Thursday, 9 October 2014

Spill Containment Berms Are Vital Equipment When Dealing With Chemicals

By Jocelyn Davidson


Mankind is innovative, ambitious and clever. Over time man has learned how to use every possible resource to make life easier, to gather riches and to obtain power. Unfortunately, mankind is also greedy and cruel. In many cases man harvest the riches of the earth without any regard for the health of the planet. Chemical spills, for example, can cause immense harm to the environment. Without spill containment berms the spill can spread quickly over a large area.

A berm is without any doubt a very valuable aid in helping to prevent the spread of pollution. However, this is all it does. Other, more sophisticated equipment and materials are necessary to neutralize the pollutants and to remove them from the pollution site. It is also necessary to have properly equipped facilities where the pollutants can be disposed of. Unfortunately many pollution sites are difficult to reach and poor weather conditions can hamper cleaning up operations.

Much research is conducted on pollution and the neutralizing of pollution. There are now agents that are of tremendous value in cleaning up operations. Some agents are used to simply absorb the harmful substances. There are also other agents that can accelerate the natural degrading process. This takes time, however, and time is often of the essence. The effectiveness of these agents is influenced by weather conditions and the specific type of pollution.

Efforts to find new solutions continue unabated. One extremely promising development is a new agent that is able to absorb a large variety of pollutants. Once absorbed, the pollutants combine with the agent to create a totally new substance that is harmless. This substance can then be removed safely. As an added bonus this substance can be used in the manufacture of various rubber products and it is even used in creating new road surfaces.

There are some cases where the pollutant simply cannot be absorbed, degraded or transformed. In such instances special equipment is often utilized to agitate the polluted water in order to separate the water and the pollutants. This can be achieved because they have different consistencies. The pollutants are then sucked or pumped into special containers and removed for disposal.

Lack of funds and resources necessitate that cleaning operations are prioritized. There is also a critical shortage of personnel that are properly trained in this field. In most instances pollution incidents in rough seas, sparsely populated areas and terrain that are difficult to access are disregarded. The available resources are rather employed when incidents occur at popular tourist attractions, areas that are densely populated and environmentally sensitive areas.

Every organization that manufactures, transport or use potentially harmful chemicals should take steps to avoid accidents and subsequent pollution. It is vital that equipment such as berms are available at all times. It is also necessary to see to it that sufficient staff is trained in dealing with accidents. The organization should have a formal policy that addresses safety and the prevention of spilling.

The seriousness of the consequences caused by chemical spills simply cannot be exaggerated. The planet is on its last legs and pollution is one of the main contributors towards the global deterioration of the natural environment. Governments and organizations need to take urgent steps to prevent pollution.




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