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Spill Tools / Step 2 / Answers
Step 2 - Answers
Here are the answers to the questions
for both Part 1 and Part 2.
Answers for Part 1
Here's how the In-Situ Burn Calculator
should look, once you've typed in all the information about the scenario and
clicked Calculate:

Answers
- How long would it take to complete
each burn (account for filling, offsetting, and redeploying the boom as well
as burning the oil)? This is the Total time, 5.5 hours
- How much of the oil in the slick
would be burned during a single burn? Estimate this as (Effective Burn * Total)
= 220 bbl
- How many burns of this size would
you need to burn off all the oil in the slick? This is Number of Burns Needed,
5 burns.
- How long would it take to burn
the entire slick? Estimate this by dividing the total volume of the slick,
1000 barrels, by the Effective Burn rate: 1000 bbl / 40 bbl/hr = 25 hours
(you can obtain a similar estimate by multiplying the total time taken to
complete one burn by the number of burns needed).
- Is burning a realistic option,
given the time available? The Calculator estimates that, using 300 feet of
boom under conditions conducive to burning, you would be able to remove about
one-fifth of the spilled oil within 6 hours (you have 10 hours before the
oil is predicted to reach the sensitive site). This is a substantial enough
fraction of the spilled oil that if conditions are conducive to burning (the
weather is calm and the oil has been freshly spilled) and you judge that you
can start the burn soon, deciding to use in situ burning along with other
response measures would be a reasonable choice. If you could obtain additional
boom, you would be able to remove more oil (try adjusting Length and rerunning
this scenario--you'll see that small increases in boom length can greatly
increase the estimated amount of oil burned). However, note that conditions
could change to make burning more difficult (the weather may deteriorate,
and oil becomes more difficult to burn as it weathers); check our In Situ Burning Page to learn more
about staging burns.
Proceed to Part 2 of Exercise 2
Answers for
Part 2
Here's how the graphs of ground-level
concentration and the smoke plume should appear:


Answers
- Would people in boats downwind
of the burn be exposed to smoke concentrations above the LOC? Check the graph
of predicted Ground-Level Concentration to see that the smoke particle concentration
is not predicted to rise above the LOC line (the horizontal dashed line on
the graph), anywhere downwind of the burn. People at ground level downwind
of the burn are not predicted to be exposed to concentrations above the LOC.
- What about pilots in small aircraft?
(What aircraft might be in the area, and what might they be doing?) Check
the diagram of the Level of Concern Plume to see that smoke particle concentrations
are predicted to exceed the LOC at heights above ground level downwind of
the burn during the time that the burn is proceeding steadily. During an oil
spill response, there are usually spotter aircraft flying around, and during
the response to this incident, the Bell 212 pilot would be applying dispersants.
You'd need to alert the pilots of these aircraft before beginning the burn.
Revised: April 16,
2001
Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration