CA-11
ID: CA-11
Region: Atlantic
Case/Incident Name: T/V Kurdistan
Time: 1979-3-15
Location
Spill Location: Canada , NS , Cabot Strait
Spill latitude N: 47.033284
Spill longitude E: -59.992905
Incident Character
Incident Description: Tanker sunk Ice
Incident Type: Marine Accident (M)
Oil Type: Bunker C
Volume Spilled (m3): 6980.0
Oiled Shoreline (km):
Volume on shoreline (m3):
Owner: Nile SS. Co. Ltd.
Country of the owner: UK
Shorelines
Shoreline Substrates: Bedrock, Mixed sediment beach, Pebble/Cobble beach
Shore Treatment Methods: Manual removal
Natural Attenuation Monitored:
Treatment Information: In an attempt clean the oil from the ice before it reached the shoreline, the CCG fitted a barge with backhoes, booms, and sorbent material. The barge attempted to scoop the oil from the water with little success.\\Rakes, shovels, and pitchforks were the main shoreline cleanup tools. The oil was very viscous by the time it reached the beach and was easily placed in sturdy plastic bags and 45 gallon drums. Ordinary rakes and garden hoes were carefully used in marsh areas to protect the root systems for future growth.\\The CCG flew cleanup crews onto uninhabited Scatarie Island. Manual cleaning methods using hand tools, 45 gallon drums, and heavy plastic bags were employed.
Waste Data: Over 1,000 barrels and 4,000 bags of oil and oil soaked debris were collected on the island within several days. A temporary on-site incinerator was constructed to dispose of the oily waste. The unit was modeled after a design developed by Trecan, Ltd. and the Petroleum Association for the Conservation of the Canadian Environment (PACE). The Trecan-PACE incinerator, constructed primarily of automobile parts and 45 gallon drums, was assembled on Scatarie Island next to the largest pile of debris-filled bags. Driftwood placed in the firebox was used to fuel the kiln. During peak operations, the kiln processed 350 bags of beach material an hour. The incinerator proved to be a cost-effective oil pollution countermeasure technique.\\A total of approximately one million bags and 1,500 barrels of oily debris were collected over the 550 miles of shoreline that were accessible. Much of the oily waste was disposed of at municipal landfills and strip mines on Cape Breton Island. With increasing concerns over the amount of debris, new disposal sites were developed at Hadleyville, Forchu, and St. Peter’s on Cape Breton Island.
Citation
Duerden, F.C., Swiss, J.J. 1981. Kurdistan-an unusual spill successfully handled. Proc. Int. Oil Spill Conf., Pub. No. 4529, Amer. Petr. Inst., Washington DC, 215-219. International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 1981, 215-219.
https://doi.org/10.7901/2169-3358-1981-1-215.
Kienholz, E., Canada, Lands, D., Atlantic, R. (1982). The Kurdistan incident : the onshore impacts of an offshore oil spill.
Taylor, R.B and Frobel, D., 1985. Beach reconnaissance of S.E. Cape Breton Island in support of oilspill cleanup operations. In: Vandermeulen, J.H and Buckley, D.E. (Editors), 1985. The “Kurdistan” Oil Spill of March 16-17, 1979: Activities and Observations of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography Response Team. Canadian Technical Report of Hydrography and Ocean Sciences No. 35, Min. of Supply and Services Cat. No. Fs 97-18/35E, Ottawa, ON, 90 87-100.