Spillboy

I love a good experiment

2010-01-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

I really do enjoy a good experiment, I used to love sitting in science lessons donning the trusty white lab coat and goggles eagerly awaiting the thought of setting magnesium alight, the experiments were brilliant and a great way in learning about physics, chemistry and biology. Looking back on it letting a room of teenagers play with a Bunsen burner with only one teacher to supervise would always end with a story of some description. A particular story I remember was a young gentleman in my class decided to go one step further in his quest for further education and removed the Bunsen burner from the equation and just sucked straight onto the gas tap. Why would he do such a thing you may ask yourself - the answer of course was purely scientific! He didn't know what would happen. I imagine when sitting in the ambulance later that day he would refrain from such activities as sucking on a gas tap again, as this made him loose consciousness and isn't probably too good for your health. So from the experiment in a way he learnt a lesson. Don't suck on a gas tap.

Imagine my excitement when I came across a great experiment from a website in Canada.

Do you want to try cleaning up an oil spill for yourself? This experiment will help you understand why it is such a difficult task. All of the tools you will need are environmentally friendly and easy to find.

You need:

one 28 cm x 19 cm x 4 cm clear glass baking dish (or equivalent)
water
blue food colouring
12 tbsp. vegetable oil
8 tbsp. pure cocoa powder
1 tsp. table salt
a tablespoon
a teaspoon
5 Popsicle sticks
a coffee mug
sorbents (paper towel, cotton balls, rag, string, nylon pot scrubber, sponge, styrofoam cup, garden peat moss, Shredded Wheat,)
1 squirt of liquid dishwashing detergent
tweezers or tongs
bird feathers (available at a pet store).

To prepare the fresh water:

Fill baking dish with cold tap water to within 1 cm of rim.
Add 5-6 drops of food dye.
Mix dye and water with a stirring stick.
Let solution settle.
Answer question 1 in Observations.

To simulate crude oil:

Place 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in mug.
Add 2 tbsp. of cocoa powder.
Mix cocoa powder and oil thoroughly with a Popsicle stick.

To contaminate fresh water:

Very slowly pour simulated crude oil from a height of 1 cm onto the top of the fresh water dish. If you pour the oil too quickly, the experiment won't work - start over!
Answer question 2 in Observations.
Wait 3 minutes.
Do you want to change your answer to question 2 in Observations?

To test the sorbents:

Place a small sorbent sample into the centre top of the contaminated fresh water.
Answer questions 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Observations.
Remove sorbent with tweezers or tongs.
Repeat step 1 with other sorbent samples.
Answer questions 7, 8, 9 and 10 in Observations.
Clean out contaminated fresh water.
Prepare new simulated fresh water following instructions above.
Add detergent to the oil-contaminated freshwater.
Answer questions 11, 12 and 13 in Observations.

To determine how oil effects feathers:

Dip feather into oil-contaminated fresh water.
Answer questions 14 and 15 in Observations.

Repeat all of the above procedures substituting an ocean for the fresh water. To prepare the ocean, follow the fresh water procedures except add 1 tsp. of salt and mix it with the water before step 2. At the end of the ocean experiments, answer question 16 in Observations.

Observations:

How is the fresh water/ocean different from tap water?
What happened to the oil when you dropped it on the fresh water/ocean? Did it sink? Float? Mix in?
How much oil did the sorbent clean up? How quickly?
Does the sorbent pick up water too? If so, how can you tell?
Does the sorbent sink or float?
What is the condition of the contaminated sorbent?
How would you pick up the oil-contaminated material in a "real" oil spill in fresh water/the ocean?
How would you dispose of the oil-contaminated material in a "real" oil spill?
Of the sorbents you tested, which one worked the fastest? the best?
What other materials could you use as sorbents?
What happened when the detergent was added to the contaminated fresh water/ocean?
Where would the oil go in "real" fresh water/ocean after a dispersant (like the dishwashing detergent) is used?
How clean is the fresh water/ocean now that it has dishwashing liquid in it?
What happens when a feather gets oil on it?
How might an oiled feather affect a bird?
Are the results of the experiment different when you use fresh water instead of an ocean?

Possibly the Environment Agency should get polluters who contaminate water or land to help in the clear up, together with fines, maybe then they might learn vital lessons.

Now that is a challenge

2009-11-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

During an average Saturday afternoon, I find myself in the drinks section of a well-known supermarket chain. Little did I know that I would be drawn into what I found to be a slightly old fashioned and dare I say it dangerous way to clear up a spill.

Firstly I’ll set the scene; Saturday afternoon (obviously busy) amateur trolley drivers everywhere. Small children screaming about sweets and wanting the most outrageous Halloween costume possible for a 5 year old, a replication of the Scream movie mask where the character in question chases his victims, normally in the dark and stabs them! Not exactly a pumpkin outfit! An unsuspecting male shopper receives a friendly nudge by a total novice trolley driver and whoosh out of his hand flies a bottle of wine. Now a few events unfold, the male bottle-dropper has a quick look round to see if anyone has noticed, then debates whether to leave the spill to get help, realising the hazard he waits until a staff member can be located, that staff member asks the gentlemen to wait while he gets the cleaning equipment and can start the clean-up operation. Yes I watched, yes I timed it, why you may ask? Because this example can be linked to the most hazardous spill scenario, a spill where people are involved. So I thought I would set myself a little challenge. With all my knowledge of liquid spills could I beat the spotty supermarket shelf stackers’ time and more importantly what did I do that he did not.

Here is a series of photographs showing the event, I shall demonstrate the same spill situation but with new techniques to show how it hopefully should be done, compare times and discuss why new technology should be embraced.

Smashing a bottle of wine is actually a difficult operation particularly if you are trying to keep the spilt fluids radius to a minimum to demonstrate a similar clean up.
So what was wrong with the clean up at the supermarket chain?

No caution sign.
Area was not sectioned off.
Clean up with a mop does not leave the surface dry.
By leaving a caution wet floor sign up you are simply acknowledging a hazard not solving it.
The smashed glass remains in both the mop and the bucket, which could prove dangerous.
Does not seem the most hygienic was of cleaning, mops harbour bacteria.

Using Spill-Aid, a non selective granular absorbent the spill could have been cleaned up faster & left the surface completely dry with the added benefit that all of the waste could be put straight in the bin. Spill-Aid dramatically absorbs all liquids* and semi liquids of any viscosity from any surface, leaving the surface clean & dry instantly and safe to walk on. Totally inert, environmentally friendly with no ill effects on humans, animals, soil, plants, tiles, cement or asphalt amkes Spill-Aid the most remarkably safe product on the market today.

A mop is not a solution to cleaning up a spill, you can never get the surface dry, no matter how hard you try, which has to be the most important thing when people/public are nearby, 1 make the area safe, 2 clean up the spill as quickly as possible leaving the floor dry. With a mop you always have to wait for the surface to dry, so for example in a chilled food isle this may take a while due to the low room temperature.

So in short if you spill a variety of liquids the easiest fastest and safest way to clean it up no matter what the viscosity is, use Spill-Aid.
So below is the video of me clearing up a bottle of wine my time 2min 20sec, the supermarket shelf stacker - over 6mins and the surface was not left dry.

Overpacks

2009-08-14T03:49:00.000-07:00

Now you may wonder, what is an Overpack?. Overpacks help protect people and the environment throughout the world, through a quick 5 minute search I found these videos some funny, some very serious indeed.

Dancing Hazmat!

EPA Australia using Overpack 95 0.38

3.44 Overpacks shown at Anthrax site

0.23 Overpacks shown in use in Austrailia

Overpacks used by EPA in USA

By placing damaged or leaking containers within an Overpack the suspect package/container can be legally transported by road, sea or air.

Once the lid is secured and the arrows on the base and lid are aligned the package/container is secure. But this can only be done once as the seal is then crushed preventing the drums being reused.

After reading PPG22, dealing with spillages on highways, published by the Environment Agency, "In many cases a disposable liner will allow an Overdrum or portable tank to be reused", unfortunately for the Environment agency this is untrue and they should quickly review this procedure as this will contravene the UN Rating of the drum.

So I've spilt something, what now?

2009-08-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

Driving to work often gives time to think and reflect the world around us and this morning was no exeption, I spend most Friday nights and Monday mornings stuck in traffic jams caused by roadworks. Roadworks that have an allowance to cause more than 196,000 people daily problems, yes thats right the magical M25. It was in the average speed camera - lane widening roadworks section at 6am this morning that the traffic announcement kicked in on the radio and said "Problems on the M2 caused by a person in the road". I thought this could well be a problem and was glad that everyday motorway driving didn't also involve dodging members of the public. 10 minutes later the problem on the M2 had developed into a fuel spill. I wondered was this person trying to stop other drivers going through the potentially dangerous liquid or were they in just a state of panic?

What would you do?

Here is what I have found out so far:

A fuel spillage on the M2 caused traffic mayhem during Monday's rush hour.
Lanes one and two of the London-bound carriageway were closed at junction three (Chatham) after hundreds of litres of diesel from a tanker spilled onto the road after a crash.
It is thought one of the vehicle's tyres burst.
A spokesman for Strood fire station said it looked like the driver lost control of the vehicle and it mounted the grass verge. It then crashed through the barrier damaging the fuel tank.
Motorist Luke Hollands, from Gillingham, said: "It was terrible, the traffic was queued back miles past junction four. You could smell diesel wafting over the traffic."
At around 8.30am a Highways Agency spokesman said the road could be cleared in 90 minutes, although it may take longer if the road needs resurfacing.

So what do you do? Call the police?
Hi i'd like to report an accident, I've lost my diesel tank. Is there a national number to call?

Through a brief search I was amazed to find statistics about diesel spills on roads, between 2000 and 2005 there were 3637 accidents as a result of oil or diesel spilt on the road, 617 resulted in death or serious injury. In 2005 alone there were two or more oil or diesel spill related accidents every single day, and that is just the ones that got reported.

One way this may be reduced is readily available spill kits. For example part of the ADR regulations is to have a vehicle mounted spill kit, but this only affects heavy goods vehicles. Spill kits could be placed at intervals on motorways, maybe not for the public use , but it may help speed up response time and free up valuable space within highways agency vehicles. Have you ever seen a car spill kit for sale at a motorway service station or Halfords for example?

While still sat in traffic I noticed that in between the roadworks section was a wheelie bin spill kit (Emergency), only 1 through the 6miles or so of construction work, countless IBCs and vehicles were at the roadside but just one spill kit, I dread to think but I see a day where a spill caused by roadworks/construction work on the M25 escapes into the road and therefore brings traffic to a total standstill. These are areas where containment is not a suggestion or a guideline, sometimes in certain situations it can or could help save lives.

First things first

2009-07-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

When looking at spill containment and control on site the first step is always planning and assessment. Assess exactly what chemicals are on site, their location and quantity, only then will you know the following:

· What absorbent to stock: Do you require chemical, oil only or universal. Or will a non selective granular be best?

· How much absorbent to stock? Only having a 25litre spill kit onsite when you regularly have over 5000litres of liquid is not sufficient

· What PPE you require for clean up

· Once absorbed does the product count as ‘Hazardous Waste’ and if so how is it removed from site

· What type of containment equipment can it be used with eg. Does it react with polyethylene or steel?

· Are the chemicals inside or outside?

With regard to planning PPG 21 suggests making a site drainage and incident response plan (guidance is available here). Having a precise knowledge of drain layouts on site allows strategic containment and control product placement. For example there is no point having a drain cover on site if it is stored inside, 200metres away from the nearest drain, wall mountable covers are available as response time to spills is critical. The same applies to spill kits and other containment devices. I have over the years seen many spillpallets stored outside under no cover with drums of oil on, what is the point? Oil floats on water and unfortunately it rains a lot in England, so at some point the oil will flow out over the top and totally defeat the object of the pallet. Maybe this is an area the Oil storage regulations missed, oil in England if outside needs to be stored in a bund capable of taking 110% of the largest container or 25% of the total whichever is the larger. But in the case of single drums 25% will do? Last time I checked UK mean average rainfall was 926.9mm so surely I shouldn’t be putting a drum in a device capable of taking 51.25litres, here lies the problem it is not so much how much the containment device can take, but the drum needs to be placed within a covered unit therefore not allowing rainfall intrusion plus giving additional benefits such as security and preventing the drum from weather degradation.

Planning and assessment also helps offsite teams if a major incident occurs and can help prevent pollution from spreading. Drains can be shut off or blocked and the clear up procedure can begin. After all I’m sure prevention is better than cure .

Where to start?

2009-07-06T04:08:00.001-07:00

When thinking about spills the first thought in most minds is the Exxon valdeze disaster, an oil tanker that most people remember from the television. It actually ranks low on the list in terms of volume of oil released, but its remote location made government and industry response efforts difficult due to it only being accessible via boat or helicopter. The truth of the matter is oil spills occur everyday, even though oil is a natural occurring liquid, found in porous rocks underground, when spilt or allowed to escape into the environment it has such a devastating effect on wildlife and habitat that we cannot just allow oil pollution to occur.

Around 33,000 oil pollution accidents happen every year in England and Wales, with the Oil Storage regulations 2001 introduced to discourage pollution incidents. But has this worked? Maybe, but not enough is being done. With Scottish Oil Storage regulations affecting storage of oil within a building - England and Wales must follow suit. You only need to go to your local garage to see oil drums of various sizes sat outside corroding away, but who is going to stop them? The Environment Agency? Do they have the time or the resources to police - I don't think so, what inevitably happens is someone is out walking the dog and spots oil on the surface of water and reports it to the Environment Agency who then investigates and traces the oil back to the source. Surely a more proactive approach is required; fines need to be higher, more random site inspections must occur, companies must be made aware that if they pollute they will be prosecuted and a black mark goes against the company name. You could introduce a penalty offences scheme whereby if 3 incidents occur at your site, trading must be ceased. If you have pets and are caught mistreating them and you are found guilty you can be forced never to keep animals again. Yet if you pollute the environment you can pay your fine and be on your way, surely if we care about our planet and want to protect it, pollution, and in particular spills need to be more than a thought of an oil tanker from March 24, 1989.