Ongoing Beach Cleanup
"Sand Shark" beach cleaning device developed for response
The “Sand Shark” is a beach cleaning device designed and developed by BP specifically for the MC252 Deepwater Horizon oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico. The machine combines two separate techniques most commonly employed in the road construction and aggregate industries.
BP has one Sand Shark in service with four units on order, the second slated to arrive as early as the second week of September to assist beach cleanup efforts on impacted shorelines in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. (Cleaning Louisiana beaches requires a different technology.) The Sand Shark prototype has already conducted successful cleanup operations in Florida and Alabama.
For this response, BP conducted beach cleaning analysis to understand the characteristics of sand and hydrocarbon waste. The information collected was used as the basis for the Sand Shark design. This machine was developed to address some specific beach cleanup challenges faced thus far in the response effort:
• Depth of tar mats and tar balls
• Scale of impact
• Quality of sand
• Moisture content of sand
Approach
The Sand Shark follows the “lift and sift” approach to beach cleanup, while also maintaining the integrity of the tar balls for more thorough hydrocarbon removal. The following key features make the Sand Shark much more effective than most other machinery and hand-held tools available:
• Capable of reaching contaminant as deep as 18 inches
• Able to sift sand with high moisture content
• Does not roll over contaminated location prior to lifting, which aids in keeping tar balls in tact for effective retrieval
• Gently lifts and transfers sand to the sifter
• Sifts with low-impact mechanics
• Removes the majority of contaminant, using interchangeable filter screens as small as 2mm
• Runs on biodegradable hydraulic fluid
• Adjustable front collection auger
• Easy upload hopper
• Sifting speeds up to 1.5 mph
Watch this video that further explains Sand Shark operations.
