Biological Effects of three different Shoreline Cleanup Methods

In order ot simulate a real oil spill the shore of a small island in the Baltic proper was treated with a weathered crude oil. The aim of the study was to investigatae and compare teh environmental impact of some shoreline cleanup techniques as well as the efffectiveness of these methods. Hot water was the quickest cleanup method, whereas celaning with a solvent took twice as nmuch time ans mechanical recovery three and a half time as much. The hot water treatment resulted in the smallest amounts of oil left in the soil compared to the two other methods, where two to three times as much was left. The oil content in sedimenting material and in mussels was highest outside the area cleaned with hot water. The oil content in mussels tissues increased 75 times after cleaning and the sediment contained about twice as much oil as outside the other areas. The vegetation on all four oiled areas was animals were found on the four iled areas, not even on the untreated areas, it appeared to be the oil itself that caused this effect. The numbver of animals caught with pitfall traps decreased after oiling and cleanup to between 10-40 % of the original amount. The results from the investigation of the fauna in the Cladophora-belt do not indicate any effects so far. In order ot simulate a real oil spill the shore of a small island in the Baltic proper was treated with a weathered crude oil. The aim of the study was to investigatae and compare teh environmental impact of some shoreline cleanup techniques as well as the efffectiveness of these methods. Hot water was the quickest cleanup method, whereas celaning with a solvent took twice as nmuch time ans mechanical recovery three and a half time as much. The hot water treatment resulted in the smallest amounts of oil left in the soil compared to the two other methods, where two to three times as much was left. The oil content in sedimenting material and in mussels was highest outside the area cleaned with hot water. The oil content in mussels tissues increased 75 times after cleaning and the sediment contained about twice as much oil as outside the other areas. The vegetation on all four oiled areas was animals were found on the four iled areas, not even on the untreated areas, it appeared to be the oil itself that caused this effect. The numbver of animals caught with pitfall traps decreased after oiling and cleanup to between 10-40 % of the original amount. The results from the investigation of the fauna in the Cladophora