As noted in most of the reference literature, of prime importance for 

 successful burning is the dispersal of the powder in order to obtain a con- 

 tinuous coating over the oil slick. In the first attempt, on December 27, to 

 burn the oil spilled from the Argo Merchant , USCG dropped isolated boxes of 

 Tullanox 500 charged with JP-4 fuel from a helicopter and ignited them with 

 a timed thermite grenade. The isolated boxes burned, but, because of the 

 lack of dispersal of the wicking agent, flame spread was not substained 

 (Photographs 42 and 43, Appendix III). 



On December 29, the USCG Research and Development Center was requested 

 to conduct a burning experiment on the Argo Merchant oil spill from the USCG 

 Spar. After consultation with the On-Scene Coordinator the same day, a 

 method of conducting the experiment was agreed upon. 



Two days later, on December 31, the Spar arrived on the scene at day- 

 break, but was unable to sight a suitable oil slick without the aid of air- 

 craft. The HU-16E (7524) was dispatched, reached the scene at approximately 

 1400, directed the Spar to a pancake by 1500, and the experiment began at 

 1500. The 90- by 120-foot slick was elliptical in shape, of heavy tarry con- 

 sistency, and 6 to lOinches thick (Photograph 44, Appendix III). It contained 

 much debris, such as two-by-fours and other building materials. As the ves- 

 sel maneuvered alongside, the patch broke into several smaller ones. 



The Tullanox 500 dry powder was left in the original 11-pound plastic 

 supply bags and thrown near the center of a small 30- by 60-food oil slick. 

 Some bags burst open on impact. Others were torn open with birdshot from a 

 12-gage shotgun. Despite Tullanox 500' s advertised affinity for oil, its 

 bulk density of 3 pounds per cubic foot, comparable to cigarette ash, allowed 

 the wind to blow approximately 95% of it (66 pounds) off the slick. Another 

 66 pounds were therefore charged with JP-4 and dispersed along the edge of 

 the slick. It was obvious at this stage of the experiment that a continuous 

 coating over the oil slick could not be obtained although sufficient wicking 

 was dispersed to theoretically put a 12-inch coating over the 30- by 60-foot 

 oil slick had 100% of it remained on the surface. In all, 55 gallons of JP-4 

 were used, in which three cotton sheets were soaked and distributed on the 

 slick as primers. One sheet was ignited with 30-minute flares and burned for 

 4 minutes. The heat source was insufficient to ignite the primer, which was 

 being mixed with water by the turbulence from, the Spar. Attempts were made 

 to ignite a wider area with flares (Photograph 49, Appendix III), but they 

 were unsuccessful and the experiment was called off. 



The following conclusions can be drawn from the second attempt to burn 

 off the Argo Merchant oil: 



(a) Dispersal of the wicking agent at sea to obtain a nearly uniform 

 and continuous coating over an oil slick is not feasible with Tullanox 500 in 

 its present form. 



(b) A surface vessel operating close to the oil slick will cause it to 

 break up. 



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