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Spill Control

Objectives: By the end of this section, participants will recognize appropriate spill control responses to various land and water spills.

Why this section is important: The damage from spills can be catastrophic to personnel, the environment, wildlife and penalties.

Spill Containment & Cleanup Protocol

Spill Type

Spill Containment & Cleanup Protocol

Water Spills

  • Dredges: Dredging denser solid or liquid from bottom of water.
  • Booms: Booms are designed to control floating liquids (usually hydrocarbons) and may be either absorbent or nonabsorbent diversionary. Absorbent booms will absorb hydrophobic hydrocarbons but let water pass through. Diversionary booms divert liquids to a specific area.
  • Skimmers: Skim liquids off the water surface.
  • Weirs: Recognized by the Coast Guard as a spill control device but usually ineffective because they are difficult to properly deploy.

Leaking Drums and Tanks

  • Repair the leaking drum or tank
    • Patching
      • Sealant patch
      • Toggle bolt
      • Magnetic tape
      • Band patch
      • Plugging
        • Wooden wedges
        • Round, tapered tire plugs
        • Washer screw plugs
  • Collect the drum into a salvage drum (oversized, 80 gal.).

Land Spills

  • Urethane foam: Used to make a lightweight, chemically-inert material to dike or divert spills.
  • Emergency Material Collection System: System consists of a motor-driven, centrifugal pump that fills a collapsible storage bag. May hold up to 7000 gallons.
  • Portable Earthmoving Equipment: Hand equipment to create trenches and dikes and diversionary ditches, including shovels, post hole diggers, axes to break up hard soil, portable pump and hoses for dewatering, rakes, and chicken wire (to construct dams).
  • Vacuum Truck: A modified septic tank truck.

 

Thought Questions

The US Coast Guard's priorities, from highest to lowest are, protection of (human) life, property, and the environment.   Do you agree with the order of these priorities?

 

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