AMOCO CADIZ OIL SPILL CLEANUP OPERATIONS - AN OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION, CONTROL, AND EVALUATION OF THE CLEANUP TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED.

Abstract

The organization used for work on the Amoco Cadiz oil spill, and the changes in this organization required by the size of the disaster, are explained and details are provided on the techniques used in the cleanup. These techniques had as their goals: protection of selected areas; pumping of oil where possible; and cleanup of the beaches, the shingle shores, rocky areas, and harbors, and disposal of oily debris. The spill involved some 223,000 tons of oil spilled along 400 kilometers of coast. Almost 10,000 persons worked on the project during the busiest period. As a result almost 200,000 tons of oil and debris were pumped and gathered. However, less than 20,000 tons of oil was finally retrieved after separation from the total mass of material obtained from the coastal zone.