Manufactured Spill Response Booms

Whether to protect a sensitive area or to deflect or contain a slick of floating pollutant in order to recover it, booms are commonly used in spill response operations. These booms will have been chosen, purchased, tried and tested in advance as part of response planning and preparedness actions.
 
This guide is one of a collection of operational guides produced by Cedre. It focuses on manufactured (i.e. factory-made) spill response booms and attempts to provide an overview of the main models available on the market.
Cedre's knowledge on this subject is presented in this guide. On the basis of the information presented and the many illustrations provided, readers will be able to determine the most appropriate equipment for the situation in hand, and then to assess the chosen solution during exercises or training.
 
This guide is mainly aimed at operating personnel at oil facilities, emergency and defence services, fire brigades, technical local authority staff and, more widely, all personnel liable to be involved in response to a spill in surface waters (sea, shore, river, lake...).

Table of contents

A PREPAREDNESS - RESPONSE PLAN

A.1 - Why use booms?
A.2 - Boom components
A.3 - Boom types and dimensions
A.4 - Boom materials
A.5 - Standardisation
A.6 - Moorings and accessories
A.7 - Operational limits for boom deployment
A.8 - Storage, pre-positioning and right-sizing
A.9 - Equipment stockpiles, assistance conventions, insurance, hire/loan

B SITUATION ASSESSMENT

B.1 - When and where are booms used?
B.2 - Selection criteria
B.3 - Logistical requirements

C RESPONSE – PRACTICAL DATASHEETS

C.1 - Precautions prior to response
C.2 - Practical boom deployment datasheets
C.3 - How to clean booms
C.4 - How to maintain booms and their accessories
C.5 - How to repack booms after use
C.6 - What to do with booms at end of life

D MONITORING AND EVALUATION

D.1 - Dos and don'ts
D.2 - Booms' weaknesses
D.3 - Practice, training and exercises
D.4 - Marker systems
D.5 - Maintenance on the water
D.6 - Media impact of boom deployment

E FURTHER INFORMATION

E.1 - Glossary and acronyms
E.2 - AFNOR standards
E.3 - ASTM standards
E.4 - Beaufort and Douglas scales
E.5 - Bibliography