The role of Civil Protection Volunteers in salvaging the coast from … · 2013. 9. 26. · The role of Civil Protection Volunteers in salvaging the coast from accidental ... environmental

The role of Civil Protection Volunteers in salvaging the coast from accidental

pollution from hydrocarbons

Technical Manual for the cooperation of volunteers during coastal clean-up in the case of petroleum product spills at sea

With the collaboration

We would like to thank Giuseppe Giordano, Maria Carla Petroni, Raffaele Oronzini and Mauro Casinghini for their cooperation.

Text by:

Simone Andreotti, Federica Andreucci, Stefano Ciafani, Roberto Giangreco, Luca Fazzalari, Rocco Manganaro and Paola Vignale, Legambiente Nazionale; Luigi Alcaro, Ezio Amato, Tiziana Chieruzzi e Valerio Sammarini, ICRAM; C.V. Vittorio Alessandro, Harbour Master’s Office -Marine Environmental Department.

Technical Manual for thecooperation of volunteers during

coastal clean-up in the case ofpetroleum product spills at sea

Index1. Introduction

2. Hydrocarbon pollution in theMediterranean

3. International legislation framework

Box: insurance conventions

4. National organisation againstpolluting the sea

Box: The Harbour Master’s Office - Coast Guard

5. Organisation and work method on the coast

Box: regulations on special waste

6. Deco-In

6.1 Access to the polluted area (IN phase)

6.2 The route for decontamination (DECO phase)

6.3 The Deco-Team (decontamination team)

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7. Coastal clean-up volunteer teams

7.1 Intervention on wild fauna

8. Coastal cleaning techniques

8.1 Sandy coasts

8.2 Pebbled coasts

8.3 Rocky coasts

9. Materials and means

9.1 Risks for humans coming into contact

with or inhaling pollutants

9.2 Personal protection equipment

9.3 Materials for module creation and

management

9.4 Decontamination materials

9.5 Materials and means for coastal clean-up:

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1. IntroductionSixteen years have elapsed since theoccurrence of what is considered the worstenvironmental disaster in the Mediterranean:the sinking of the super petrol tanker the“Haven” and the spill of tens of thousandsof tons of oil into the Ligurian Sea. Otheraccidents, like the “Erika” and the “Prestige”, have prompted the possibility ofissuing more suitable legislation for theintense maritime traffic of petroleumproducts. Considerable progress has beenmade in this direction, but the risk to seasand coastlines is always high, as proved bythe recent incident of the container ship“Napoli” in the English Channel where thespeed of operations minimized theconsequences for the environment bysecuring the wreck’s fuel in the ship’s hold.

When tackling an emergency such as a spillof a hydrocarbon or other pollutant into thesea with consequent beaching on the coast,a fundamental role, within the overallsystem of subjects and authoritiesintervening in rescue operations, can andmust be played by volunteers: anirreplaceable energy of the Italian system.Volunteers can provide a valuable supportfunction for the coordinating institutions,not only as a result of the high number ofoperators that can be quickly placed in thefield, but also due to their guaranteedknowledge and skills.The organisation and training of volunteersis therefore essential for those big and smallassociations that want to specialise in thisnew intervention sector, in order to beprepared, in case of a spill, to workpromptly, professionally and safely tosupport the authorities.

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“Haven” accident at Genoa 1991 – photo by Dino Fracchia

A natural step in order to intensify thecommitment in enhancing and protectingour valued sea. During the dramaticexperience of the “Prestige”, Legambientevolunteers intervened right from the firstdays of the disaster in Galicia. By workingwith the Sociedad Espanola de Ornitologiaand the Asosiacion Defensa de Galicia, twoSpanish environmental associations, thevolunteers managed to provide significantassistance to local populations in restoringthe coast while monitoring and studying theenvironmental impact. This is an importantprecedent which shows how usefulenvironmental volunteering and civilprotection can be in these dramaticsituations.

Starting with these assumptions, it isimportant to relaunch the commitment ofcreating organised groups of civil protectionvolunteers who can not only contributeduring large emergencies but also aid instemming and attempting to remedy thedamage of daily illegal abuses of the sea.This constant pollution ranges from illegal

discharges to petrol tanker cistern cleaningto bilge discharge. In other words, anorganisational, educational and training pathwhich allows voluntary organisations tocontinue to rescue our seas and coastlineswith an increasing level of professionalism.

This manual, which is the result ofcooperation between Italian experts inMarine Pollution and the national authoritiesdealing with this subject, providesinstruction and guidelines to volunteersintervening in case of accidents at sea whichlead to the beaching of pollutants on thecoast. It serves as a useful tool for voluntaryassociations in order to organise, train andequip themselves to be ready to support theauthorities in an intervention sector that isboth innovative and cautious.

In recent years, international cooperationamong various countries has increasinglyconsolidated in Civil Protection activitiesaround the world, especially in rescueactivities in case of calamities, with asignificant growth in the coordination

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Arenzano beach (Ge) 1991 – photo by Ezio Amato

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network of the European Union.An efficient international effort with moreand more members, where the Italian CivilProtection provides a valuable and practicalcontribution. Obviously, when speakingabout marine pollution in an open andcontinuously moving water system, aneffective prevention strategy with a growingintervention capacity in case of accident, cannot be limited to national borders. In thisrespect, especially concerning Oil SpillPollution, the strengthening of relations andthe reciprocal exchange of experiencesamong states, and in particular, from anItalian view point, with the countries aroundthe Mediterranean, is fundamental.

In recent years, the Italian Civil ProtectionDepartment has assumed a growinginternational dimension, demonstrating tobe highly effective and reliable in rescuesaround the world. At a European level itcontributes to the development ofcommunity civil protection mechanisms withthe aim of strengthening internationalcapacity to respond to emergencies but alsoto export the important know-how of theItalian Civil Protection.

It has also signed significant emergencymanagement cooperation projects with theUnited Nations. This internationaloperational ability and commitment wasnaturally extended to Marine Pollution andcoastline protection.

Starting from these assumptions, thismanual, in addition to national distribution,has been printed in several languages inorder to be distributed abroad in the hopethat the Italian experience can be useful incontributing to increasing the importantinternational commitment that was devotedin these years to this type of threat.

In such an activity, Italy is in the frontline,given the quantity of crude oil it importsand the size of its coastline which is equallyvaluable and delicate.

2. Hydrocarbonpollution in theMediterraneanThe Mediterranean Sea, with its 46,000 kmplus of coastline, is a half-closed basin andhas a renewal time for only the mass ofsurface water that is estimated at 100 years;the latter, however, rises to 7,000 yearswhen considering the entire volume of watercontained within. A sea of a relativelymodest size when compared with the greatoceans, it measures 3,800 km at its longestpoint between Gibraltar and Syria and just900 km in width between France andAlgeria. In other words, the Mediterranean isa kind of big lake, surrounded by threecontinents, more than twenty countries andover 400 million inhabitants, about 130million of which, 35%, live in the coastalarea, discharging sewage, hydrocarbons andindustrial waste. Data provided by theMediterranean Action Plan of the UnitedNations fully explains the heavy urbanisationthat our valuable sea is forced to live with.There are currently 584 cities, 750 touristports and 286 commercial ports, 13 gasplants and 180 thermal power stations alongits coast. In addition, more than 2,000ferries, 1,500 cargo ships and 2,000commercial crafts, 300 of which are tankers,operate daily in the Mediterranean for atotal annual traffic of about 200,000 largecrafts. It is therefore a sea under “stress”,but also extremely valuable with very highbiodiversity and a large number of protectedareas. All elements that make Mare Nostrumunique in the world, for its landscapes andthe number and diversity of the speciesliving there. In the Mediterranean basin,there are currently more than 150 SpecialProtection Areas (SPA), fifty of whichconcern the sea or sections of coast, and 17Specially Protected Areas of MediterraneanImportance (SPAMI), for a total area of 9

million hectares. These are very rare naturalareas whose primary function is to protectspecies and habitats, and which play aleading role in the growth of sustainableeco-economies on which many localcommunities depend. Valuable economicengines not just for the wealthy countriesaround the Mediterranean, but also a realdevelopment prospect for the poorer ones.

Truly a small jewel, which accounts for only0.7% of the world’s oceans, but has a largeslice of the world maritime traffic crossing it,particularly the transportation of hazardousgoods. Oil traffic in the Mediterraneanrepresents about 20% of global maritimetraffic of hydrocarbons and amounts to morethan 360 million tons every year. The highlevel of oil constitutes a serious danger forthe survival of this sea which has thehighest hydrocarbon density in the world.The Mediterranean has the highest densityof pelagic tar worldwide with a worrying

average of 38 mg/cubic meter compared to3.8 in the Japanese seas, 2.2 in the GulfStream and 0.8 in the Gulf of Mexico. Dataprovided by UNEP MAP estimates that 100-150,000 tons of oil end up in theMediterranean every year.Pollution from hydrocarbons connected toactivities at sea can have two distinctorigins:- pollution due to accidents that, wheninvolving considerable quantities, can havedevastating consequences on both marineecosystems and local economies linked tothe sea, as sadly shown by the recentsinking of the “Haven”, “Erika” and“Prestige” tankers;- pollution deriving from the shipoperations, such as the discharging ofballast water, slop and sludge at sea. A typeof discharge which unfortunately is oftenforbidden only in theory due to theMediterranean special area status pursuantto the Marpol Convention 73/78.

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Galicia 2002 – photo by Luigi Cesari

All of this is compounded by the legaldischarge of bilge coming from the 200,000ships that annually cross the Mediterranean(this type of waste is produced by everytype of craft), which produces as muchpollution as that derived from accidentssuch as the “Prestige” or “Erika”.

The daily threat from oil pollution generatesincreasing damage to our sea.

3. InternationallegislationframeworkIt is obvious that, when speaking aboutmarine pollution, no preventive legislationstrategy can be really effective if limited tonational boarders. For example, advancedand restrictive Italian legislation relative tothe transportation of polluting and

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Galicia 2002 – photo by Roberto Giangreco

hazardous substances at sea (somethingthat really occurs with regard to thedischarge of oily mixtures at sea) is notenough to guarantee the safety of ourcoasts. An environmental disaster ininternational waters or in the nationalwaters of neighbouring states would in anycase lead to damage and consequences forour country as well. In this sense, a practicaland effective preventive legislative policycan only be implemented at an internationallevel. At a global level, there are numerousinternational conventions which establish,regulate and control maritime traffic and allrelated activities. Apart from thefundamental UUnniitteedd NNaattiioonnss CCoonnvveennttiioonn oonntthhee LLaaww ooff tthhee SSeeaa,, MMoonntteeggoo BBaayy 11998822((UUNNCCLLOOSS)), which regulates the marineactivities of states at a general level, aseries of international conventions is also inforce; the latter were developed andapproved within the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) that controls all aspectsof navigation, traffic by sea and protection

from pollution.With the aim of fighting marine pollutionfrom ships, following the early largeaccidents, the MMAARRPPOOLL CCoonnvveennttiioonn 7733//7788was launched in 1973 and subsequentlyupdated. It consists of six annexes, eachone concerning a specific aspect (oilpollution; pollution from chemical products;chemical products transported in packages;black water and grey water coming fromships, i.e. discharges from bathrooms andkitchens aboard; solid urban wasteproduced by ships; regulation of emissionsinto the atmosphere of ships, nox sox andgreenhouse gases). As a whole theConvention deals with both the preventionof accidents, by setting constructive rules fortankers and ships transporting hazardousgoods as well as the prevention of voluntarypollution from ship activities by prohibitingthe cleaning of cisterns at sea or regulatingthe discharge of waste and emissions.Following the accidents of the “Erika” and“Prestige”, the Convention has been

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Lebanon 2006 – photo by Pierpaolo Giordano

amended twice due to pressure exerted bythe European Union, which had already setitself some rules with two subsequentregulations in 2001 and 2003, each timeincluding stricter measures in order to raisesafety level of tankers with the aim ofdefinitively eliminating the problem of theseso-called “barges of the sea”.TThhee LLoonnddoonn DDuummppiinngg CCoonnvveennttiioonn,, signed inLondon in 1972, regulates the voluntarydischarge of substances at sea. It includesthree categories of harmful substances: theblack list, whose discharge at sea is alwaysforbidden, the grey list, whose substancesmay be discharged with authorisation that isissued on a case by case basis, and finallythe white list which includes substances thatcan be freely discharged. The Convention wasamended in 1996 (Italy ratified the amendmentin 2006) and the new version came into force inNovember of 2006. The main addition is theprecautionary approach that overturns the

previous setting and results in the generalisedprohibition of discharging all substances at sea,except those listed in a specific annex.A tool that can be adopted to reduce the riskconnected to the transportation via sea ofhazardous substances is the PPaarrttiiccuullaarrllyySSeennssiittiivvee SSeeaa AArreeaa ((PPSSSSAA)) declaration whichrefers to areas which are important due toenvironmental, socio-economic or scientificreasons and which require special protectionmeasures to be set through the InternationalMaritime Organization. PSSAs are designated bya resolution at an IMO meeting and may includemeasures that are adopted to increase thesafety of maritime transportation of hazardoussubstances such as mandatory routes or theobligation to declare the nature and dangerlevel of the cargo.

Another international mainstay in the fightagainst oil pollution is the IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaallCCoonnvveennttiioonn oonn OOiill PPoolllluuttiioonn PPrreeppaarreeddnneessss,,

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Galicia 2002 – photo by Ezio Amato

RReessppoonnssee aanndd CCooooppeerraattiioonn 11999900 ((OOPPRRCC 9900)),which came into force in 1995. ThisConvention is the response to accidentswith pollution from oil and provides thatships, terminals and offshore plants musthave anti-pollution emergency plans onboard and alert the coastguard of any casesof pollution. It also lists specific measuresto be taken by the States, such as thecreation of national and regional preparationand response systems, emergency plans andperiodic drills. Parties are obliged to provideassistance to other parties in case ofemergency. A twin Convention is the OOPPRRCCHHNNSS ooff 22000000 which is still not in force andadopts the same system, however, foraccidents which involve chemical productsand other hazardous or dangeroussubstances for the environment (HNSHazardous and Noxious Substances).

At a Mediterranean level there is theBBaarrcceelloonnaa CCoonnvveennttiioonn ffoorr tthhee pprrootteeccttiioonn oofftthhee MMeeddiitteerrrraanneeaann ffrroomm ppoolllluuttiioonn of 1976, aregional Agreement within the UNEP MAP –IMO framework which institutes an ActionPlan to protect the Mediterranean (PAM).The Barcelona Convention is the juridicaltool for the pollution protection system ofthe Mediterranean Sea and was significantlyamended in 1995 by widening its action toinclude the coastline. It is a frameworkagreement that sets general provisionsconcerning marine pollution while thespecific provisions are part of six Protocols:the DDUUMMPPIINNGG PPrroottooccooll of 1976, amended in1995; the PPrroottooccooll oonn ccoo--ooppeerraattiioonn iinn ccaasseeooff eemmeerrggeenncciieess; the PPrroottooccooll ffoorr tthheepprreevveennttiioonn ooff ppoolllluuttiioonn ccoommiinngg ffrroomm ssoouurrcceessaanndd aaccttiivviittiieess bbaasseedd oonn llaanndd of 1980,amended in 1996; the PPrroottooccooll oonn tthheepprrootteeccttiioonn ooff BBiiooddiivveerrssiittyy aanndd SSppeecciiaallPPrrootteeccttiioonn AArreeaass of 1995, which replaces theprevious protocol of 1982; the PPrroottooccooll ffoorrtthhee pprreevveennttiioonn ooff ppoolllluuttiioonn ccoommiinngg ffrroommooffffsshhoorree aaccttiivviittiieess of 1994 (not yet in forceand not yet ratified by Italy); the PPrroottooccoollffoorr ttrraaffffiicc ooff hhaazzaarrddoouuss wwaassttee bbeeyyoonnddbbooaarrddeerrss of 1996 (not yet in force and notyet ratified by Italy). A seventh protocol onthe integrated management of the coastal

strip is currently being negotiated andshould be approved by the end of 2007.

Concerning the problem of oil spills, themost important protocol is the second, thePPrroottooccooll oonn ccooooppeerraattiioonn bbeettwweeeenn tthheeccoouunnttrriieess ooff tthhee MMeeddiitteerrrraanneeaann iinn ccaassee ooffeemmeerrggeenncciieess ffoorr tthhee pprreevveennttiioonn ooff ppoolllluuttiioonnffrroomm sshhiippss aanndd tthhee ffiigghhtt aaggaaiinnsstt ppoolllluuttiioonn iinnccaasseess ooff eemmeerrggeenncciieess (new EEmmeerrggeennccyypprroottooccooll, signed in Malta, in December2001) which replaces the previous one byextending the field of application from thearea of only cooperation in cases ofemergency to the prevention of marinepollution by maritime traffic in theMediterranean.

At a European level, following the accidentsof the “Erika” and “Prestige”, two sets ofmeasures were launched called EErriikkaa IIPPaacckkaaggee——containing Directive 2001/106/CErelative to the control of ships at thelanding port State, Directive 2001/105/CErelative to the classification of companiesand Regulation (CE) No. 417/2002 relative tothe advance introduction of standardsconcerning double hulls—and the EErriikkaa IIIIPPaacckkaaggee,, containing Directive 2002/59/CErelative to the institution of a communitymonitoring system of naval traffic andinformation as well as Regulation (CE) No.1406/2002, which founded the EuropeanAgency of maritime safety.

In November 2005 the EuropeanCommission also adopted the tthhiirrdd ppaacckkaaggee““MMaarriittiimmee ssaaffeettyy””,, nnaammeedd EErriikkaa IIIIII, whichcontains seven new legislative proposalsthat are articulated according to two mainpolicies: an improved prevention ofaccidents and pollution and a more efficienttreatment of the consequences of theaccidents. The Package includes strictermethods to issue European flags, thestrengthening of regulations on classificationcompanies and on control by the landingport State (with the inspection of 100% ofthe ships entering EU ports), theamendment of the directive on monitoring

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traffic, a harmonised legislative frameworkto perform investigations on accidents andthe improvement of regulations relative toresponsibility and compensation fordamages in case of accidents. Compared tothe first two packages “Erika I” and “ErikaII”, conceived as a “defensive” device toprotect Europe against the risk of accidentsor pollution, the package “Erika III” includesa more “offensive” policy whose objective isto re-establish long lasting conditions ofhealthy competition for all operators whocomply with the international regulationsand which are threatened by incorrectbehaviour and sub-standard ships.

4. Nationalorganisationagainst seapollutionThe emergency response organisation linkedto sea pollution in Italy is covered by seaprotection law no. 979 of 31 December1982. This important legislation tackles andarranges this organisation and regulates andencourages prevention and control activitiesat sea and along the coastline which theMinistry for the Environment entrusts to theHarbour Master’s Office – the Coast Guard

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which, at a central level, has a nationaloperation command, while in districts isdivided into maritime departments. EachHarbour Master’s Office has specific staffand equipment, which in addition to theother tasks of the institute, protects the seaand coast from pollution. This is clearly afundamental activity in order to prevent orcontain any beaching of the product or itssinking to the seabed.

In case of pollution from oily or harmfulsubstances, or when there is imminentdanger, the Harbour Master’s Officeimplements local emergency plans byassuming responsibility for operations, inaccordance with the directives from theMinistry for the Environment. Interventionsfrom the maritime authority are aimedspecifically at avoiding the danger ofdistribution, or reduce its effects and, ifpossible, eliminate them.

To this end, the head of department (thecommandant of the Harbour Master’s Office)uses all available local resources to stop orcontain any damage to the marine

environment. Among these, he/she can useCastalia – Ecolmar depollution units,provided by the Ministry for the Environmentand strategically located at various Italianports.

These operations require maximumcommitment and marine knowledge: indeed,it is necessary to achieve results inaccordance with ever changing situations(the type of contaminant, the sea-weatherconditions, the layout of the coast, itsstructure, the presence of any sites needingspecial protection, etc.). When pollutionreaches proportions which may affect thevarious uses of the sea and local intereststhat may be damaged at various level, thehead of department declares a situation oflocal emergency and informs the Ministry forthe Environment.

Despite attempts to tackle the slick at sea,where it is generally easier to contain andmechanically recover with floating barriersand skimmers, it often reaches the coast,producing even more serious damage.

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Insurance Conventions The international system of compensation for damages in case of pollution from shipsconsists of four international conventions obliging ship owners to take out specificinsurance or institute specific funds financed by the receivers of the cargo for thecompensation of various types of damage that may be caused by the maritimetransportation of hazardous substances. However, none of these tools includescompensation for environmental damage. The agreements are as follows: InternationalCompensation Fund for oil pollution (CLC 92 and IOPC ’92 Fund); SupplementaryInternational Compensation Fund for oil pollution (IOPCS Fund that increases thecompensation limit to a billion Euro); International Convention on the responsibility ofpollution from ship fuel (Bunker Convention, 2001, not yet in force); InternationalConvention on the responsibility of pollution from toxic-harmful substance (HNS Convention, 1996, not yet in force).

In this case the Harbour Master’s Officepromptly informs the territorial bodies ableto arrange suitable recovery measures of theaffected coastline by facilitating andencouraging maximum coordination of landcleaning operations with those involved inde-polluting the sea. In this phase, thecommitment of volunteers to supportregional and local bodies may assume adecisive role, provided that it is performedprofessionally and under the strictcompliance of the action directives drawn upby the authorities in charge. When thepollution assumes proportions that can notbe dealt with at a local level and with theresources made available by the Ministry forthe Environment, it becomes a nationalemergency and the Department of CivilProtection takes command, with thepossibility of activating all Italian resourcesusable for crisis situations. In these dramaticsituations, the Harbour Master’s Office alsoplays the important activity of coordinatingoperations at sea.

5. Organisationand workmethod on thecoastAn intervention that may involve volunteersin the operations of removing beachedpolluting products along the coast isextremely delicate and complex. As a matterof fact, a beneficial and high qualityintervention must take into account somefundamental aspects, such as the need formaximum safety for the volunteers whocome into contact with hazardous andnoxious material, the delicate and fragileecosystem of the intervention area and thedifficulty of disposing of recoveredpollutants.These three fundamental elements, whichmust be considered when working, may varydepending on the geomorphologic andbiological features of the territory, the type

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“Haven” accident at Genoa 1991 – photo by Dino Fracchia

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The Harbour Master’s Office – Coast Guard is a division of the Navy and plays, underthe guidance of various ministries, a number of functions connected to civilianactivities at sea. Its main tasks particularly concern: search and rescue at sea (SAR);navigation safety (checking Italian and foreign ships); protecting the marineenvironment; checking sea fishing; training maritime personnel, registering mercantileand fishing fleets, pleasure boating, disputes for decriminalised maritime crimes;maritime police at sea, in ports and State Property;protection of underwaterarchaeological heritage; anti-immigration. To carry out these tasks the HarbourMaster’s Office, consisting of about 11 thousand staff members, is equipped with animpressive fleet of coast and sea going units and a flight unit consisting of airplanesand helicopters. The airplanes, in particular, are fitted with up-to-date electronicsystems to detect pollution.

Cagliari 2007 - photo by Paola Vignale

The Harbour Master’sOffice - Coast Guard

and characteristics of the beached product,the marine and weather conditions and thetime elapsed since the spill. Although it isclear that each of these elements requiresparticular caution when working, we canoutline guidelines and organisational andoperational requirements that must alwaysbe respected to work successfully andsafely. As in every intervention, goodinspection and organisation of preventivework will let us do the operations morequickly, safely and effectively.It is clear that volunteers should not havethe authority and responsibility forinspections and decisions concerning theintervention model to be adopted; instead,these should be assigned to a localcoordinator of the emergency management,

which we will call a MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr,identified by the rescue coordinationstructures (Rescue Coordination Centre,Mixed Operational Centre and/or CommunalOperational Centre). In any case, we willdeal with this subject in order to make thevolunteers understand the situations theywill be called to work in—with the certaintythat their role, though not involving anydecision making, may require giving adviceto the authorities for the purpose of anincreasingly effective intervention.

The cleaning of coasts may seem extremelycomplex; however, with a good supportorganisation , everything will be simpler andmore feasible than expected. The focus andobjectives for the work organisation can be


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summed up as follows:guarantee maximum safety for thevolunteers who are working;eliminate the beached product and notmove it involuntarily to uncontaminatedareas; protect the ecosystems withoutworsening the situation that is found uponarrival; achieve the intervention as quicklyas possible by fully satisfying the threeprevious points.

The first element to always keep in mindwhen removing beached pollutants from asection of coast is the absolute requirementto only remove “contaminated” material.This is obvious because the task of thevolunteer is to protect the beach andecosystems living there and not eliminatethem. Furthermore, the complex andexpensive disposal of pollutants would becompounded when having to dispose ofuncontaminated material as well.With the exception of special cases, cleaningthe coast consists of three distinct phasesfrom inland to the waterline: one where thebulk of the pollutant is removed, a secondmore specific phase and finally a thirdphase that is more delicate in order toeliminate the most minute residues beforemoving to a new operation area. On sandycoastlines, the wave movement often causesthe sedimentation of layers of petrol withlayers of sand. This requires samples to betaken by making small holes in the sand tocheck whether a clean superficial layer liesunder the pollutant, thereby understandingthe depth at which it is necessary to removethe sand. As a result, it is useful forvolunteers to suggest this simple operationto the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr before starting thereal cleaning intervention on the coast.

For high quality intervention on a section ofcoast, prior to removing the oil, it isnecessary to carry out a series ofpreliminary interventions to prepare theintervention area; these are essential inorder to operate without compromising theenvironment and the volunteers’ health. The intervention area will be called MMoodduullee

and its breadth depends on too manyfactors an can not be defined a priori, butthe important thing is to understand thatwhen moving on to another section of thecoast, whether distant or adjacent to therecently completed section, it is fundamentalto carry out again all the operationsnecessary for the correct creation of theModule. It is also essential that the cleaningof the coast is not considered completedwithin the Module before havingdecontaminated the areas that are used forthe various functions (provisional storagesites, corridors, decontamination area). A number of teams work within a Module,each of which will be assigned aniinntteerrvveennttiioonn zzoonnee.

The operations that must be arranged foreach Module are described below on thebasis of specifications of the coordinationauthority that are provided prior to beginningthe real cleaning of the section of coast.IIddeennttiiffyy aanndd ddeeffiinnee tthhee ooppeerraattiioonn aarreeaa inorder to avoid the presence of bystanders,or in any case people with no specific rolein the operations. It is possible to usebarriers, plastic nets, metallic nets, fencingor simple red/white tape for this activity.

AArrrraannggee aanndd ccoonnttrrooll tthhee eennttrraannccee aanndd eexxiittooppeenniinngg.. It is necessary to envisage just oneopening that is usable to access and exitthe operation area. This opening must becontrolled to avoid the intrusion ofunauthorised parties.

AArrrraannggee aanndd pprreeppaarree tthhee ccoommmmaanndd ssttrruuccttuurreeoonn ssiittee.. Near the opening to access theoperation area, a command structure mustbe identified and/or prepared, equipped withelectricity and a radio unit. This structure,which may also be an ad hoc erected tent,will be the point where the team leaderswill receive orders from the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerrand will represent the physical coordinationpoint for all the operations on site and thecommunication with the emergencycoordination structures (C.C.S., C.O.M. and/or C.O.C.).

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DDeetteerrmmiinnee aanndd pprreeppaarree tthhee aacccceessss rroouuttee ttootthhee ppoolllluutteedd aarreeaa.. From the entrance to theoperation area to the polluted section ofcoast, a corridor must be marked out, i.e. asingle passage where “contaminated”volunteers and operators can transit. The best solution would be the constructionof a footbridge which is particularlynecessary in cases where the route is

particularly difficult for operators (oil makesthe soles of boots very slippery andtherefore in beaches with large rocks it isbetter to create a footbridge to minimize therisk of falls and sprains). In cases ofemergency, pallets can be used to make thefootbridge as they are easy to find directlyin the territory in crisis situations. It is vitalis to limit the passage area to one single

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corridor in order not to transport thepollutant to unaffected areas. It is possibleto use plastic nets or red/white tape to markout the corridor’s perimeter.

The MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr will assess, on a case

by case basis, whether the corridor may betransited only on foot or with suitablemeans (tractors, off-road vehicles, quadswith trailers etc…), for the safetransportation of polluted material from thecoast to the storage site.

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MMaarrkk oouutt tthhee ppoolllluutteedd aarreeaa.. Mark out thepolluted area from the area untouched bythe oil in order to avoid the risk ofbystanders or volunteers inadvertentlytaking the product to uncontaminated areas.In other words, as stated in theintroduction, the aim is not to worsen thesituation at hand. To mark out the perimeterit is possible to use white/red tape, eventhough plastic nets are safer and morefunctional, and can be easily found onbuilding sites or at road works. With thesame method it will be possible to mark outthe section of coast relating to theoperation Module.

Each team of employed volunteers will be“matched” to a segment of coast within themodule (intervention zzone) and, only aftercleaning this portion, may pass to anotherone, following the instructions of theMMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr.

PPrreeppaarree aa ddeeccoonnttaammiinnaattiioonn ssttaattiioonn.. This is a fundamentally important area forthe decontamination of volunteers beforeleaving the operation zone. The aim is tostop anyone leaving the operation zone, atthe end of the day or for short breaks,without being decontaminated. The sameapplies to any utilized tools. The principle isthat all the pollutant must be properlydisposed of and not delocalised anddistributed in the environment.

The decontamination station must bemanaged and controlled by suitably trainedpersonnel. All the material and liquidsderiving from the decontamination must beconsidered and treated as polluted material.

PPrreeppaarree aa rreesstt aarreeaa ffoorr sshhiifftt cchhaannggee..Considering the environmental difficultiesand the safety requirements for theoperators, frequent changes in shifts mustbe arranged for the volunteer teams whencleaning the coast. In order to guaranteemaximum rest for volunteers between oneshift and another, a specific space should becreated for rest and meals. To prepare this

area, two tents may be used, one withfolding beds and the other with tables andbenches. The rest area must be arranged insuch a way that the operators must firstpass through the decontamination station toreach it.

This area will be used by the volunteers torest, eat and drink in safety without the riskof inadvertently swallowing the pollutant. Inthis area, which will be marked out, it isnecessary to provide hygienic services and asmoking area, given that a no smokingpolicy exists in the operation area.

EEqquuiippmmeenntt wwaarreehhoouussee.. It is worth providinga warehouse for the storage of materials tobe used for the operations for each Module.A tent may be used for this purpose.

HHeeaalltthh ccoonnttrrooll.. For each Module it isfundamental to provide a health unit(ambulance or Advanced Medical Post) toguarantee medical attention to all theoperators in case of need.

PPaarrkkiinngg aarreeaa.. Outside the operation area itis necessary to provide a parking area wherevehicles not directly used in the beachcleaning activities can be parked.

PPrreeppaarraattiioonn ooff aa pprroovviissiioonnaall ssiittee ffoorr tthheessttoorraaggee ooff ppoolllluutteedd mmaatteerriiaall.. A temporary site for the storage of thecollected material must obviously beprepared prior to commencing any work.The position of this site will influence thechoice of the creation of the access corridor.Volunteers and operators must only use thatroute to take any collected pollutedproducts to the provisional storage site. Allthe surfaces of the storage site must becovered with plastic sheets (possibly HDPEhigh density polyethylene and specifically asemi-rigid polyethylene 1.5 mm thick) toisolate the ground and avoid secondarycontamination. The storage site must includean airtight tank of a suitable size (possiblyan equipped container) and a waterproofarea for unloading the pollutant in the

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temporary collection tank. In the case that acontainer is used, a ramp may be required(often containers are too high for waste tobe thrown into them from the ground). Anaccess opening should also be provided forvehicles used to empty or replace thecontainer; the latter must be appropriatelysupervised. Although it would be preferablefor the waste to be conferred directly fromthe beach to the storage site, themorphology and peculiarities of the areaoften impose routes that are too long. Inthis case, the use of mechanical means isrequired to transport the waste from thebeach to the storage site. Intermediate siteswill have to be prepared where volunteerscan place the recovered product which willthen be transported up to the provisionalstorage site by mechanical means.

These areas must be properly waterproofedand the product must be placed in approveddrums. These intermediate sites must becontrolled by the volunteers who also loadthem onto vehicles and whose tanks mustalso be waterproofed with plastic sheets.The routes which the vehicles must follow(in both senses) for the transport of thedrums must be marked out and noted witha red/white tape, thereby providing widerareas which are suitable for makingmaneuvers such as U-turns, and must neverinclude the passage through sections of thecoast that are polluted by oil (to avoid thevehicles’ wheels from transporting thepolluted material and to guarantee themaximum safety of the operators employedin the clean up).This is an ideal work organisation model,whiccoordination structure, will decide what to

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Below is a model of DDeeccoo--IInn which mustobviously be adapted to the real needs andthe real availability of the contingentsituation. Although it is, in any case, theMMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr who decides how andwhere to create the decontamination station,there is no doubt that volunteers’ adviceand suggestions will be extremely useful.

The creation of the DDeeccoo--IInn involves theidentification of a long and narrow area, atype of corridor, about 30 square metres,which is potentially placed in an area that iseasily reached by rescue vehicles and downwind of the clean up area. When positioningthe decontamination station, it is obviouslyworthwhile to use areas with available waterand electricity since they help to optimisethe work.

6. Deco-InThe preparation and proper management ofthe DDeeccoo--IInn (decontamination station andaccess route to the polluted area)undoubtedly represents one of the mostcomplex elements that are involved whenorganising work on the coast as well asbeing one of the most delicate andessential. The correct management of theDDeeccoo--IInn guarantees maximum safety of theoperators while stopping the pollutant frombeing inadvertently transported touncontaminated areas. For the purpose of correctly cleaning thecoast and given its “strategic” value, thissubject deserves its own chapter.

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Regulations on special wasteSo what happens after the beached oil is collected and taken to the provisional storage sitethat is suitably prepared in the Module? All collected material is transported to anintermediate storage centre, a treatment plant or a definitive disposal plant. The waste canonly be transported by specialised companies that are authorised to perform this type ofoperations from the waste conferment place to the treatment and/or final disposal area.Hence it is not sufficient to have a lorry or even a TIR available. It is necessary that thetransport company be listed within a national registry of environmental operators that isorganised by regional sections and which is on file at the Chambers of Commerce of theregional capitals. Transportation must occur with all the documentation provided by law,such as the “Loading and unloading book” and the “Identification Form”, which identify thequalitative and quantitative characteristics of the waste as well as the logistics detailsrelative to the plant to which the waste will be transported. Therefore volunteers mustnever act as transporters, also because they would incur severe fines as a result of nationalwaste regulations. It will be the task of the emergency coordination structure and the localand regional bodies to identify the intermediate storage site and/or waste treatment plant inaddition to calling upon specialised companies for the transportation of collected materialfrom the coast.

Falconara (An) 2007 – photo by Tiziana Chieruzzi

When choosing where to locate the DDeeccoo--IInn,,it is worth considering the generalorganisation of the module (see previouschapter), since this area must represent theonly point usable by the operators to accessand leave the polluted area.The area chosen for the decontaminationstation must have a perimeter and bemarked out with barriers or plastic nets.Once the coast is clean and the volunteers

have been decontaminated, it is necessarythat a team deals with cleaning this areaand that the volunteers involved in thisactivity are made to get on the tipping bodyof a lorry, lined with plastic, and transportedto an area where they can be correctlydecontaminated.

Being this one of the most complex phasesof cleaning the coast, it is necessary that

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the route and the operations that thepersonnel must perform in the DDeeccoo--IInn arethoroughly explained during the briefing thatthe MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr will hold every daybefore work begins.The DDeeccoo--IInn is ideally divided into twoareas: a wwhhiittee zzoonnee through whichvolunteers access the polluted area andwhere, once decontaminated, they can passto reach the exit a bbllaacckk zzoonnee, within whichthe personnel that is still contaminated can

follow the decontamination processes. Onlyat the end of the entire decontaminationroute will it be possible for the operators toleave the polluted area and access the restarea.

The bbllaacckk zzoonnee of the DDeeccoo--IInn must bedivided into two corridors, one for operatorsto enter the polluted area and the other toexit it. The wwhhiittee zzoonnee,, on the other hand,will have just one entrance and exit access.

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6.1 Access to thepollutedarea (IN phase)

The first step for the volunteers involves thechanging tent, possibly fitted with benches,for the clothing phase, during which thevolunteers leave their clothing and shoesnot used for the cleaning work and wear the

personal protective equipment. Clothingmust occur in accordance with theinstructions provided by the MMoodduulleeMMaannaaggeerr during the briefing and will includespecific personal protection equipmentwhich depends on the roles assigned to thevolunteers. Once clothed, the volunteers must enter theentrance corridor and take the toolsrequired for the cleaning work.

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6.2 The route fordecontamination (DECO phase)

In addition to serving as the access route,the DDeeccoo--IInn is above all the area in whichthe operators clean themselves from the oilto be able to subsequently leave thepolluted area.

Following the route that the operators musttake to leave the polluted area, immediatelyafter the entrance into the bbllaacckk zzoonnee, anarea must be chosen to use as a temporarytool depot. In the temporary depot, smallwork tools are left (shovels, rakes, buckets,etc.), which can be washed or directlyreused by the volunteers of the next shiftdepending on the needs and following theinstructions of the CCoonnttaacctt ppeerrssoonn ffoorr tthheemmaatteerriiaall, in agreement with the MMoodduulleeMMaannaaggeerr. This temporary tool depot can bemade of PET rectangular tanks by placingthe tool downwards as well as by a metalbarrier to support the handles. The temporary tool depot must bepositioned in a way to create a separationbetween the two entrance and exit corridors,in the bbllaacckk zzoonnee. This arrangement of thetemporary tool enables those entering toeasily take the tools left by those leavingthe polluted area.

Upon entering the decontamination station,still in the bbllaacckk zzoonnee, a PET ssoollvveenntt ttaannkkmust be placed, possibly rectangular orsquare. The minimum volume of thecontainer must be at least 15 litres but, inthe case of management of a large numberof operators, bigger containers may beused. It is important that the shape is wideand has low edges so the operators canpass through. The container must be filledwith a solvent (diesel may be used for thisoperation, which is always easy to find inthe territory) at a depth of a fewcentimetres. In the container it would beworthwhile to place a thick metal net thatwill be used as a mat to help cleaning the

sole of boots. The operators—after havingleft the tools in the temporary depot andwithout taking off their Personal ProtectionEquipment (hereafter PPE)—must enter thecontainer with the solvent, stepping on themetal net and wiping their boots which willbe immersed in a few centimetres ofsolvent. Most of the product attached to thePPE (boots, overalls, gloves, etc.) must beremoved in this “tank”, even with the aid ofthe decontamination team members bymeans of brushes, brooms or natural bristlepaintbrushes. Brushes should be used fromtop to bottom in order to minimise the riskof the oil or solvent splashing in thevolunteers’ face. It is for this reason that itis very important for operators to correctlywear all personal protection equipment inthis phase, including safety goggles andprotective masks. With regards to thesolvent tank, paintbrushes and brushes maybe replaced by low pressure compressors,including manual ones (of the type widelyused in agricultural activities) to direct thediesel jet directly on the encrusted item. A second container containing a solution ofsoda and water must be placed a few stepsfrom the first one in order to eliminate theoily residues left by the diesel and anyremaining product. A third container of thesame size and characteristics of the previousone must be placed immediately afterwardsfor the purpose of rinsing with freshwater oreven simply with clean seawater (known asthe rriinnssee ttaannkk). It should be noted that, insome cases, liquid soap with a strongdegreasing power may be used. In additionand similarly to the solvent, the use of lowpressure compressors is advised for thesetwo operations; these compressors mustalways be used carefully by thedecontamination team by directing the jetfrom top to bottom and at low pressureonly. The compressor enables the liquid jet to bedirected and, by joining it with water,minimizes consumption while decreasing thequantity of waste water produced by thedecontamination that needs to be disposed. Airtight PET plastic containers must be

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available beside the two tanks in order topour the liquids resulting from theoperations (saturated solvent and rinseliquids). The solvent tank, the soda tankand the rinse tank may be emptied directlyinto the containers of the liquids that areobtained by the two members of the teamwhich are in charge of the decontaminationstation or, wherever possible, by usinghydro pumps. It is therefore advisable touse square or rectangular solvent tanks and

rinse tanks with corners making them easierand safer to empty. The solvents and therinse water must be treated as contaminatedliquids and must not be distributed in theenvironment at the end of the operations.

In order to conveniently transport the wastewater containers, once full, from thedecontamination station to the temporarystorage site, it is possible to use thosetrolleys which are commonly employed for

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the transportation of gas canisters bysecuring the PET containers with straps.

After the solvent-rinse sequence, thevolunteers still wearing the PPE shall accessthe so-called ddrryyiinngg aarreeaa. Waste containers,

where the disposable material will bethrown, must be placed in this area(overalls, gloves, the paper used for drying,etc.) and all the protections that cannot bedecontaminated or which are not worthdecontaminating. Volunteers must take the

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disposable material off and be dried by themembers of the decontamination team,possibly by using absorbent material to ruboff every remaining trace of product. In thedrying area, the members of thedecontamination team, while wearingdisposable latex gloves, will remove anypollutant from the skin of the volunteers byusing grease products such as vegetable oil(olive or seed oil) or vaseline, and thenwash the affected body part with soap andwater or detergent wipes.

IInn ccaassee ooff aacccciiddeennttaall ccoonnttaacctt ooff tthhee ooiill wwiitthhtthhee sskkiinn,, tthhee ffoolllloowwiinngg iiss rreeccoommmmeennddeedd::not to use solvents, diesel or abrasiveproducts;to remove most of the product by usingpaper (preferably absorbent paper ortissues);to eliminate the remaining products byusing grease products such as cooking oil(olive or seed oil) or vaseline, and thenwash the part concerned with soap andwater.

The volunteers, once dry anddecontaminated, shall place the PPE thatwill be used in the next shift (e.g. gloves,safety goggles and mask) in suitablecontainers or thick plastic bags in order tobe able to exit the bbllaacckk aarreeaa and enter thewwhhiittee aarreeaa.

Volunteers then move from the drying areato the changing tent where they can take offtheir working boots, which must be placedin the container or bag with the otherpersonal protection equipment, get changedand exit the contamination station. Thedecontamination area is a no smoking area,while inside the bbllaacckk aarreeaa everyone mustuse the personal protection equipment.Although the DDeeccoo--IInn model that ispresented above can be obviously modifiedby the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr in order to adjust toreal needs and actual available resources(number of members to be decontaminated,morphologic characteristics of the site,materials available, etc.), it should be noted

that the DDeeccoo--IInn must in any case:

be the only access to the polluted area forincoming and outgoing personnel;have a structure that prevents the pollutantand the decontamination residues frombeing distributed in the environment;guarantee maximum levels of safety for thepersonnel and be structured in a way toprevent personnel from leaving it withoutbeing fully decontaminated.

6.3 The Deco-Team(decontamination team)

In addition to using the path provided bythe decontamination station to leave thepolluted area, volunteers can be called uponto be part of the DDeeccoo--TTeeaamm, i.e. the teamin charge of managing the DDeeccoo--IInn.The correct management of thedecontamination station requires at leastfour team members, each one with aspecific task, namely:DDeeccoo--CCoorree ((ddeeccoonnttaammiinnaattiioonn ccoooorrddiinnaattoorr))He/she operates by wearing all the personalprotection equipment, except for the nitrilegloves which are replaced with disposablelatex gloves. He/she is the logistics managerand the coordinator of the DDeeccoo--TTeeaamm.. Inagreement with the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr,, he/shedecides where to position thedecontamination station and which materialsto use, among those available. He/shereports to the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr, organisesand optimises the team work according tothe needs and, at the end of the day,records the quantities and types of productsused (solvent, water, soda, liquid soap,absorbent paper, vegetable oil, etc.) andnotifies this information to the MMaatteerriiaallMMaannaaggeerr. Within the decontamination area,he/she manages the liquid and solid wastegenerated in this phase. He/she is also in charge of solving anyproblem or issue that the members of theDDeeccoo--TTeeaamm may have (supplying drinkingwater, putting on and removing the goggles,cleaning goggles, etc.).

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SSoollvv--MMaann ((ssoollvveenntt ttaannkk ooppeerraattoorr)) He/she works while wearing all the personalprotection equipment (including protectivegoggles and a mask with a filter) and dealswith the management of the solvent tank.Wherever possible, he/she positions a metalgrill on the bottom of the tank and poursthe solvent into the tank. With the aid ofbrushes, spatulas, long brushes, scrapers,low pressure manual compressors andanything else available, he/she assists thevolunteers in the delicate operation ofremoving the product from the PPE. He/sherecords the volume of solvent used in theseinitial operations and informs thecoordinator as soon as possible. He/shekeeps count of how many volunteers have

passed through the tank until the solvent issaturated and writes this number next tothe volume of solvent used. These twovalues (litres of solvent, number ofvolunteers passing through the tank) areextremely important for the management ofthe decontamination station since they allowthe coordinator to calculate the total volumeof solvent that is required for thedecontamination of all the volunteers of themodule as well as the volume of wasteliquid coming from the solvent tank, whichmust be correctly managed. When thesolvent is saturated, with the help of theWWaasshh--MMaann, he/she empties the content ofthe solvent tank in the container for thespecific waste liquid and fills the solvent

tank again. The same operations must becarried out for the tanks containing waterand soda. Upon instruction of the MMaatteerriiaallMMaannaaggeerr or at the end of the day, and withthe help of the other personnel of thedecontamination station, he/she cleans thetools (shovels, rakes, buckets, etc.) used bythe volunteers during cleaning.

WWaasshh--MMaann ((rriinnssiinngg ttaannkk ooppeerraattoorr))He/she works wearing all the personalprotection equipment and deals with themanagement of the soda and rinsing tank.He/she must calculate the quantity of waterused for the first ten volunteers. He/shemust write this volume and inform thecoordinator as soon as possible. Thisinformation is vitally important for thecorrect operation of the DDeeccoo--IInn,, particularlyin the areas in which there is no runningwater. In order to manage the supply duringthe day and during subsequent days and, atthe same time, to calculate the volume ofwaste liquid produced. He/she assists thevolunteers, who enter the tanks one at atime, to rinse off the residues of solvent andoil with water and soda and then cleanwater (better still using a low pressurecompressor). When the soda and/or rinsingtank are sufficiently full, he/she deals withemptying them in the container for specificwaste and is assisted by SSoollvv--MMaann for thisoperation.

DDrryy--MMaann ((ddrryyiinngg ooppeerraattoorr))He/she operates by wearing all the personalprotection equipment, except for the nitrilegloves which are replaced with disposablelatex gloves. He/she manages the dryingzone and the relative waste containers. Withthe help of absorbent material, he/she driesthe volunteers and helps them out of thePPE. He/she checks that each volunteer issufficiently decontaminated to access thewhite zone and leave the polluted area. Inthe case in which the volunteers haveaccidentally entered in direct contact withpetroleum, it is his/her task to carefullyeliminate the pollutant from the volunteer’sskin. He/she must calculate the quantity of

absorbent material used to dry the first tenvolunteers; he/she must record this andinform the coordinator as soon as possible.

7. Coastal clean-upvolunteer teamsDuring interventions involving environmentalemergencies that hit the coast from the sea,teams of volunteers may be extremely usefulin a wide range of activities to support theauthorities controlling and coordinatingrescue operations. It is necessary to always consider that thevolunteers, in addition to their specializationor acquired professionalism, must supportthe authorities and never replace them. Theteams provide qualified and efficient supportfor authorities and must scrupulously followtheir instructions. This obviously in no waydemeans the importance of the work theydo and their suggestions.

In particular, the volunteers may be called tooperate, in addition to manually cleaning asection of polluted coast, in other importantactivities, such as:logistic and secretarial support to the

MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr at the command tent;preparation and cooperation in managingthe decontamination and the collectedpolluted material temporary storage areas;preparation and cooperation in managingthe on site material warehouse and PersonalProtection Equipment;preventive actions prior to pollutantbeaching;cataloguing and labeling any affected faunawhile notifying the authorities in chargeabout those animals which, given that theyare too contaminated, may have to besubject to euthanasia and those which muststart the long path of decontamination andrehabilitation;control the access openings and thestrategic points in the operation area.

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The formation of a model team serves as atool that is available for volunteerassociations in order to assist them in theirhomogeneous structuring across the nationalterritory and to aid them in qualifiedinterventions in this new delicate sector. The“model” team proposed in this manualrepresents the best hypothesis to face thetype of work that volunteers will have tocarry out in emergency situations, developedbased the our experience in Italy andabroad to date.However, the team also needs to be flexibleand capable of adjusting to the type ofintervention that the volunteers are called toperform along the coast, the morphologicalcharacteristics of the territory, the quantity,

type and distribution of the spilled products,meteorological and marine conditions and,no less important, the real logistic capacityoffered by the territory that has been hit. Asa matter of fact, simplicity and flexibility arefundamental for a Civil Protectionorganisation to function properly.The ideal team consists of volunteers whohave received suitable and specific training.It must be pointed out that, despite theprofessional skills and the training receivedby the volunteers, each team will be headedby the authorities in charge, which willdecide what to do and how.

The model ideal consists of ten volunteerswith specific functions:

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Diagram of hierarchical chain ofcommand in the management of Deco-In

Emergency coordination

Module manager

Deco Core

Solv Man Dry Man Wash Man

AA CClleeaann--CCoorreeHe/she is the logistic manager and the teamcoordinator and is in charge of reporting tothe module manager, organises andoptimises the team work according to theneeds and fills in any necessary forms. Atthe end of the day, he/she reports to theMMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr on the work done. In order to maintain a comprehensive viewof the team, he/she must not actively takepart in the cleaning of the coast and shallremain as clean as possible to be able toeasily use the radio for communication.

AA WWhhiittee--GGlloovveessThis role represents the team’s reference

point as far as the volunteers’ safety isconcerned, as it verifies the correct use ofthe Personal Protection Equipment. Withinthe polluted area, he/she is in charge ofsolving any problem or issue that thepersonnel in his/her group may have whileperforming the cleaning activities (providingdrinking water, putting on and removingmasks, cleaning goggles, etc.). It is for thisreason that he/she will wear latex glovesand will not be actively involved in thecleaning of the coast in order to remainavailable as an “uncontaminated individual”.Team members may ask for help from theWWhhiittee--GGlloovveess by raising their hands for aprolonged period.

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Galicia 2002 – photo by Ezio Amato

SSeevveenn CClleeaann--MMeennThey follow instruction from the CClleeaann--CCoorreein order to manually remove the pollutantfrom the coast, transfer the pollutant to thestorage site as well as monitor and managethe decontamination area.

AA TToooollss--MMaannHe/she works with the CClleeaann--MMeenn while alsoserving in the role of manager for thedistribution, management and control of thematerial decontamination and of any utilizedmeans. He/she is responsible for theefficiency of the means of transport and theequipment necessary for the operations,which he/she must promptly provide in caseof additional necessity.

Due to the pollutants which the volunteersmay find themselves working with and thedifficulties connected to the use of thePersonal Protection Equipment, the teammembers’ work must be organised intoshifts of a maximum of four hours each(which may be reduced to two in particularlyadverse conditions) with at least a one anda half hour break (at least half an hour isnecessary for decontamination operationsonly). Shifts will be set by the CClleeaann--CCoorree inagreement with the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr,, whoshall also verify that these are scrupulouslycomplied with. When passing from the workshift to the rest period, volunteers mustdecontaminate themselves carefully. Forchanges of shifts, it would be advisable toprovide for a 10 minute gap between teams

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to avoid work overload and queues at thedecontamination station.As mentioned above, in addition to themanual cleaning of the polluted stretch ofcoast, the volunteer teams may be useful innumerous other activities, particularly withregard to supporting the module’s entirelogistic management. For this activity, theteams of ten members can be rearranged byassigning specific tasks and functions,namely:1 coordinator supporting the commandposition4 members in charge of thedecontamination (DDeeccoo--TTeeaamm)3 members in charge of the temporarystorage site2 members in charge of managing thematerial and means warehouse tent

7.1 Intervention on wild fauna

The measures and indications reportedbelow, with the necessary distinctions, referto examples or colonies of avifauna andmarine mammals that, if hit by a “blacktide”, would end up stranded on the coast,as well as sea turtles and their nests dug inbeaches. In any big environmental accidentat sea with an oil spill and consequentbeaching of the products on the coast, oneof the most evident and tragicconsequences for the ecosystem is thestaining that birds and other macro faunamay suffer. It is objective damage due to therisk of losing precious and often rare oreven endangered fauna, and also anemotional and psychological harm forpopulations. Images of soiled and dying

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seabirds often make the headlines, thusamplifying the big impact that this sufferinghas on public opinion. Therefore, when managing an emergencycaused by the spill of pollutants onto thecoast, this issue, which is strongly felt bythe population, must also be tackled with.Given the emotional nature of this issue,this subject deserves careful planning of theoptions that may be available to decisionmakers: rehabilitation, non intervention,euthanasia. Due to the importance of thisissue, this manual had to tackle the subject,while noting, however, that the fauna thatmay be hit by the “black tide” shall betreated by the institutions in charge with thesupport of specialists and specialisedvolunteers. The handling of the affectedfauna, which are already frightened and maybe in bad physical condition, posesdifficulties and dangers for both theanimals, who may be wounded or sufferingfrom stress which may compromise theirrecovery, and volunteers. The techniques totransport the stained fauna to thespecialised decontamination andrehabilitation centres vary from species tospecies and are not always straightforward,requiring the aid of experts.

Having stated the above, the role ofvolunteers in this field can in any case be offundamental importance, particularly tonotify the manager (the Module Manger, theClean-Core or the Deco-Core) of thepresence of stained fauna in thecontaminated area and/or in theneighbouring areas in order to inform theauthorities in charge. Another important taskis to absolutely prevent any bird or otheranimal, whether alive or dead, from beingapproached, touched or captured byunspecialized or inadequately protectedpersonnel (gloves, goggles and in somecases also protective masks).The promptness of this communication isfundamental since the oil contaminatedbirds’ survival possibility also depends onthe speed of intervention. Once in contactwith the birds’ plumage, oil breaks down itsdelicate structure and causes two immediateeffects: the loss of impermeability and theloss of thermal isolation. Most birds thatcome into contact with oil products at seasimply die by drowning since their feathersbecome waterlogged. For those who manageto reach land, the main cause of death ishypothermia associated with the hightoxicity of the product. Given the extremely

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Diagram of hierarchical chain of commandin coastal cleaning operation

Emergency coordination

Module manager

Clean Core

White Gloves Clean Men Tools Man

low survival rate of birds which are highlycontaminated by oil products, prevention(i.e. capturing the birds before they comeinto contact with oil or capturing those onlymarginally contaminated first) is anintelligent and effective tool that may onlybe implemented by promptly warning thecompetent authorities.

Another task that may be assigned tovolunteers is the separation of the carcassesfrom the other waste. This measure isnecessary since the dead birds must becollected, catalogued, preserved and studiedfor the purposes of also completelyassessing the environmental damage causedby the pollution.

8. CoastalcleaninginterventionsWhen oil products are poured in the sea,some of their initial physical-chemicalcharacteristics change over time due to theinteraction with both abiotic components(sea, wind, sun, inorganic particles) andbiotic components (living organismsincluding bacteria). These processes(evaporation, dispersion, distribution,sinking, emulsion, photo-oxidation,biodegradation and adsorption) are overalldefined as the aging of the product.

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The quantity of product poured into the sea,the aging processes which the oil product issubject to, the conditions of the sea, thetypical characteristics of the coast and thetype of sediment (size of the particles,drainage, presence of digging organisms),are variables which lead to the diverse waysin which the product may present itself onthe coast. The time elapsing between themoment of the beaching and the arrival ofrescue machinery (in some cases not onlydays but weeks and even months may passbefore a certain area is worked on) isanother important variable that influencesthe way in which the product appears on

the coast and the most suitable removaltechniques to be put into place in thatparticular situation. For this reason, thepresence of suitably specialised and trainedvolunteers, ready to intervene quickly, is anadditional important contribution to thepositive outcome of the clean up.Despite the numerous variables that cansignificantly determine the changes in theway the product may present itself on thecoast, an initial distinction, with regards tocleaning difficulties, characteristics andtechniques, can be noted in relation to thedifferent types of coastline, i.e. sandy,pebbled and rocky.

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8.1 Sandy coast

Coasts consisting of sediments with agranulometry between 2 and 0.063 mm aredefined as sandy coasts. They are living anddelicate ecosystems which host numerousliving species, some on the surface andothers below. A beach dirtied with oil couldseem simpler to clean than pebbled or rockycoasts, but in this case the removal of theproduct and the contaminated sand mustalso be absolutely precise and meticulous in order to not cause further damage to the ecosystem.

The oil product may appear on the beach invarious ways; the latter primarily include:

aa uunniiffoorrmm llaayyeerr wwiitthh aa tthhiicckknneessss ooff aa ffeewwcceennttiimmeettrreess, fundamentally when the spilland the subsequent beaching isconsiderable and there are poorhydrodynamic conditions;

aa lliigghhtt aanndd tthhiicckk llaayyeerr, even tens ofcentimetres thick, when the product, due tothe unrest of the sea’s surface, hasundergone an emulsion process (water inoil) and has changed to a kind of mousse;

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aa tthhiicckk ssttuuffffiinngg uunnddeerr aa llaayyeerr ooff ssaanndd, whenwaves have covered a thick layer of thebeached product with uncontaminated sand;

a superficial or buried llaayyeerr,, ccoommpplleetteellyyssooaakkeedd iinn ooiill, depending on the wavemovement and the chemical characteristicsof the beached product;

ppaattcchheess or ssppoottss ooff vvaarriioouuss ssiizzeess, essentiallyoccurring when, due to the agingphenomena, the wind and sea havefragmented the initial patch into smallerpatches which were then beached;

wwaavvyy ssttrriippeess, when there is not much

beached product and it is distributed on thebeach by waves of a calm sea;

ssmmaallll bbaallllss ooff ttaarr, when a lot of time haspassed since the accident and clots of tarresidues are beached, often over widesections;

There are then several factors which heavilyinfluence the penetration capacity of thepetroleum in the sand, a fundamentalelement to implement a cleaning techniquewith effective results. The main factors which influence the behaviour of the oil product afterbeaching are:

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Lebanon 2006 –photo by Pierpaolo Giordano

VViissccoossiittyy.. Very sticky and mousse-like oiltends to penetrate to a lesser depthcompared to products with a low viscositysuch as refined products (diesel and petrol);

TThhee ssiizzee ooff tthhee ggrraaiinnss ooff ssaanndd.. The largerthey are, the easier it is for the product topenetrate the interstitial spaces of the sand;

DDrraaiinnaaggee.. If the sediments have poordrainage the content of water may preventthe penetration of the oil. On the contrary ifthe sediment is well drained, the oil mayeven reach the depth of one metre;

TThhee pprreesseennccee ooff ddiiggggiinngg oorrggaanniissmmss.. In finesediments the penetration of oil reachesgreater depths if there are digging animalssuch as worms and crustaceans.Due to the extreme variability of the

conditions in which we may find thebeached petroleum product, it is essentialthat, before beginning the real removal workof the pollutant, the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr carriesout a careful inspection in order assess andinform the volunteers of the strategy andintervention techniques. During theinspection, the MMoodduullee MMaannaaggeerr must collector have someone else collect samples tocheck the presence of the product under the surface of the sand, which may appearas clean.

If the initial samples reveal the presence ofoil below the surface, a systematic survey ofthe entire area must be planned, e.g. asample of every 100 meters along thewaterline moving inland, in relation to thebreadth of the pollution.

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The implementational methods detecting thepresence of buried oil obviously vary inaccordance with the situation and musttherefore be established on site. The MMoodduulleeMMaannaaggeerr may involve volunteers in thesampling activity. In any case it is importantthat the following are recorded for eachsample: the maximum depth reached, thenumber of layers of the petroleum product,the number of layers of sand and thethickness of each in centimetres arerecorded. It is worth remembering, evenwhen defining the area that must beinspected by sampling, that oil pollutionfrom the sea is generally transported ontothe beach up to the upper limit of the tide,but in the case of large waves it may alsoreach inner areas.

The second fundamental operation to becarried out is to outline the polluted area inorder to prevent any secondary pollution byoperators and vehicles. In the absence of aperimeter, it often occurs that the pollutantis transported to uncontaminated areas onthe soles of boots of both operators andbystanders who access the area and on thewheels of mechanical vehicles that are usedduring the cleaning operations. Beach cleaning techniques mainly providefor the manual removal of the product withthe assistance of small work tools. In somecases, small mechanical means may also beused, e.g. sieves. When manually cleaning a beach, it isfundamental to remember that the role ofthe volunteers, as already said, is to removeall the pollutant without though removing

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uncontaminated sand. This principle mustalways be kept in mind, both to protect theenvironment and to prevent any damage tothe ecosystem as well as to minimize theproduction of hazardous waste that wouldrequire high financial and environmentalresources in order to be disposed.

When the product is in the form of smallballs of tar, stripes or small patches,brooms, rakes and even sieves can be used.Larger patches or layers can be removedwith the aid of shovels or roadwork tools(rakes without teeth used to uniformly

distribute asphalt during the laying of thesurface). In all the cleaning operations, the operators must, except in special cases,start from inland and move towards the seawhile trying to only eliminate the pollutedlayer.

The mousse (the petroleum productwhipped up by the waves) is much stickierand elastic than the initial product. For itsremoval the only suitable tool is a shovelwhich must be used by first cutting aportion and then lifting and removing it.This is perhaps the most tiring operation for

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the operators due to the characteristics ofthe mousse.When the product is buried under asuperficial layer of sand, depending on thethickness of the layer of clean sand coveringit and the quantity of petroleum, manualcollection can be employed, which involvesthe movement of the clean sand and theremoval of polluted layers also with the helpof hand sifters. In extreme cases, and if thelayer of clean sand is very thin (mms or afew cms) compared to the underlying layerof oil, if the beach is accessible, if thenumber of volunteers available is low andthe area clean is very large, the possibilityof working with small scrapers can beconsidered to remove both layers in a short

time. It is worthwhile remembering thatwhen cleaning a section of a sandy beach,there are three distinct phases to follow:one where the bulk of the pollutant isremoved, the second which more specificand finally a third that is more delicate andused eliminate the most minute residues,even with the aid of shifters in order toeliminate the last traces of the productwhich could be concealed under the surfacelayer of sand due to operators walking. Theremoved product must be conferred toapproved drums. It is possible to usebuckets and plastic bags to take away theproduct from the point being cleaned to thedrums or the temporary storage site. An efficient technique to remove sub-

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superficial layers is to shoot seawater at alow pressure under the surface of the sand.In this case it is necessary to prepare thework area by placing absorbent barriers nearthe jet (at about 1 – 2 metres) and, In thearea of sea surrounding the operations,coast container barriers which stop the oilfrom entering the sea. Preparing the work area is a fundamentalrequirement since the jet of water makesthe oil, which is trapped under the sand,come to the surface and reach the seawhere it may be removed with the use ofabsorbent material (barriers, pon-pon,sheets of oleophilic fabric) or, in the case oflarge quantities, with a skimmer.

This technique is clearly more complex andspecialised compared to manual removal,and hence must be managed by expertpersonnel.

Concerning muddy coasts, i.e. beachesformed of sediments with a size lower than0.063 millimetres, the sand techniques and procedures described for sandy coasts are applied.

The main differences are due, on the onehand, to the lower capacity of the oil inpenetrating the mud and on the other the greater difficulty in sieving compared to sand.

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Galicia 2002 - photo by Luigi Cesari

8.2 Cleaninginterventions onpebbled beaches The manual cleaning of pebbled beaches ismainly carried out by using spades, trowels,spatulas and other small tools that aresuitable for scraping the pebbles in order toeliminate most of the petroleum that isdeposited on them or in the small cavitiesbetween them. Given the difficulty of movingin these areas which are made particularlyslippery by the oil, volunteers may stop in a

point and collect the pollutant in plasticbags which must then be emptied intolarger containers (tanks, big-bags, etc.) nearthe module. We recommend creating a rut, akind of small trench, perpendicular to thewaterline, along which the volunteers muststart cleaning from. Volunteers will cleanpebbles and rocks starting from the rutwhile going in the same direction and takingcare to eliminate the oil residues that havepeculated onto the substrate on which thepebbles rest, without though taking awaytoo much sand. Once the pebbles havebeen cleaned, it is important to re-position

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them so that the substrate is not exposedto wind and water. In some cases it may benecessary to create a human chain totransport the containers from the cleaningarea to the polluted material storage area.For beaches that are hard to reach by land,the contaminated material, once collected inlarge containers, may be taken away byspecial means, such as helicopters.

In addition to manual cleaning, there arevarious pebble beach cleaning methods,each with their own advantages,disadvantages and problems. For thisreason, it is important that for every singlepractical case, the choice of the besttechnique to be implemented is carefullymade by personnel with suitable assessmentcapacities and the authority to decide. Themain pebble beach cleaning methods areillustrated below to show in whichoperations they can be used, while alwaysremembering that it is not for the volunteersto decide which technique should beemployed to clean the coast.

WWaasshhiinngg ppeebbbblleess iinn aa ccoonnccrreettee mmiixxeerr

This method can be only be utilized onbeaches with pebbles that are smaller than5 centimetres. The beach must also have anaccess route allowing the transportation andplacement of a concrete mixer on the sandyshore. The pebbles must be collected byvolunteers with shovels and put into theconcrete mixer where a suitable solvent isadded to effectively dissolve the oil in a fewminutes. Finally, heated seawater is addedfor washing and rinsing.

In order to minimize the volume of thewashing water, which must be managed toall effects as waste, the quantities of water,solvent and time necessary for the washingin the concrete mixer may be established bya preliminary test. At the end of the washingoperation, the content of the concrete mixeris poured into a container fitted with a grillat the top which retains the pebbles andlets the washing liquid pass. The pebbles on

the grill must be washed with seawater byusing a high-pressure water jet machine inorder to eliminate the residues of solventand/or oil and must then be replaced on thebeach while ensuring, as far as possible, tomaintain the original profile of the beach.

CCrreeaattiioonn ooff aa ttaannkk ttoo ssoofftteenn tthhee ooiilleennccrruusstteedd oonn ppeebbbblleess

This method permits pebbles encrusted withoil to be treated even after a long time haspassed since the spill, even months afterthe accident. After having carried out themanual cleaning to eliminate large amountsof tar, a tank can be created by exploitingthe natural shape of the beach and rocks inthe area. While moving the pebbles, alsowith the assistance of machinery, it isimportant not to damage the layer of sandthey lay on. Once the tank is ready, itsbottom and walls need to be madewaterproof. Waterproofing requires threedistinct layers: the first can be made with asemi-rigid polyethylene sheet at least 1.5mm thick, the second with a plastic sheetand the third is a layer of geotextile (120g/m2). Once the tank is coated, it ispossible to position the stained pebbles andstones within and fill the tank with seawateruntil the pebbles are completely submerged.Nutrients that stimulate the naturalbiodegradation of the pollutant and work onthe bacteria can be added to the seawater.

This technique requires a waiting timeduring which the pebbles remain in the tankand the pollutant softens. This waiting timevaries in accordance with numerousvariables. However, and although it can beshortened by adding nutrients to the water,at least ten days must pass before a high-pressure water jet machine can be used toremove the product from the pebbles andstones.

The tank is emptied with a pump thatdirects the waste to suitable containers.Washing with a high-pressure water jetmachine is carried out directly in the tankso that the structure is dismantled only

when the pebbles are clean. All the wasteliquids of this technique (water from thetank and liquid deriving from the washingwith a high-pressure water jet machine)must be treated as waste. Once the work is completed with the high-pressure water jet machine, the pebblesmust be replaced and the waterproofinglayers of the tanks must be removed. Inaddition, the pebbles and rocks used tocreate the tank must be replaced while tryingto recreate the original structure of thebeach.

““SSeellff wwaasshhiinngg”” tteecchhnniiqquueeBefore carrying out this technique, it isindispensable to manually remove any largeaccumulations of petroleum. The “Self-washing” technique exploits the

energy of waves to accelerate the naturaldegradation processes of oil. This techniquecan only be used on beaches defined ashigh energy and not, for example, insheltered beaches where the impact ofwaves is minimal. In this case volunteers arenot required to directly clean the stainedpebbles and rocks but only move them fromthe supralittoral zone (reached only by thespray of the waves) to the intertidal zone(the area between the upper limit and thelower limit of the tide, the area most hit bywaves). Once the pebbles are positioned, thetime necessary for self cleaning is lengthy(weeks-months) and varies depending on thesea conditions (the rougher the sea thelower the time necessary).Pebbles are generally moved manually(when the average size of the pebbles and

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Falconara (An) 2007 –photo by Tiziana Chieruzzi

rocks does not exceed 30 cm). Useful toolsfor this technique include: nail drawers,shovels and small trolleys, which can beslipped onto wooden pallets. In the casethat the average size of the rocks exceeds30 cm, these can be moved with the aid ofmachinery. Great care must be taken inusing this machinery in order to protect thevolunteers and to avoid eroding thesubstrate. It is always advisable to consult ageologist who can give useful instruction on

the site concerned. The dirtied pebbles are usually moved tothe area that is most hit by waves,arranging them in small piles, which, withthe action of the waves, will be washed andre-positioned naturally.On the other hand, in some cases the areaof substrate remained uncovered due to themovement of dirty pebbles, is covered withequal amounts of clean pebbles. In otherwords, the dirty pebbles are exchanged with

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the same volume of clean pebbles takenfrom the area hit by waves. To carry out theexchange, proceed as follows:remove the clean pebbles/rocks from thearea below the tide line and replace them inthe supralittoral zone;move the polluted pebbles/rocks in the areaunder the tide line;arrange the clean pebbles/rocks in thesupralittoral zone thus covering thesubstrate of the beach.

8.3 Cleaning techniquesfor rocky coast

When pollution reaches and dirties a sectionof rocky coastline, cleaning must take placein two distinct phases: first by manuallycollecting the tar accumulations andeliminating most of the pollutant and, onlywhen manual collection is no longerpossible due to the high level of viscosityand the adhesion of the oil to the substrate,can the final cleaning be performed with ahigh-pressure water jet machine. Some teamroles need to be changed according to theoperations to be performed; to use thehigh-pressure water jet machine, it is clearthat the model team formulated in theprevious chapter is not the best hypothesis.As a result, the Clean Core, or team leader,has the task of optimizing the number ofcomponents and specific functions time aftertime, in order to guarantee a fast andeffective job, while fully protecting theecosystem and the health of the volunteers.The interventions to put into place to cleanthe coastline should consider, on the onehand, the need to effectively intervene toeliminate or reduce the pollution on thecoast and, on the other, the need tominimise the impact which the recoveryinterventions could have on the ecosystems.Literature on the subject reveals that therehave been various cases of excessivecleaning of the coast that have led tosignificant environmental damage,sometimes worse than the pollutant whichwas removed.

SSaaffeettyy ooff vvoolluunntteeeerrssVolunteers must never work alone or out ofsight of other team members. In caseswhere this is inevitable, it is fundamental tokeep in contact via radio or telephone. Assoon as safety conditions are poor, whateverthe reason, cleaning operations must beinterrupted. Before beginning to use thehigh-pressure water jet machine, it isnecessary to check that the volunteers arecorrectly wearing all the personal protectionequipment (protective gloves, masks withfilters, anti-spray and tempered goggles,overalls made of Tyvek, etc.). The volunteerswho have to work directly with the high-pressure water jet machine should apply athin layer of cream to their faces (glycerineor vaseline based) in order to facilitate theremoval of the oily product in case ofaccidental contact. In the event that the oilyproduct contaminates the skin, the use ofsolvent, diesel or abrasive products is notrecommended. Possibly remove most of theproduct by using paper (preferablyabsorbent paper or tissues) and eliminatethe remainder by using grease productssuch as cooking oil (olive or seed oil) orvaseline, and then wash the affected bodypart with soap and water.

We advice sealing wrists and ankles withadhesive tape in the areas in which thegloves and boots overlap with the overalls,taking care not to seal them too tightly. It isworthwhile remembering to wear clothingthat is suitable for the external temperature,and regularly drink liquids to preventdehydration.

PPrreeppaarriinngg tthhee wwoorrkk aarreeaaA fundamental phase for the usage of thehigh-pressure water jet machine is thepreparation of the area that requirescleaning. It is necessary to prepare the areato contain and collect the polluted liquidproduced during cleaning operations. The points for the collection of the washingwaste liquids should be as close as possibleto the area being sprayed, and whensuitable natural structures, such as

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depressions to be coated with geotextile, donot exist, small barriers can be built tocontain the waste mix of water and oil. Thewaste liquid must be pumped away fromthe collection zones, during or as soon asthe cleaning operations have finished, inorder to prevent the oil from sticking to thesubstrate again. Suitable containers must beused for the collection. As a precautionarymeasure and in the section of the sea

preceding the reclamation operations,absorbent barriers must be positioned withvolunteers ready to intervene with absorbentproducts to guarantee the recovery of anyproduct drawn into the sea. These absorbent products must be listed inthe approved anti-pollution products list ofthe Ministry for the Environment and theProtection of the Territory and Sea.

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Should the quantity of product requiringtransportation be minimal, it may besufficient to channel the waste liquid intonatural channels in the direction of the seaby positioning absorbent barriers and so-called pon-pons. Care must be taken toprotect clean rocks, or rocks which have justbeen cleaned, from being splashed withpollutants from the high-pressure water jetmachine. For this purpose, large sheets ofgeotextile or absorbent materials are usedwhich cover the area at risk from staining.The high-pressure water jet machine mustbe always used by starting from the landand moving towards the sea. The jet mustbe used slowly and methodically, from top

to bottom, oscillating from right to left. Thecleaning operations must only be carried outwhen the sea is calm.

TTwwoo mmeetthhooddss ffoorr uussiinngg tthhee hhiigghh--pprreessssuurreewwaatteerr jjeett mmaacchhiinnee::A - with heated water (40°C-50°C) on hardsubstrates where there are no organismsattached (e.g. road surfaces, dams,embankments, breakwaters, etc.). In thesecases the jet of hot water must be at anangle between 30° and 45° and notperpendicular to the surface. The jet mustbe in a wide comb held 10-15 cm from therock. If the oil is very encrusted, the jet canbe brought closer up to 5-8 cm.

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Lebanon 2006 – photo by Ezio Amato

B - with seawater at ambient temperatureon hard substrates (e.g. rocks, breakwaters,structures, brushes, etc.), in the case thatorganisms are present (e.g. limpets,barnacles, algae, encrustations, etc.). Thevolunteer must direct the water jetperpendicularly to the rock’s surface. Aslanting jet may destroy organic material ordislodge organisms attached to the rock,increasing the risk of death. The distance ofthe jet from the substrate must never beless than 30 cm. Once a small section hasbeen cleaned, before moving on to the nextarea we recommend quickly rinsing theclean area by keeping the jet 30-50 cm fromthe substrate, thereby ensuring that the oil

that has been detached will flow towardsthe pollutant collection area.

TTeecchhnniiccaall cchhaarraacctteerriissttiiccss ooff hhiigghh--pprreessssuurreewwaatteerr jjeett mmaacchhiinneess::150 bars of internal pressure with 60-70 barsof pressure at the hose;average flow rate: from 14 to 16 litres aminute;if hot water is used, the outputtemperature at the hose must be able toreach a temperature between 40° C and 50°C.ZZoonneess wwhheerree uussiinngg tthhee hhiigghh--pprreessssuurree wwaatteerrjjeett mmaacchhiinnee iiss uunnaaddvviissaabbllee::In some conditions the use of this clean uptechnique is not recommended, especiallywhen: it is not possible to collect the

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washing waste liquid (rocks facing the opensea where is not even possible to placeabsorbent or containment barriers);

the rocks have a shape (too steep, instable,too exposed to waves, etc.) that does notallow the volunteers to work safely;

the rocks are densely covered with livingbenthic organisms that are both vagile

(which may independently move on thesubstrate) and sessile (anchored to thesubstrate).

In these cases the jet from the high-pressurewater jet machine may detach the organismsfrom the substrate causing death. It is therefore necessary to assess the use ofalternative techniques.

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9. Materials and Means To intervene in environmental emergenciesat sea, various types of materials andmeans are indispensable. In addition towhat is commonly used in civil protectionemergencies, it would be desirable for eachgroup of volunteers to be equipped with“specialist” materials. In any case it isworthwhile to note that, in emergencies, alot of materials and means can be provideddirectly by the authorities. The supply ofthese materials, however, is not always easyand prompt, thereby making workimpossible in the first few days. Hence, it isimportant that the groups already have theminimum material that is necessary to beable to immediately begin working alongsidethe authorities while waiting for provisions.Although the possession of materials andmeans is important to work in civilprotection, the ability to count on specialistvolunteers, as well as an appropriateemotional and political approach whenmanaging the emergency, are fundamentalfactors: in an emergency, obtaining themeans that are missing is much easier thanobtaining suitable volunteers (means can bebought, rented or managed but the samecannot be said for specialised volunteers). Itis worth remembering that the materials thatthe Personal Protection Equipment for theoperators employed is essential. In this manual we try to list all the usefuland necessary materials for the variousfunctions and operations that must becarried out in case of emergency. This listwas compiled in order to take into accountthe effectiveness of materials with theiractual local availability in case of calamity.In other words, we attempt to illustrate thesimplest possible method that can bepromptly applied in any situation, evenwhen there is the need to involve a largenumber of associations and volunteers as aresult of very large sections of pollutedcoastline.

9.1 Risks for humanscoming into contactwith or inhalingpollutants

It is of the utmost importance thatvolunteers avoid any contact with thebeached product during the clean upintervention in order to minimize the risksderiving from it.

Petroleum products and crude oil arepotentially toxic for humans, a toxicity thatis mainly caused by the presence ofmolecules such as bbeennzzeennee and ppoollyyccyycclliiccaarroommaattiicc hhyyddrrooccaarrbboonnss.. The toxicity of thebeached product, as well as depending onits initial composition, decreases over thetime it is in the sea, due to the greaterevaporation of the most volatile components(vvoollaattiillee oorrggaanniicc ccoommppoouunnddss) which are themost toxic and are composed of a highpercentage of benzenes and polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons.

Volatile organic compounds can cause eyeand breathing irritations. If inhaled, thesecompounds reach the blood stream causingheadaches, nausea, vomiting, loss ofconsciousness, loss of appetite, sleep andpsychological problems. As far as long-termeffects are concerned, the most worrying ispotential DNA damage.

The assimilation of polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons may occur through inhalation,ingestion of contaminated food and drink,or through the skin by simple contact withthe beached product. Once inside the body,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons quicklyspread due to their liposolubility, whichenables them to cross cellular membranesand deposit themselves in adipose tissue.Although damage caused to DNA couldeasily be repaired by the organism throughnatural repair mechanisms, it may also leadto permanent damage, especially in peoplewho had prolonged contact with the fuel.

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In this case pathologies may develop, suchas some types of tumours, depending onthe segment of DNA affected. It should benoted that tumours can not be directlyattributed to exposure to petrol.

They result from the interaction of numerousfactors, both genetic and environmental,which occur during the life of a person andthe contact with fuel represents only a

temporary episode that is in any casecapable of contributing to the occurrence ofthis pathology.

Similar, if not greater, risks may occur in thedecontamination phase when using solvents. It is worth remembering that these productsare flammable. As a result, a no smokingpolicy operates in this area and overalls aremade of antistatic fabric.

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9.2 Personal protectionequipment

Due to the points illustrated in the previouschapter, the provision and correct use ofpersonal protection equipment isfundamental for volunteers, it would not bepossible to operate without it. Listed beloware the characteristics of the PersonalProtection Equipment that each volunteershould have in order when cleaning thecoast following hydrocarbon beaching.

WWoorrkk oovveerraallllssComplete overalls with a covered zip, elasticwrists and ankles, made of antistatic,fireproof and antacid fabric meetingregulations CE EN 531 – CE EN 1149 – CE EN368.

DDiissppoossaabbllee oovveerraallllssComplete overalls made of TYVEK, with ahood, meeting CEE regulations, to be wornabove the work overalls.

BBoooottssMade of PVC, lining made of polyamidejersey, anti-piercing and steel toe capped,shine and malleolus reinforced protection.

GGlloovveessLong sleeved made of ultra nitrile (abrasionchemical risk resistant) with a cotton lining.Level three risk category (Leg. Decree475/1992).

PPrrootteeccttiivvee ggoogggglleessSingle lens transparent mask goggles withcomplete protection for the eyes made ofpolycarbonate (impact protection) andtempered.

PPrrootteeccttiivvee mmaasskk aanndd ffiilltteerrssDouble filter rubber half mask. With filterswith A1 class protection, “brown” for Gasesand organic vapours; E1 class “yellow” forAcidic Gases.

HHeellmmeettss Safety helmets, with an approved internaladjustable support and conforming toregulations.

CChhiinn ssttrraappA chin strap for helmets made of elastic forvolunteers employed on rocky coasts.

WWaatteerrpprrooooff ccooaattMade of PVC to be used in case of rain andfor volunteers using high-pressure water jetmachines.

SSlliinnggss aanndd lliiffeejjaacckkeettss To be used for interventions on particularlydifficult rocky coasts and/or near the sea.

DDiissppoossaabbllee gglloovveessMade of latex, for volunteers with thefunction of Clean Core, White Gloves, DecoCore and Dry men.

Bibliographical references:

“Dispositivi di protezione individuale (DPI)”.Informational elements no. 7. (Types, characteristics, usage methods and regulations).

Series “Culture of Safety” by the SpecialPrevention and Protection Office of Rome of the University “La Sapienza”. “

I dispositivi di Protezione individuale” by the Prevention and Protection Service of the University of Bologna “Alma MaterStudiorum”.

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9.3 Materials formodule creation andmanagement

Plastic sheets (to waterproof thevans, tanks and the provisionalstorage zones of the collectedproduct).

Tapes, plastic nets and metalshovels with safety taps tooutline the intervention area andthe polluted area.

Field tents, tables, benches andfoldable beds to prepare the restarea and the command position.

Electricity generator and radioapparatus.

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Rome 2007 – photo by Daniel Noviello

9.4 Decontaminationmaterials

Field tents and benches for the changingrooms.

Metal or PET plastic petrol cans for thesolvent.

Soda to dissolve in water.

Rectangular PET tanks for the solvent,water/soda and rinsing.

Low pressure electrical or manualcompressors.

Retractable water-scooping machine withceramic rotor, and automatic coupling.

Brushes, brooms or natural bristlepaintbrushes.

Airtight containers made of PET plastic forwaste and contaminated garments.

Vaseline, vegetable oil, cotton wool, cotton,detergent serviettes.

Thick plastic bags for clean PPE.

Material to dry volunteers.

Extinguishers.

Gas canister trolley for the transportation ofwaste containers.

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9.5 Materials andmeans to clean the coast

Quad with tow, tractors, off-road vehicles.

Big-bags and/or UN approved drums inwhich to place recovered material.

Shovels.

Roadwork tools.

Rakes.

Brushes.

Large “worksite” sifters.

Buckets and carts.

Geotextile.

High-pressure water jet machines.

Absorbent barriers and material.

Retractable water-scooping machine withceramic rotor, and automatic coupling.

Hook scrapers.

Steel spatulas.

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GGrraapphhiiccss: Kromosoma (www.kromosoma.com)

TTrraannssllaattiioonn: Keywords Italia srl (www.keywordsintl.it)

PPrr iinntt iinngg:: D’Auria Industrie Grafiche srl (www.dauriagroup.com)

CCoovveerr pphhoottooggrraapphh: Galicia 2002 by Luigi Cesari

PPrriinnttiinngg eennddeedd iinn MMaayy 22000077

Leeggaammbbiieennttee CCiivviill PPrrootteeccttiioonn

VViiaa SSaallaarriiaa,, 440033 -- 0000119999 RRoommee.. IIttaallyy

pprrootteezziioonneecciivviillee@@mmaaiill..lleeggaammbbiieennttee..ccoomm

Some of the information contained in this manual-in particular that concerning cleaning techniques of the coast-is derived from theexamination of documentation produced by various international organisations such as CEDRE (Centre de Documentation de Recherche etd’Expérimentations sur les Pollutions Accidentelles des Eaux), ITOPF (International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited), EPA (U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency), IPIECA (International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association) and the volume“Action to be taken in the event of an oil spill” published by the Ministerio de la Presidencia Spagnolo-following the accident of the

Prestige-as well as experience gained in the field both nationally and internationally by the “Servizio Emergenze in Mare” of ICRAM andLegambiente. The content of this pubblication is under the responsability of Legambiente and does not necessarilly reflect the views of

the Italian Civil Protection."

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