Summary

Vejledning om strandrensning – februar 2008

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has prepared the present updated guideline for cleaning of oil contaminated beaches and other coastal areas. The main target group for this guideline is local municipalities holding responsibility for coastal cleaning in case of oil contamination of coastal areas.

In chapter 2 of the present guideline, the general delegation of responsibility in case of pollution of the sea, of coasts, beaches and harbours is described. Chapter 3 gives a number of guidelines for municipal contingency plans for remediation of coasts, beaches and harbours after oil pollution. Chapter 4 describes the rules laid down concerning distribution of expenses for emergency preparedness and control measures between the authorities involved.

Chapter 5 gives a short description of some of the most important oil pollution incidents during the last 35 years. The chapter exemplifies different cleaning actions and effects of oil contamination. This will give an insight in the diversity of oil contamination and illustrate the experiences from previous oil contamination e.g. the importance of alert plans.

Chapters 6-13 include descriptions of different beach cleaning methods used for certain stretches of coast in relation to the stretches’ geologic shape, biological vulnerability and the size and type of the oil spill etc.

The aim of the guidelines is to point out beach cleaning methods that pay as much attention as possible to the vulnerability of the different coast types to oil pollution and the cleaning work.

Previous oil pollution incidents have shown that the character of the pollution and consequently the most effectual cleaning methods vary from incident to incident. As this makes it impossible to draw up detailed guidelines for cleaning work covering any conceivable oil pollution incident at a stretch of coast, an assessment must be made for each oil pollution incident stating which cleaning and disposal methods will be most suitable.

To support this assessment, the physical properties of significance for spreading and transformation of different oil types on the beach, are reviewed in chapter 6. This is further detailed in chapter 7, where it is described, how it must be expected that spilled oil will be degraded and spread after spills at sea. Biological impacts of oil pollution are outlined in chapter 8. The background for this is that knowledge of the potential biological harmful effects influences how the cleaning must be approached, and which coast lines must given priority to protection against the spilled oil.

The clean up of the different coast types are described in chapter 12. Moreover this chapter includes a description of how it can be prioritised which coast lines should be protected first in case of threatening oil pollution and which coast lines should be given high priority regarding cleaning after an oil pollution has occurred. The chapter also includes a more detailed review of cleaning methods for different coast types, and it is described how after-cleaning could be accomplished.

Natural biological degradation of oil can be stimulated, and stimulation of the natural biological oil degradation can be a suitable way to “polish” the coast after traditional mechanical cleaning. Moreover, stimulation of the natural oil degradation, in special cases may be the most appropriate and environmentally sound way, even as the only cleaning measure applied. Stimulation of the natural biological degradation of oil is dealt with in chapter 13. It is emphasized that application of this measure demands detailed planning and monitoring.

Chapter 9 includes a description of material and equipment suitable for oil recovering, protection and cleaning. The chapter describes both special equipment as well as the use of current contractors’ machinery.

The oil does not only constitute a danger to the environment - there are also occupational safety and health related measures which have to be observed to avoid that the people taking part in the cleaning work and handling of the collected oil are injured or become ill. Therefore, chapter 11 of the guidelines includes a special paragraph on occupational safety and health risks in connection with clean-up of certain types of oil products.

Identification of the polluter and production of evidence in an action for damages/criminal case are topics that have received much attention during recent years, just as a considerable development has taken place within this area. This situation is reflected in the revised chapter 10 on sampling.

Even though the present guideline only deals with oil pollution control, chapter 14 briefly describes the measures to be adopted in case of drums, tanks, boxes and similar wrecks being washed ashore.