He RB400 is a modular polyethylene boom system that extends 400mm below the waterline and 200mm above the water. Each section is 1.4m long with a flexible joiner. The boom sections can be rapidly assembled to any length required since each section is buoyant and can hold a vertical position without tension wire ballast.

Joining the boom together contains oil at a significant depth. When oil is transferred in the contained area, it will compact the oil to the full depth of the boom. Evaluation was carried out using one standard oil in calm conditions followed by similar testing in harbour chop and sinusoidal wave condition.

The use of chemical dispersants in US waters is on the verge of achieving a similar acceptance to that of conventional booming and skimming countermeasures.

Equipment guidelines, currently being proposed by the US Coast Guard, mandate a dispersant application capability must be included in spill response plans for regions where dispersant pre-authorisation is required.

Therefore, it will be important to know when dispersants will likely be effective on different oil types to assist in the decision making process for using dispersants.

The Ohmsett Facility is rapidly developing into world leader in realistic dispersant effectiveness testing through the design and development of specific test equipment, systems, and test protocol.

These capabilities have been refined through testing under cold and temporate conditions using fresh and evaporated crude and fuel oils.

MJInformation No: 21813