Evaluating a Protocol for Testing a Fire-Resistant Oil-Spill Containment Boom

Most response plans for in situ burning of oil at sea call for the use of a fire-resistant boom to contain the oil during a burn. Presently, there is no standard method for the user of a fire-resistant boom to evaluate the anticipated performance of different booms. The ASTM F-20 committee has developed a draft standard, “Standard Guide for in situ Burning of Oil Spills on Water: Fire-Resistant Containment Boom”; however, the draft provides only general guidelines and does not specify the details of the test procedure. Utilizing the guidelines in the draft standard, a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate a protocol for testing the ability of fire-resistant booms to withstand both fire and waves.