U.S. Navy Ship Salvage Manual Volume 6 - Oil Spill Response

S0300-A6-MAN-060Sometimes termed rock polishing, stain removal is the final step taken to eliminate all visual evidenceof oil contamination. There is considerable controversy within the scientific community asto whether rock polishing causes more harm than good. The potential harm or benefit of rock polishingvaries depending on the ecosystems involved. Policy concerning rock polishing will be setby the FOSC or Remedial Program Manager on advice from the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinatoror EPA Environmental Response Team.7-4 CLEANING ORGANIZATIONCleaning is a part of oil spill response and the cleaning organization is a part of the oil spillresponse organization. Navy personnel or contractors engaged in cleaning usually are formed intoa two-tier organization. One tier of the organization consists of the Navy-On Scene Coordinator(NOSC) and the staff. The other tier consists of people directly engaged in field operations.The NOSC and staff personnel are located near the scene at a command post with transportationand communications facilities. Staff personnel are concerned with planning, funding, securingresponse equipment, logistics, personnel support, safety, collection of data, media response andthe proper flow of information. Field operations personnel are engaged directly in the removal ofoil from the shoreline.7-5 CLEANING METHODSAfter a cleaning strategy has been adopted, cleaning methods are implemented.7-5.1 No Cleaning. No cleaning does not mean no action. No cleaning in one area may requirecleaning or other response in another area. For example, if an oiled marsh or grassy area is leftalone, oil must migrate freely from the contaminated area and not be trapped within the environmentallysensitive area. The objective is for oil to pass through and be collected where people canwork without trampling and damaging sensitive wetlands.Properly placed diversion booms sometimes permit this tactic. Contingency plans should indicatewhere booms must be placed to prevent oil from entering an environmentally sensitive area andhow to divert oil to an area where it can be controlled.7-5.2 Floating (Free) Oil. Heavily contaminated shore areas should be boomed or otherwiseisolated so that oil running off or refloated by tide or surf does not impact adjacent clean shorelineor recontaminate cleaned areas. Boomed oil can be recovered and transferred to holding tanks asexplained in Chapter 5.7-5.3 Shoreline Cleanup Methods. There are numerous methods for collecting stranded oil andcleaning shoreline features. The different methods are not equally effective on all types of shoreline.Some are quite destructive to certain types of environment and therefore not applicable in7-3