicates on one of the two crude oils. Before EPA can adopt the BFT as the official protocol replacing the SFT, the newly developed test must undergo independent testing in the hands of commercial laboratories. Thus, to demonstrate its repeatability and reproducibility to support its adoption as the new EPA testing protocol, a round-robin test was conducted during the spring 2000 with eight independent laboratories. The participating laboratories were provided with all the supplies needed to conduct the BFT: baffled flasks, South Louisiana and Prudhoe Bay crude oils, six dispersant products, and the artificial seawater formulation used in the protocol. The laboratories were given specific, detailed instructions on how to conduct the tests for the dispersants, including all necessary quality assurance procedures. Results were reported back to EPA and the results were analyzed statistically to quantify repeatability and reproducibility. The paper discusses the data and presents the analysis showing the method's reproducibility.

Scanning electron microscopy of asbestos-containing material where the asbestos fibers are considered locked in a binder

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 472-473
Author(s):  
J. R. Millette ◽  
R. S. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Asbestos Fibers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Binder Material ◽  
Scanning Electron

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled as “friable” those building materials that are likely to readily release fibers. Friable materials when dry, can easily be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder using hand pressure. Other asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) where the asbestos fibers are in a matrix of cement or bituminous or resinous binders are considered non-friable. However, when subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or other forms of abrasion, these non-friable materials are to be treated as friable asbestos material. There has been a hypothesis that all raw asbestos fibers are encapsulated in solvents and binders and are not released as individual fibers if the material is cut or abraded. Examination of a number of different types of non-friable materials under the SEM show that after cutting or abrasion, tuffs or bundles of fibers are evident on the surfaces of the materials. When these tuffs or bundles are examined, they are shown to contain asbestos fibers which are free from binder material. These free fibers may be released into the air upon further cutting or abrasion.

Managing the impacts of mining on Ghana’s water resources from a legal perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasirudeen Abdul Fatawu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Mining Areas ◽  
Legal Perspective

Recent floods in Ghana are largely blamed on mining activities. Not only are lives lost through these floods, farms andproperties are destroyed as a result. Water resources are diverted, polluted and impounded upon by both large-scale minersand small-scale miners. Although these activities are largely blamed on behavioural attitudes that need to be changed, thereare legal dimensions that should be addressed as well. Coincidentally, a great proportion of the water resources of Ghana arewithin these mining areas thus the continual pollution of these surface water sources is a serious threat to the environmentand the development of the country as a whole. The environmental laws need to be oriented properly with adequate sanctionsto tackle the impacts mining has on water resources. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure needs to bestreamlined and undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and not the company itself.

Short Communication: A Note of Caution to Users of ECOSAR

1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus L.E. Kaiser ◽  
John C. Dearden ◽  
Werner Klein ◽  
T. Wayne Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Partition Coefficients ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Personal Computer Software ◽  
Linear Correlations ◽  
Class Representative ◽  
Chemical Class

Abstract ECOSAR (1998), a personal computer software program available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and affiliated vendors, is used to estimate the toxicity of chemicals to aquatic organisms, particularly fish, daphnid and algae species. It relies on approximately 150 equations, each for a chemical class of substances (Clements et al. 1996), which are linear correlations (SARs) of measured toxicity values of class-representative compounds with their octanol/water partition coefficients, with the latter taken from a database or computed by a companion program.

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