OIL SPILL CLEAN-UP TECHNIQUES FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN LEBANON

Abstract

ABSTRACT A major oil spill impacted two-thirds of Lebanon'S shoreline in July 06 following the bombing of a power plant 30 km south of Beirut. After hostilities ceased, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded an intensive, ten-week project, in consultation with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, to clean up several high priority sites along Lebanon'S northern coast. Many of these sites were historically and archaeologically significant, including World Heritage Site (Byblos Port) and the Phoenician Wall (over 7,000 years old). This paper will review the response in Lebanon regarding techniques for cleaning archaeological sites and methodologies for joint-monitoring by local authorities, archaeological experts, and response managers. Given the recent conflict, access to equipment and supplies at the time of the response was severely limited. Clean up options were limited to techniques utilizing the resources at hand. Further challenges were the limited time window, due to impending winter weather, and limited funding. The archaeological sites impacted within the operational area varied in size, physical characteristics, and degree of oiling. Site identification and assessment were key elements in preparing plans for the cleaning effort. With numerous sites and labor-intensive approved cleaning techniques, sites were prioritized in coordination with local authorities and archaeologists. The primary composition of the sites is a hard, semi-porous stone in varying stages of deterioration from age, weather, and exposure to the sea. It was imperative that the cleaning not accelerate this deterioration; thus, mechanical cleaning was eliminated in favor of hand cleaning with low pressure flushing. All sites were cleared of debris prior to the initiation of cleaning operations. Next gross contamination was removed by hand wiping of surfaces and low pressure flushing of depressions, fissures, and other areas inaccessible to hand cleaning. The third step was hand cleaning with brushes with varying bristle types depending upon the particular surface being cleaned and incorporating approved de greasing compounds where applicable. A very specific cleaning routine and expected endpoint was established for each site allowing for inspections at the completion of each stage of the work. The site cleaning operations were conducted under close supervision of Lebanese archaeologists.