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The oil spill clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico has been suspended due to the extreme weather conditions caused by Hurricane Alex. The spill collection process is still ongoing at the rig site at the present time, and it is hoped that BP will not have to shut the containment device down. However the teams of support workers who were skimming the ocean surface and the dispersants that were being added to the slick have had to be stopped due to high waves and extremely windy conditions.

The hundreds of miles of spill containment booms that have been laid around the Gulf of Mexico to prevent the oil reaching landfall, are now perilously close to being breached, as the waves crash over them. And aid workers can do little to stop the flow.

BP are currently capturing about 23,000 barrels of oil per day that is leaking from the blowout preventer on the sea bed, and hoped to increase this volume to 53,000 barrels per day with the addition of another containment vessel. But this has now also been put on hold due to the bad weather caused by Hurricane Alex.

Spill kits are widely used in industry to control the spill of liquids such as oil and prevent the spill from further endangering the environment. They might contain things like PPE, absorbent pillows, absorbent pads and absorbent socks. People now realise the danger a spill can cause and often have these kits on hand so they can be used when needed.

Although spill kits are widely used in industrial environments, they can also be used in other situations too. Some spill kits are put together that focus on containing spills on the surface of water, such as a lake or a pond, others are made for specific vehicles like forklift trucks. And they are all available in a wide range of sizes suitable for many different applications.

HGV spill kits

A vehicle spill kit is a necessity for any large vehicle driver. And, is a perfect solution for small spills from the vehicle. Whether you drive a van, a lorry or an HGV, the kit takes up a minimum amount of room and is easily portable, so can be swapped between vehicles if necessary. Spill kits of this size can usually absorb up to 28 litres of spilled oil.

If you have ever used a generator, you will be aware how noisy, smelly and dirty they can be, especially if the generator is a few years old. It’s not uncommon for the odd drip of oil to occur. These leaks need to be controlled and not allowed to pollute the environment, so you need to use a spill collection solution under the generator to mop up any leaks.

You will normally have to use a generator if there is no power source nearby. That means that generators are frequently used in rural environments, exactly the type of place that needs extra protection from oil or fuel spills.

The Plant Nappy

If you use a Plant Nappy under the generator, you can catch and drips or leaks that occur. The Plant nappy is a spill containment device that fits under the generator and is designed for use indoors and outdoors. Its special absorbent material can filter water and allow t to safely escape, a problem that standard drip trays cannot overcome. The Plant Nappy can be fitted with interchangeable nappy liners as and when needed and is the perfect solution under leaky generators.

Every factory employee uses personal protective equipment (PPE) as standard when working with harmful substances such as oil. From the basic level of protection, which is covering the hands with a pair of gloves, to all over chemical suits, the level of protection that you use is determined by the job you are doing.

PPE should be made easily available for all employees to use and should be kept in a location that is easily accessible. One employee should be given the duty of making sure that the stock of PPE is maintained and PPE that may be used multiple times, such as goggles, should be regularly checked for any defects. Requests for different types of PPE should always be looked into and improvements to the equipment used should be part of the duty holder’s responsibility.

What types of PPE can I buy?

• Safety goggles - Protection for the eyes when using rotating drilling equipment. Also provide some protection from liquid splashes.

• Nitrile gloves - Protection for the hands from oil, chemicals and general factory grime. They can also be worn when handling food.

• Protective overalls - Full body protection from factory contaminants such as oil and grease.

It’s important for every employee to take responsibility for their own health and safety. And using PPE is a step in the right direction.

If you use liquid storage or container drums at your industrial site, you will need to have provision to contain spills from the drums if a spill were to occur. The days when the drums were left around at the facility for users to take liquid when they wanted have long gone. Oil drum storage solutions have now been designed so you can keep all your drums together so the contents can be easily dispensed. Some also have liquid containment devices under the drums so any leaks, drips or spills from the drums can be safely contained.

Drum racking systems must conform to the oil storage regulations 2001 and are available in either polyethylene or a steel framing system.

Dispensing of liquids such as oil is an everyday activity at industrial facilities and the liquids used at these sites should be on tap whenever they are needed. However, to make sure that employees stay safe and to make sure that all the liquids are kept within a contained environment, the usage of drum storage racks should be adopted to stay in line with health and safety requirements.

An accident involving a submersible has meant the oil giant BP had to remove the spill containment cap that was fixed onto the leaking blowout preventer in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Wednesday, a robotic submersible bumped into a venting system that carried warm water down to the cap to prevent ice crystals forming. BP has now refitted the cap, but it was removed for most of the day on Wednesday, meaning as much as 60,000 barrels of crude oil may have leaked into the Gulf.

As a result of the submersible accident, gas had risen up through the venting system and was detected by crews working on the leak. As a precaution, the cap was removed for repairs to take place.

The huge oil slick in the Gulf continues to get worse, with oil closing fishing grounds and killing a vast number of marine animals such as turtles and dolphins. Oil is now washing up on Pensacola beach in Florida and the problem seems further away than ever from being resolved.

We have mentioned quite recently the importance of using containment booms to contain fuel or oil leaks on open water. The importance of these spill containment devices can be seen no more so than in the Gulf of Mexico, where approximately 3.7 million feet of booms are currently being used to try to contain the huge amount of oil that has leaked out of the broken riser pipe from the destroyed Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Containment booms come in a few different types and include fence booms and inflatable booms. The fence booms are perhaps more suitable for low flow rivers and streams whereas the inflatable booms are the perfect option for an open water scenario such as at sea.

Inflatable booms can be joined together to create a huge length of containment barrier and are available in different lengths and depths which can be used for different situations and spill events.

If you use oil or another liquid form of fuel at your industrial site, you need to make sure that you have adequate spill containment and cleaning devices at your disposal, to cope with any spills that may occur.

This article continues our summary of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

5th May

The oil leak from the end of the drilling pipe is stopped. The main leak is still causing concern. BP lowers a huge spill containment dome over the site three days later on 8th May. However this fails due to frozen hydrates.

16th May

A remote tube is placed in the leaking riser pipe to funnel oil and gas to an oil tanker on the surface.

26th May

A top kill method is used to try to stop leak from the blowout preventer. The method uses mud and clay which is pumped into the device. If enough can be pumped into the preventer it should stop the oil. In a last ditch effort a ‘junk shot’ of rubber, and rope is pumped into the preventer with the mud and clay to block the flow.

29th May

The top kill method fails and oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

2nd June

The next method to try to stop the leak involves cutting the damaged riser pipe near the top of the blowout preventer. The saw temporarily sticks but is eventually set free. A new cap is lowered onto the top of the blowout preventer. It is success but is collecting less than half the estimated 50,000 barrels per day that is currently leaking.

The next few months

Over the next few months, BP hopes to use the manifold system that was used in the top kill plan to retrieve gas and oil from the blowout preventer. It is hoped that floating riser pipes can then be used as a more permanent solution to connect the preventer to the surface.

The political fallout from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico trundles on apace, but there has been little media coverage of the spill itself over the last couple of weeks and most of it seems directed at BP CEO Tony Hayward.

Although the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer has now been capped, it is estimated that at least half the oil from the well is still leaking in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has faced many challenges since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on the 20th of April and two months on they are still facing a serious public, political and media backlash.

We thought we would bring you a synopsis of the developments so far:

20th April

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes due to an oil and gas surge. The blowout preventer valves on the seabed fail and oil starts to leak.

22nd April

The burned out oil rig sinks to the sea bed. Oil and gas continues to leak from the now damaged riser pipe. In response to the ever growing oil slick, booms and oil dispersants are used in an effort to control the spill, as oil continues to leak, skimmers, tugs and aircraft are used, as is controlled burning of surface oil.

2nd May

Relief well drilling starts, early estimates suggest that it will take 3 months to complete.

We will continue our synopsis in the next article.