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An oil boom is a floating barrier designed to stop the spread of oil on water. In calm conditions almost any floating solid will work as a barrier to oil. However, in waves or currents, booms require freeboard (height above the water) to prevent splash-over of oil by wave chop and sufficient depth to stop oil passing beneath. Therefore boom design incorporates a flotation chamber providing freeboard and buoyancy, and a sub-surface skirt to prevent escape of oil under the boom. The boom is held in place by mooring chains or ropes.

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Representative samples of each gate type included in this document are summarized in this chapter. Case studies of each of these gates are included on the WG25-CD /Directory A1/. The case studies include a more complete description of the gate, foundations, abutments, operating characteristics and, where available, cost. Photographs and select engineering drawings are also presented for many of the gates.
 

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Devices for the protection of lock gates from vessel impact have been proposed or are in use on a number of locks throughout the world. The design constituents of protective systems or barriers vary according to the functional needs and physical limitations at site-specific locations. Justification for the barriers at these projects was primarily based on the need to eliminate costly expenditures related to repair and downtime resulting from vessel impact on the gates. In some instances the barriers were justified on the basis of decreasing lockage time by increasing permissible entrance speeds.

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Loading piers at the Valdez terminal. Here, oil from the trans-Alaska pipeline is loaded onto tankers for shipment to West Coast states. At this terminal, oil was loaded onto the Exxon Valdez for shipment to Los Angeles/Long Beach.


 

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Marine litter and debris is now recognized as a major part of marine pollution that destroys the ecological, economic, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values of the marine ecosystem and its components (Carr, 1987; Laist, 1987, 1997; Carr and Harris,1997; Coe, 1990; Takehama, 1990; 1992; Burgess-Cassler et al., 1991; Nash, 1992;Duguy et al., 1998; UNEP, 2001). Various studies have dealt with the problems caused by debris in various marine environments such as the European coasts (Galgani et al.,2000), the Mediterranean (Bingel et al., 1987; Galgani et al., 1995a,b, 1996, Galil et al.,1995; Golik, 1997; Stefators et al., 1999); Caribbean region (Coe et al., 1997), the United States (reviewed by Ribic et al., 1997), etc.

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Booms are flexible floating barriers that are placed on the surface of the water to control the spread of spilled oil and to protect ecologically sensitive areas. Oil spill containment booms generally have five operating components—flotation chamber, freeboard, skirt, tension member and ballast. The overall height of the boom is divided between the freeboard, the portion above the surface of the water, and the skirt, the portion below the water surface. Boom heights range from ap-roximately 6 inches to over 90 inches, to address different types of water bodies and environmental conditions.

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Commercial sorbent booms can be used to contain and recover oil floating on any water depth. Sorbent booms can also be used to improve the performance of conventional booms by catching oil which is entrained by currents, over splash, or bleed through connectors. Other sorbent materials and configurations are available for special applications and control and cleanup of spills on land.

 

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Trash and debris within stormwater is a significant problem in the municipal areas of southern California. Trash and debris in surface waters can inhibit the growth of aquatic vegetation, harm aquatic organisms by ingestion or entanglement, convey other pollutants, such as toxic substances, and cause aesthetic problems on shorelines. A major source of trash in the rivers, channels and beaches results from litter that is intentionally or accidentally discarded in watershed drainage areas. This trash is then transported in storm drains to the creeks, rivers and oceans during and after rainstorms.

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TURBIDITY BARRIERS- MINE SITE RECLAMATION PROJECT (57PG)

First put to use in early 1970’s. Got started in logging industry when nets were suspended from log booms to catch log debris. Later the nets were replaced with fabrics such as canvas to confine mud and finer debris. The term “Log” still is used today to describe the floating PVC and poly-booms used today. A turbidity curtain or barrier consists of a floating top boom section attached to a skirt constructed of either impermeable or permeable materials. The skirt is equipped with a ballast chain or other weight to anchor and “seal” it to the bottom.

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