ASTM_F_2534_-_12.pdf

Designation:F253412Standard Guide forVisually Estimating Oil Spill Thickness on Water1This standard is issued under the fixed designation F2534;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide provides information and criteria for estimat-ing the thickness of oil on water using only visual clues.1.2 This guide applies to oil-on-water and does not pertainto oil on land or other surfaces.1.3 This guide is generally applicable for all types of crudeoils and most petroleum products,under a variety of marine orfresh water conditions.1.4 The thickness values obtained using this guide are atbest estimates because the appearance of oil on water may beaffected by a number of factors including oil type,sea state,visibility conditions,and weather.1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2F1779 Practice for Reporting Visual Observations of Oil onWater3.Significance and Use3.1 Estimations of oil slick thickness are useful for:3.1.1 Estimating amount(volume)of oil in an area,3.1.2 Positioning oil spill countermeasures in optimal loca-tions,3.1.3 Evaluating a spill situation,3.1.4 Estimating volume for legal or prosecution purposes,such as for an illegal discharge,and3.1.5 Developing spill control strategies.3.2 This guide is only applicable to thin sheens(sheen andrainbow sheen up to about 3 m).Thick oil and water-in-oilemulsions do not show visual differences with respect tothickness(1,2).34.Summary of Thickness Estimation Results4.1 Table 1 has been summarized from a variety of literaturesources(see Appendix X1).4.2 It should be noted that the only physical change inappearance that is reliable is the onset of rainbow colors,at 0.5to 3 m thickness.All other appearances vary with weather,visibility conditions,look angle,oil type,water conditions andcolor,presence of waves,and the presence of other material onthe water surface.Therefore it is important to treat these asestimates and where possible give ranges of thicknesses.Ifvolume is to be calculated,it should also be given as a range ofvalues.5.Summary5.1 The change in visual appearance of an oil slick on waterprovides a means to estimate oil slick thickness.Only theappearance of rainbow colors at 0.5 to 3 m is an indication ofslick thickness and only in the range noted.Other appearanceschange with the variables noted and thus should be used withcaution.6.Keywords6.1 oil observations;oil thickness;oil thickness estimation;oil visibility;slick thickness1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F20 on HazardousSubstances and Oil Spill Response and is the direct responsibility of SubcommitteeF20.16 on Surveillance and Tracking.Current edition approved Jan.1,2012.Published January 2012.Originallyapproved in 2006.Last previous edition approved in 2006 as F2534 06.DOI:10.1520/F2534-12.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references at the end ofthis standard.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 APPENDIX(Nonmandatory Information)X1.SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SLICK THICKNESS DATAX1.1 IntroductionX1.1.1 An important tool for working with oil spills hasbeen the relationship between appearance and thickness.Littleresearch work has been done on the topic in recent timesbecause thickness charts were available for many years(Prac-tice F1779)(Fingas et al.,1999)(3).In fact,present thicknesscharts actually date from 1930(Congress,1930)(4).It wasrecognized before 1930 that slicks on water had somewhatconsistent appearances.A series of experiments were con-ducted in the 1930s and resulted in charts that are still used.Only a few experiments have been done in recent years.ThisAppendix will summarize this development of slick appear-ance charts.X1.1.2 The early work may not have accounted for severalfactors:X1.1.2.1 Effect of Slick HeterogeneityOils,especiallyheavier ones,do not form slicks of consistent thickness on thewater surface.Even visual examination shows a type of friedegg vertical profile.This effect is,however,not as relevant onlarger slicks and with less viscous products.Many slicks d