Unfortunately, the biggest victim of any spilled substance is the earth. An oil spill can impair or disable birds on its path, making it very difficult for them to escape from predators; while a chemical spill can be deadly to all contaminated life forms. In the event of such an accident, the spill needs to be contained.
You have two options when trying to contain a spill – block its path or change its movement by creating a drain. Once oil or toxic chemicals infiltrate a body of water, there is no saying how far they could go and how much damage they can create. In order to stop substances spreading, teams try to use a pneumatic bladder as a barrier.
Liquids have their own governing dynamics, which makes them very difficult to control. Oil is very difficult stop as it infiltrates a stream or river. Even though containment is not ideal, it is far more preferable than failed clean-up attempts.
In the case of oil you have to use specific organisms to break it down. When advanced chemical options are not available, the only other option is controlled burning. Micro-organisms are preferable to this method, which creates air pollution and is likely to burn beyond our control at any moment.
Other methods in cleaning up oil spills are skimming, dredging and the use of dispersants. While all of these techniques have some merit, they do not really solve the problem at hand. Dispersants provide a visual solution, but the truth is that oil and harmful chemicals remain in water supplies after treatment.
Solidifying agents are a far better choice when it comes to clean-up. This new mass then floats up, which is easier to deal with. Due to the fact that solidifiers are made up of powdered hydrophobic materials that are not toxic, they do not seep into the water.
Only experts with years of knowledge and experience can really handle a tricky chemical clean-up. All chemicals behave in different ways, so you cannot proceed with a clean-up until you are sure what kind of chemical you are faced with. Experts with the right kind of equipment and training are the only people capable of properly handling a toxic spill.
Supervisors or people in authority in the affected area should immediately secure the place and initiate evacuation. Everyone near and around the area should be made aware of what’s going on and therefore avoid getting contaminated. In some cases the situation will justify the presence of emergency personnel.
Hopefully the situation can be controlled before this is necessary. It is for this reason that spill containment is so important. In some cases a second area of containment is called for.
The most commonly used technique for secondary containment used to involve concrete. Today, however, modern poly-steel solution is considered a more effective, more cost-efficient and less expensive spill containment method. Regardless of what these barriers are made of, the important thing is that they work.
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