What Are Some Problems With Oil Booms?
Oil booms, unfortunately, are not fool-proof. In calm weather conditions, booms do a decent job of containment of oil spills. As the weather conditions worsen, booms become less effective at oil containment due to the short free board, or height, of the boom. This short free board is required for the design of the boom, but does not keep the ocean’s waves from carrying oil over the top of the boom for further spread. The closer that a spill occurs to land in the ocean-environment, the greater the containment process will be complicated by wind, waves, and sea currents. For many oil spills, it has been necessary to deploy oil booms in multiple layers of circles around the spill area in order to provide multiple layers of protection against the spread of the oil. In some regions, it also becomes necessary to have personnel tend the oil booms for twenty four hours a day until the oil is cleaned out of the water due to the changes being experienced in the weather conditions.
