How Containment Berms Can Help Prevent Spills To Spread

By Jaclyn Hurley


Vast quantities of toxic substances and poisons are manufactured each year and millions of tons of it is transported by rail, sea or by road annually. It comes as no surprise to learn that spills regularly occur, poisoning the immediate area and creating an emergency situation for the environment and humans alike. Limiting the area polluted by a spill is the very first priority, and this is where containment berms have proved invaluable.

It is only logical that the first step should be to contain a spill. Only once the spill has been restricted to a very specific area can further steps be taken to remove the toxins, to transport it to a safe site and to dispose of the chemicals in a responsible manner. This is a complicated process that requires sophisticated equipment and specially trained personnel.

Much research has been done on the issue of toxic spills and chemical waste. The best solution is to render the chemicals harmless. Modern science has produced special agents that can accelerate the natural breakdown of toxins. There are other agents that are specially designed to actually absorb the toxins, allowing cleaning crews to safely transport the waste to a disposal facility. Unfortunately, these agents do not work with all types of chemicals.

One of the latest developments in this field is a special new agent that not only absorb the spilled chemicals, but that also render it into a useful product. The agent completely transforms the chemicals and the resultant mass is actually used in the manufacture of various rubber and bitumen products. This approach makes cleaning operations much more economical because the waste is used productively.

Unfortunately, some harmful chemicals cannot be dissolved, absorbed, changed into another substance or even broken down. When such spills occur in bodies of water, the only way in which to clean the spill is to use sophisticated machinery designed to separate the chemicals from the water. Once this is achieved, the chemicals can be skimmed into containers and taken away for disposal. Unfortunately, this is a time consuming process.

The exorbitant cost of cleaning operations has forced the authorities to prioritize. It is simply not possible to pay attention to every spill due to too few trained specialists and too few resources. That is why the focus is upon areas that are of historical or natural importance, heavily populated areas and natural environments that are sensitive. Spills in remote areas or in seas with vigorous wave patterns are often ignored.

Many environmentalists are of the opinion that companies dealing with chemicals and toxins are not properly regulated. Spills often occur without any cleaning materials or equipment being available. In many cases there are no trained cleaning crews available. They also argue that it should not be the tax payer that should foot the bill for such cleaning operations, as is often the case at present.

Pollution is a real threat and there have been enough disasters to convince anybody that the danger to the environment and to humans is very real. Ideally, no spill should be ignored but it would be even better if steps are taken to ensure that spills will not take place at all. Every spill has a long term negative effect and in some cases the negative effects of a spill can last for years.




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