The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) brings together manufacturers, regulators, and response managers to develop standards for equipment selection and evaluation. The ASTM F20 committee on spill response equipment has been providing this service to the spill response community since 1975. A full list of ASTM standards for spill response equipment and techniques is provided at the bottom of this page. Immediately below is a description of a recently-developed standard on skimmer testing, which is a good example of the consensus-based standards development process.

Steve Potter, vice-president of SL Ross and editor of the World Catalog, has been active in the (ASTM) F20 committee since 1991. He was the primary author for 12 standards on booms, skimmers (including the nameplate test standard described below), storage devices, in-situ burning, and dispersants. He is currently chairman of the Main Committee and Subcommittee chair of F20.11 (Control, aka containment booms). He was recently awarded the ASTM Award of Merit for his contributions to ASTM.

F 2709 - 08 Standard test method for determining nameplate recovery rate of stationary oil skimmer systems

The ASTM subcommittee on oil skimmers (F20.12) recently approved a test method for determining nameplate capacity of skimmers as test standard F2709. The rationale behind developing the standard was that the current practice for establishing nameplate capacity may be arbitrary and did not reflect actual skimmer performance. The objectives of the new standard were that it be inexpensive to perform, that it not require a specific test facility, and that it produce accurate and reproducible results.

The main contentious issue in developing the test standard was the required slick thickness for the test. Some on the committee argued that “ideal conditions” meant an abundance of oil (and perhaps all oil, with no water present). Further, this would simplify testing, and make it less expensive because the recovered oil would not be contaminated with water and could therefore be re-used. Others argued that the test would be unrealistic if it did not include water. All agreed that the test was to simulate ideal conditions for recovery, so the slick thickness should be substantial; eventually the consensus was that a slick of at least 2 inches (50 mm) should be used in testing. Testing at Ohmsett was performed in the summer of 2007 to investigate this question. The tests showed that there was no significant change in performance, as measured by recovery rate, when the slick thickness was varied from 2 inches to “infinity”. On this basis, it was agreed that the nameplate test could be performed in a tank full of oil (i.e., no water, producing an unlimited slick thickness) if the only concern was recovery rate. If recovery efficiency were of concern, the test should be performed with an oil layer on water. If possible, the oil layer should be maintained at a constant thickness of 2 inches by replenishing oil to the test tank at approximately the same rate as the skimmer’s oil recovery rate. For simplicity, the test can be performed with a declining oil thickness, and measurements taken of the rate and efficiency when the slick thickness is approximately 2 inches.

Since passage of the standard, it has been used several times at Ohmsett and at ad-hoc test facilities and has proved its value as an easy-to-use and repeatable test method.

Other ASTM standards as well as general information on F20, minutes of recent meetings, and agendas of upcoming meetings can be accessed at ASTM Committee F20.