1993 Spill Off Tampa Bay, a Candidate for Burning?
1993 Spill Off Tampa Bay, a Candidate for Burning?
(862 K)
LaBelle, R. P.; Galt, J. A.; Tennyson, E. J.; McGrattan,
K. B.
NIST SP 995; Volume 2; March 2003.
Environment Canada. Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program
(AMOP) Technical Seminar, 17th Proceedings. Volume 1.
June 8-10, 1994, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 635-649 pp, 1994.
Keywords:
oil spills; in situ combustion; fire plumes; sand
Abstract:
On August 10, 1993, the Tank Barge Ocean 255 and the
Tank Barge Bouchard B-155 collided with the freighter
Balsa 37 near the entrance of Tampa Bay, Florida. Jet
fuel from the Ocean 255 caught fire and burned for
approximately 18 hours. Barge B-155, carrying 5 million
gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, ruptured a port tank and
spilled an estimated 328,000 gallons. Much of the
discharged oil was initially carried offshore by winds
and tidal currents and moved northward, parallel to the
adjacent barrier island beaches. By August 14 and 15, a
storm system bringing winds from the west pushed oil
onshore onto several beaches and into and through tidal
inlets. Subsequent oiling of sand beaches, shallow
embayments, and fringing wetlands occurred during the
second week of the spill event. Estimates are that
about 14.5 miles of sand beaches were oiled, along with
approximately 6 acres of mangrove wetlands, 2.5 acres of
seagrass beds, and 1.5 acres of saltmarshes. Areas of
submerged oil were also present in bays and bay passes.
This paper outlines the general behavior and movements
of the spilled oil and the sea and weather conditions
prevalent before the oil moved ashore. The possibility
of removing portions of the spill by ignition and
combustion is discussed, and results of smoke plume
model runs are presented. Given the highly successful
in-situ test burning of spills off Newfoundland in
August 1993, this response measure deserves serious
evaluation in future emergencies. Presently, spill
responders must consider both actual and publicly
perceived hazards associated with the at-sea burning of
oil.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899