FIELD EXPERIENCE WITH CONTROLLED BURNING OF INLAND OIL SPILLS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Marathon Pipe Line Company (MPL) uses controlled burning as a means to clean up small oil spills and their residues in its gathering systems in oil-producing areas of southern Illinois. Controlled burning can be a quick, effective, and environmentally sound method of remediating small inland oil spills in rural areas. This paper focuses on actual field decision making and experience with controlled burning. MPL's evaluation process in deciding to conduct burning of a spill is discussed in detail. Such factors as the volume of oil released, the surrounding terrain, current and predicted weather, the accessibility of the oil, public health and safety, and proper permission to burn are considered. The decision to burn must be made within a few days of the spill because the light components of the crude oil rapidly volatilize, making the oil much less flammable and less likely to burn completely. When the decision is made to burn, additional control factors must be considered during the conduct of the burn, such as safe burn initiation, use of firebreaks and other fire control methods, burn direction versus wind direction, generation of airborne embers, and site security. Finally, postburn evaluation is discussed. Case studies of actual MPL-conducted burns and postburn analytical data of the burned areas are presented and compared to current Illinois cleanup criteria. The data indicate that controlled burning followed by surface bioremediation can quickly and successfully remediate small crude oil spill sites to Illinois cleanup standards.